In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Michelle Harwell, PsyD, LMFT, a training and supervising analyst, respected instructor, and practicing clinician specializing in trauma, relational psychoanalysis, and personal development. We explore the depth of psychoanalysis, the art of therapy, and the ways relational and contemporary psychoanalytic principles can help us understand our emotions, behaviors, and inner stories. Michelle shares insights on mental health, self-awareness, agency, grief, frustration, and emotional complexity, offering a rare look into the therapeutic process and the mind-body connection. Whether you’re curious about psychotherapy, depth psychology, or navigating your own emotional growth, this conversation provides clarity, humor, and profound understanding to support your journey.

In this episode of RECLAIM, I dive into an exploration around validation in relationships and explore why we seek validation from partners, parents, and others. Learn how to cope with a lack of validation, understand how its connected to childhood wounds, and discover strategies for healing without validation. If you struggle with self worth or crave constant reassurance, this episode offers a psychoanalytic perspective on validation and practical insights for relationship struggles and emotional needs in relationships.

In this episode, I dive into the psychoanalytic view of gaslighting, exploring what is gaslighting (and what it’s not), and how to recognize it in relationships. I unpack the intricacies of gaslighting dynamics and how you can begin to think about it with more curiosity. Whether it's gaslighting triggers explained or strengthening gaslighting recovery, tune in for insight and ideas for how to build emotional resilience.

In this episode of the RECLAIM podcast, I offer some thoughts on the viral Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. If you’ve ever struggled with self-abandonment, people pleasing, or attachment patterns, this breakdown is for you. Learn how emotional difficulties, relational deficits, and the worthiness wound all shape our response to rejection—and the ways this pop psychology phenomenon can both help, and miss the mark, when it comes to unconscious psychoanalytic dynamics underneath our pain.

There are a lot of difficult parts of being human, and all of those things tend to revolve around feelings that arise within us that are hard to tolerate. Feelings that we have never been taught to feel. Feelings that we have been told are bad. Feelings that now, when they arise, overwhelms, paralyzes and collapses us. In this new series on RECLAIM called Reclaiming What Is Hard, I want to break down some of these difficult feelings, shed light on what they may mean, and explore different ways of thinking and relating to them so that you may find wisdom in what is hard. In this episode, I explore loneliness and how we can understand what happens within us when we feel so despairingly alone.

In this episode I explore five important concepts that I believe are important to know as we navigate our hearts and minds so we can foster the types of relationships we want. You may notice that these concepts all come from psychoanalytic ideas and I hope to breathe life into these ideas so you can apply them in your life.

Let’s talk about self-help. Is it a scam or is it an essential ingredient to a happy life? In this episode I break down the origins of self-help, it’s connection with culture, and the ways in which self-help perpetuates the very problem it attempts to solve. Enjoy!

In this episode I break down the ways the worthiness wound is intertwined with New Year’s Resolutions and how we can think about goals and intentions for the new year without self-loathing and shame. I also share three big takeaways from 2024 that I hope will help you think your own goals and reflections.

The holidays can bring up a myriad of difficult and complicated feelings, particularly as it relates to our family and family dynamics. In this episode, I share some thoughts on ways to relate to expectations, disappointment, grief and difference in order to foster a more ease-ful holiday season.

In this episode of RECLAIM, I interview psychoanalyst and author Dr. Galit Atlas about what it means to address and heal wounds that didn’t originate in our own lives but in the lives of our parents or grandparents—wounds that are now repeating in our experiences. Intergenerational trauma can profoundly affect us, often without our awareness. And it begs the question, how do you address something that doesn’t even belong to you?

Many of us face this question when we are grappling with feelings of being hurt and misunderstood. Why does the other person get to act in any which way but we don’t? In this episode I want to share some different ideas for how we can relate to this question so we can have more space to decide how we want to be in the relationships that matter.

There are a lot of difficult parts of being human, and all of those things tend to revolve around feelings that arise within us that are hard to tolerate. Feelings that we have never been taught to feel. Feelings that we have been told are bad. Feelings that now, when they arise, overwhelms, paralyzes and collapses us. In this new series on RECLAIM called Reclaiming What Is Hard, I want to break down some of these difficult feelings, shed light on what they may mean, and explore different ways of thinking and relating to them so that you may find wisdom in what is hard. In this episode, I explore envy, jealousy and the destructive force underlying the longing for what we do not have.

There are a lot of difficult parts of being human, and all of those things tend to revolve around feelings that arise within us that are hard to tolerate. Feelings that we have never been taught to feel. Feelings that we have been told are bad. Feelings that now, when they arise, overwhelms, paralyzes and collapses us. In this new series on RECLAIM called Reclaiming What Is Hard, I want to break down some of these difficult feelings, shed light on what they may mean, and explore different ways of thinking and relating to them so that you may find wisdom in what is hard. In this episode, I explore anger, aggression, rage and how our relationship with anger may be getting in the way of the relationships we want.

There are a lot of difficult parts of being human, and all of those things tend to revolve around feelings that arise within us that are hard to tolerate. Feelings that we have never been taught to feel. Feelings that we have been told are bad. Feelings that now, when they arise, overwhelms, paralyzes and collapses us. In this new series on RECLAIM called Reclaiming What Is Hard, I want to break down some of these difficult feelings, shed light on what they may mean, and explore different ways of thinking and relating to them so that you may find wisdom in what is hard. In this episode, I explore regret and give some ideas for how to think about regret differently.

In this episode of RECLAIM, I interview psychotherapist Jacquelyn Tenaglia about the impact therapy speak has on individuals who are trying to find information on social media. As psychology terms and ideas permeate society, we are invited to think about ways in which it may be causing harm. Together we explore different ways you may want to add nuance to your relationship with self-help content.

In this first interview of season six, I am thrilled to welcome psychotherapist and author, Michelle May, to the podcast. In this episode, we explore the nuances of what it means to trust ourselves, how to navigate our inner critic, why we may lie to ourselves, and what are some ways we can connect more deeply with ourselves.

Hi there! Welcome to season six of RECLAIM. I am kicking off this season with an exploration of acceptance and self-acceptance. We often hear that this is a core tenet of happiness, to be able to accept ourselves and accept life as it is. But how? And why? In this episode I break down different ideas surrounding acceptance so you can figure out how to best support yourself navigate the ways we struggle with ourselves and with life.

In this episode I want to start to open a conversation with you all about what may get stirred up for us when we know that something is coming to an end. What does it mean for us when we know an ending is coming? And what may we learn about ourselves as we try to navigate endings differently?

In this episode I want to explore this idea of being too smart or too self-aware to make use of therapy. What may be going on for us when we find ourselves grappling with this? And what happens when we understand someone so deeply we struggle to have feelings about it? It seems it’s time to dig into the concept of intellectualization.

As we enter the new year, we may have recommitted to our gratitude practices. It makes sense that if we want to cultivate more gratitude, then it starts with making more time to get in touch with what we are grateful for. But I have different thoughts on ways to cultivate more gratitude in our lives that goes beyond lists. Enjoy!