Balance your Brain

Professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez credits Dr. David Schnarch with having saved his life. In this episode, James Christensen and Catherine Roebuck talk about episode 3 of the HBO documentary Alex vs. A-Rod,…

James and Catherine discuss why yelling at kids is harmful except in rare moments of immediate danger, and why parents teach more by example.

James and Catherine discuss why yelling at kids is harmful, except in rare moments of immediate danger, and how parents teach far more through their example than through punishment or harshness. They explore autonomy, emotional regulation, and the long-term impact of parenting, arguing that kindness, respect, and steady growth create “emotional wealth” that can shape families for generations. Cath...

Why revealing the messy stuff in your mind builds trust, how apologies turn into control, and the case for telling your partner about an affair.

Catherine Roebuck: https://catherineroebuck.com James Christensen: https://jamesmchristensen.com IN THIS EPISODE: Why revealing the messy stuff in your mind builds trust — but only when paired with responsibility and thoughtfulness about timing and impact The case for telling your partner about an affair: the harm already exists whether you reveal it or not, and secret "cleanup" is just continued...

James Christensen and Catherine Roebuck talk about healing trauma.

Catherine Roebuck joins me to talk Trauma. James Christensen:  https://jamesmchristensen.com Catherine Roebuck:  https://catroebuck.com Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on Youtube Roseville Couples Counseling 300 Harding Blvd suite 108, Roseville CA  916-292-8920 Listen to Balance Your Brain Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PC7NKPstyNi08TNfYcyaT Lis...

Catherine Roebuck and James Christensen on the persistent drive for autonomy, and how to avoid being a doormat or a bully.

A conversation between James Christensen and Catherine Roebuck Catherine: We were talking the other day about pathological demand avoidance — with neurodivergent clients and their partners — and you offered a different term that I just loved. James: Yeah. The other term is persistent drive for autonomy, which I think is just a normal human trait. Catherine: Yes, I agree. And that term is so much n...

Catherine Roebuck and James Christensen on loving on purpose: why loving from the heart, without waiting to feel it, is an adult task.

https://jamesmchristensen.com catroebuck.com James:  Loving from the heart and loving unilaterally is fundamentally an adult task, not a childhood task. Catherine:  When you first told me that, my reaction was, "Well, I know kids can love—I felt a lot of love as a kid. I felt love from my kids." But it's the feeling aspect that matters here. What kids are able to do is take warm, pleasan...

Audrey Schoen joins James Christensen to compare Terry Real’s Relational Life Therapy with Crucible therapy, and how both differ from Gottman and EFT.

Audrey Schoen joins me to talk about Relational Life Therapy. Roseville Couples Counseling 300 Harding Blvd Suite 108 Roseville CA 95648 916-292-8920

I recorded this interview at Salem Media in Sacramento. Matt: On today's show, we have James Christensen with Roseville Couples Counseling. He provides therapy for couples—husbands and wives, marriage counseling.1 So…

Transcript: Matt: On today's show, we have James Christensen with Roseville Couples Counseling. He provides therapy for couples—husbands and wives, marriage counseling.1 So James, thanks for being on today. It seems like our society is in a crisis when it comes to marriage. It just doesn't seem like it's a priority anymore, and more marriages than ever have been failing. That's not just amongst no...

If your partner has cheated, James Christensen explains the three parts of rebuilding trust, which he compares to three legs of a stool.

There are three components to trust in a relationship: 1. Trust that your partner will do the right thing 2. Trust that you'll be able to read your partner accurately 3. Trust in yourself to take care of yoursefl no matter what. Transcript: If you recently found out that your partner has cheated on you, this video is for you. I'm going to talk about the three components of rebuilding trust after i...

James Christensen describes how he came to see himself as narcissistic, what narcissism protects against, and how he escaped it.

Transcript: About three years ago, I began to accept that I was unusually narcissistic. I say it that way on purpose because I don't like to use the term "you're a narcissist" or "you're not a narcissist." Realistically, it's more of a spectrum. Everyone is somewhere on that spectrum, and three years ago, I finally accepted that I was way towards the bad side of it. I was more narcissistic than al...

Catherine Roebuck joins James Christensen to discuss Chapter 2 of Bruce Tift’s Already Free and the Buddhist approach to attachment panic.

Catherine Roebuck joins me to discuss Chapter 2 of Bruce Tift’s book “Already Free.” Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts Watch on Youtube James Christensen:  https://jamesmchristensen.com Catherine Roebuck:  https://catroebuck.com   Listen to Balance Your Brain Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PC7NKPstyNi08TNfYcyaT Listen to Balance Your Brain Podcast on App...

Catherine Roebuck joins James Christensen to discuss Chapter 1 of Bruce Tift’s Already Free: most of us live in the present as if it were the past.

Catherine Roebuck joins me to discuss Chapter 1 of Bruce Tift’s book “Already Free.” Roseville Couples Counseling 300 Harding Blvd Suite 108, Roseville CA 916-292-8920 Transcript James:  Let's start with a quo te from  Already Free  by Bruce Tiff. "Most of us are, in a variety of ways, living in the present as if it were the past." What do you think? Catherine:  Yeah, I love th...

James Christensen talks with therapists Aron Carlson and Kristin Areglado Hurley about the parenting workshop they have been developing.

Kristin Areglado Hurley: https://www.karegladohurley.com/ Aron Carlson: https://childandfamilymentalhealth.com/aron-carlson/ Parenting Workshop: https://www.international-crucible-education-center.org/parenting-workshop Transcript: James:  My guests today are Aron Carlson and Kristen Alado Hurley, and they're here to talk about a parenting workshop that they have been developing. Kristin Areg...