Let's Sit With This

It's been a minute, podcast family — and I'm sorry about that, but life has been life-ing in the best ways. Today I'm popping in to celebrate two podcast milestones I never saw coming! In this episode I'm pulling back the curtain on the numbers (yes, including the country-by-country breakdown that had me geeking out), reflecting on imposter syndrome and what it's meant to...

If you've ever felt stuck in the same argument, the same distance, the same pattern that never seems to change — this episode is for you. I'm joined by returning guest Megan Secrest, LCSW, EMDR Certified therapist, and owner of Gift of Grit Counseling here in Edmond, Oklahoma. Megan is pursuing certification in Relational Life Therapy — a couples model developed by Terry Real that is ref...

Monday Growth Moment is back for a special episode — and this one isn't just about running. Last year I trained for and ran two marathons. Then I got injured, burned out, and barely exercised for months. And when I thought about getting back into it, it felt like a burden. Heavy. Overwhelming. Like something I had to do instead of something I got to do. So I waited. I let the passion come bac...

This month on The Therapist's Bookshelf, I'm rereading Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb — and honestly, I loved it just as much the second time around. Cried in the same spots. Laughed out loud in the same spots. That's just good writing. Gottlieb is a therapist who ends up in therapy herself, and the book follows both her work with her clients and her own experienc...

I'm a therapist. I know how this is supposed to work. And I still had to learn every hard lesson myself — sitting in that chair as a client, just like everyone else does. This episode is personal. Inspired by this month's Therapist's Bookshelf book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb , I'm sharing my own therapy journey — the real one. Five therapists over 13 yea...

This month on The Therapist's Bookshelf, we're reading Man's Search for Meaning  by Viktor Frankl — and it's one of those books that's genuinely hard to summarize because the message hits differently depending on where you are in your own life. Viktor Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist who survived Nazi concentration camps and came out the other side more convinced than e...

Hey friends! For February on The Therapist’s Bookshelf , we read How to Keep House While Drowning  by KC Davis — a compassionate, trauma-informed take on cleaning, organizing, and care tasks. On the surface, this book is about keeping house. But underneath that, it’s about shame, expectations, and the invisible standards we carry about what our homes — and our lives — “should” look like. In this e...

There’s a side of depression that doesn’t get talked about enough. The side where life just… stops. Where showering feels impossible. Where the dishes pile up. Where you stop responding to texts. Where shame gets louder than anything else. In this episode, we talk about severe depression through a nervous system lens — what it looks like when you move into a prolonged freeze state, why it can happ...

Hey strangers — I’ve missed you. This episode is a little different. It’s mid-February, life has been full (sickness, weather chaos, school closures, work), and I’m recording this with 18 minutes before my next client. So we’re embracing real life over polished perfection. Today I’m finally sharing thoughts on January’s Therapist’s Bookshelf pick: Tiny Habits  by BJ Fogg . This one pushed me a bit...

Have you ever wondered what books mental health professionals actually read to help them in their work with clients? Not the clinical or theoretical ones — but the books you could actually pick up, read, and find helpful. Well you're in luck because I'm starting a new monthly series I’ll be doing this year called The Therapist’s Bookshelf . Each month, I’ll read one book and then come on...

January has a way of turning change into pressure, noise, and unrealistic expectations.  Today I’m joined by my friend and colleague Megan Secrest, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the founder of Gift of Grit Counseling. Megan brings such a grounded, real-life approach to change—especially when it comes to health goals, identity shifts, and the emotional side of starting over. In this episode...

On this special episode, Kristen was recently a guest on the podcast Therapist's Take, where they explored the complex and often invisible realm of ambiguous and non-traditional grief. They discussed the many ways this kind of grief shows up—through infertility and disrupted visions of family, through the slow unraveling of relationships and the loss of safety within them, through the painful...

Listen to hear Kristen's update about her experience of running a marathon, and the lessons she learned. Let's Sit With This is hosted by Kristen Callaway, LMFT — a licensed therapist in Edmond, OK. Got a topic or question for the podcast? Submit it here Find me here: Website: seekingpeaceok.com Instagram & Facebook: @seekingpeacecounseling If this podcast has been helpful, following...

You’ve named the tricky relationships. You’ve thought through your boundaries. But what happens when setting those boundaries doesn’t go the way you hoped? In this final episode of Navigating the Holidays with Tricky People , Kristen walks you through how to prepare for pushback—emotionally, mentally, and practically. She helps you explore the gap between the boundaries you want to set and the one...

In this second episode of Navigating the Holidays with Tricky People , we’re talking all about boundaries —what they are, what they aren’t, and why they can feel so dang hard to set, especially around family. Kristen breaks down a simple metaphor that helps make boundaries more concrete, names common boundary myths, and offers practical examples for setting limits around your time, your body, your...

It’s race week, and Kristen is feeling both confident and nervous—and that feels exactly right. In this episode, she reflects on what it means to sit in the moment and trust 18 weeks of training. She shares her mix of excitement and nerves, her practical prep for race day (including the Vaseline bath and backup headphones), and her plan to soak in the experience rather than rush through it. Whethe...

Some challenges feel like marathons—long, exhausting, and full of moments where you just want to stop. In this week’s Monday Growth Moment , I’m talking about how to mentally pace yourself through the hard stuff, both on the road and in life. I share how I break down my long runs (and tough seasons) into smaller, manageable goals, and why it’s so important to focus on what you’ve already accomplis...

In this first episode of Navigating the Holidays with Tricky People , we’re starting with something foundational: getting clear on the relationships in your life. Therapist Kristen Callaway walks you through a simple but powerful framework—green flag, yellow flag, and red flag relationships—to help you notice where you feel safe… and where you don’t. We talk about why your nervous system may alrea...

Sometimes doing the hard thing means accepting that it didn’t go the way you planned. In this week’s Monday Growth Moment , I’m talking about disappointment — the kind that hits when you’ve worked so hard for something, only to have it fall apart. From a freezing, rain-turned-snow 20-mile run to cutting my long run short because my body gave out, I’m sharing what it looks like to sit with frustrat...

This week’s Monday Growth Moment is a real-life reminder that none of us can do everything all the time. Between marathon training, parenting, work, and the simple act of being human, Kristen shares what it looks like when priorities have to shift—and why that’s not a sign of failure. From piles of laundry to long runs that steal whole weekends, this episode is about giving yourself permission to...

Sometimes life just happens — even with the best intentions, the perfect plan, and all the motivation in the world. In this week’s Monday Growth Moment , Kristen talks about an unplanned two-week break, a grueling 14-mile run, priorities, and what marathon training keeps teaching her about flexibility and perspective. This is a real, honest reflection about giving yourself permission to pivot, slo...

This week’s Monday Growth Moment is a little different—I took you along with me for a long run I did not want to do. Between the heat, running out of water, and the mental games that come with 12 miles, this episode is a raw look at what it means to keep going when everything in you wants to stop. We talk about grit, discipline, gratitude—and how doing hard things isn’t always glamorous, but it do...

In this final episode of the It Didn’t Look Like Trauma series, Kristen speaks directly to you—like a letter from her heart to yours. Together, we reflect on what healing really looks like, why some wounds leave lasting scars, and how to navigate boundaries with parents or caregivers who may never change. This episode holds space for the messy realities of grief, estrangement, reconciliation, and...

After a week off from marathon training, Kristen reflects on showing up with what you’ve got—even when it’s less than you hoped for. From running to boundaries to managing anxiety, progress isn’t about perfect paces or flawless effort. It’s about forward movement, grace for hard days, and remembering that “forward is a pace.”  Let's Sit With This is hosted by Kristen Callaway, LMFT — a licens...

Sometimes life forces us to slow down—whether it’s illness, stress, or plain old exhaustion. In this Growth Moment, Kristen shares how marathon training (and getting sick mid-training) taught her the value of rest. Progress isn’t about hitting every mark perfectly—it’s about listening to your body, pacing yourself, and remembering that rest is part of the process.  Let's Sit With This is host...