Living a Life in Balance - PODCAST

Send us Fan Mail What if the most healing thing a therapist can offer isn't expertise, but honesty about their own humanity? Chantelle Thomas, Ph. D., a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma, addiction, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, joins Abdullah Boulad for an honest conversation. Dr. Thomas opens up about the family dynamics that shaped her path into this work, including gr...

Send us Fan Mail What if healing from trauma isn't about revisiting the worst moments of your past, but learning to befriend the parts of yourself still carrying them? Dr. Janina Fisher joins Abdullah Boulad to explore trauma, stabilization, and the parts of us shaped by difficult experiences. Janina shares what first drew her into trauma work, including her father's traumatic childhood...

Send us Fan Mail What if the parts of you that feel most damaged by trauma are also the parts capable of leading you toward healing? Dr. Frank Anderson joins Abdullah Boulad on Living a Life in Balance to explore trauma, dissociation, and the body's role in healing, drawing on decades of work as a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and psychotherapist. In this conversation, Frank explains how his o...

Send us Fan Mail What if the different voices, emotions, and reactions inside you are not signs that something is wrong with you, but parts of you trying to protect you? Richard C. Schwartz, Ph. D., joins Abdullah Boulad on Living a Life in Balance to explore Internal Family Systems (IFS), the therapeutic model he developed to help people understand and work with the different parts of themselves....

Send us Fan Mail How do trauma, addiction, and neurodivergence shape the course of a life, and what does real healing actually look like? Araminta Jonsson, Founder and CEO of Masters Events and organiser of Europe's largest trauma conference at the University of Oxford, joins Abdullah Boulad for a deeply personal conversation about trauma, addiction recovery, autism, ADHD, resilience, and fin...

Send us Fan Mail Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by guests on Living A Life In Balance are their own and do not reflect the views of THE BALANCE Rehab Clinic or Abdullah Boulad. This content is for general information only and is not medical, psychological, or legal advice. Views shared reflect the guest's individual clinical experience and may differ from mainstream clinical consensus. Al...

Send us Fan Mail Can childhood experiences shape the way we love, heal, and see ourselves as adults? Jill Moore, Client Relations Director at THE BALANCE Rehab Clinic and Yoga Practitioner, joins Abdullah Boulad for an honest conversation about childhood trauma, emotional healing, mental health, yoga, healthy relationships, and personal transformation. Together, they explore how early family exper...

Send us Fan Mail Can horses help people heal from addiction, ADHD, trauma, and emotional challenges in a deeper, more connected way? In this episode of Living A Life In Balance, Denise Stergoulis joins Abdullah Boulad, CEO of THE BALANCE Rehab Clinic, for a powerful conversation about equine therapy, addiction recovery, ADHD, mental health, trauma healing, relapse, personal growth, and the emotion...

Send us Fan Mail Work addiction, burnout, anxiety, and the inability to switch off are challenges many high-performing professionals quietly struggle with. But what if the problem is not simply working too much, but using work as a way to avoid what is happening beneath the surface? In this episode of Living A Life In Balance, Obi Unaka, Addiction Therapist and Relapse Prevention Specialist, joins...

Send us Fan Mail Brain fog, bloating, fatigue, poor sleep, inflammation, and constantly feeling “off” are symptoms many people silently live with every day. But what if these are not just normal parts of modern life, but signs that the body needs deeper attention? In this episode of Living A Life In Balance, Dr. Leah Austin, GP and Nutritional Therapist, joins Abdullah Boulad, CEO of THE BALANCE R...

Send us Fan Mail  How do trauma, addiction, and family dysfunction shape recovery and emotional healing?  Heather Hayes, internationally recognised interventionist, Licensed Counselor, and founder of Heather R. Hayes & Associates, joins Abdullah Boulad for a powerful conversation on addiction, trauma, recovery, and the hidden emotional struggles behind high-functioning families. In this episod...

Send us Fan Mail Founder & CEO of THE BALANCE Rehab Clinic | Book Author & Podcast Host of "Living a Life in Balance" | Global Expert in Mental Health & Wellbeing I lead one of the world’s most exclusive mental health and addiction treatment brands, helping global leaders, creatives, and high-net-worth individuals find deep healing and personal transformation. Through my podc...

Send us Fan Mail How much of our adult relationships are shaped by the families we grew up in? Fiona Yassin, psychotherapist and Founder of The Wave Clinic, joins Abdullah Boulad, Founder and CEO of THE BALANCE Rehab Clinic, for a grounded conversation on how early family experiences continue to influence the way we relate, communicate, and navigate relationships later in life. In this episode, Fi...

Send us Fan Mail Family dynamics shape far more than we often realise. What is left unspoken, carried in silence, or hidden within a family system can continue to influence relationships, behaviour, and emotional patterns across generations. In many cases, people are not only responding to the present moment, but to histories that were never fully understood or expressed. In this episode of Living...

Send us Fan Mail Chronic pain affects millions of people around the world. Yet many patients are still told that if scans look normal, the problem must be “in their head.” In reality, chronic pain is far more complex. It involves the brain, the nervous system, emotional regulation, and the way the body responds to stress and trauma. In this episode of Living a Life in Balance, Abdullah Boulad is j...

Send us Fan Mail What is the difference between a high sex drive and compulsive sexual behaviour? How does internet pornography affect the brain, relationships, and emotional regulation? And why are more people seeking help for porn and sex addiction than ever before?   In this in-depth conversation, psychotherapist and addiction specialist Paula Hall shares her clinical perspective on compulsive...

Send us Fan Mail What are the lasting effects of childhood trauma, generational addiction, chronic stress, and unresolved grief on adult mental health?  In this in-depth conversation, mental health and diagnostic expert Dr. James Flowers shares the personal experiences that shaped his clinical philosophy and approach to integrative psychiatry. Growing up in South Texas in a family affected by dysf...

Send us Fan Mail Grief does not end. It changes us.  In this honest and deeply personal conversation, grief expert and licensed therapist Edy Nathan joins Abdullah Boulad to explore what it truly means to live with loss instead of trying to move beyond it.  They discuss how grief lives in the body, how trauma reshapes identity, and how the protective patterns we build to survive can follow us long...

Send us Fan Mail Robin Lefever, psychiatrist and long-standing voice in addiction and mental health care, joins Abdullah Boulad for an honest and wide-ranging conversation on addiction, relapse, depression, trauma, and the long-term reality of treatment. Robin speaks openly about his early experiences with substance use, the temporary relief addiction can bring, and how emotional vulnerability, so...

Send us Fan Mail Johnny Graaff joined Abdullah Boulad for an honest and reflective conversation about how addiction develops over time, often beginning in adolescence with the need to belong, fit in, and feel comfortable in social environments. Drawing on lived experience, the discussion explores how substance use can evolve and shift, from alcohol to drugs to prescription medication, when underly...

Send us Fan Mail Johan Sorensen, Founder of Portobello Behavioural Health, joined Abdullah Boulad for a thoughtful conversation on how early disruption and emotional overwhelm can shape behaviour long before they are fully understood. Drawing on personal experience, the discussion reflects on how unhealthy patterns can become normalized, how boundaries are crossed gradually rather than suddenly, a...

Send us Fan Mail Natasha Silverbell, Founder and CEO of Silverbell Global, joined Abdullah Boulad for an open and deeply human conversation about addiction, recovery, and the long journey back to self. She shares her path from public success to private struggle, speaking about substance use, emotional numbness, shame, relapse, and the moments that led her toward sobriety, healing, and a redefined...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Louise Stanger, a licensed clinical social worker with more than 35 years of experience, author, and global parenting expert, joins Abdullah Boulad for a deeply human conversation on grief, resilience, family patterns, and the moments that quietly shape our lives. She reflects on losing a child to SIDS, the sudden death of her spouse, and the painful silence surrounding her fa...

Send us Fan Mail Paul Denniston, founder of Grief Yoga, joins Abdullah Boulad for a conversation that moves through grief, movement, identity, and the ways the body holds what the mind cannot always process. Paul reflects on how his path began in places of anxiety, emotional suppression, and coping mechanisms that numbed rather than healed. He speaks openly about his childhood, his relationship wi...

Send us Fan Mail Bea Palya, singer, songwriter, and vocal artist, joins Abdullah Boulad on Living a Life in Balance for a heartfelt conversation about healing, creativity, and the power of the human voice.   Speaking with honesty and clarity, Bea reflects on the profound shifts that followed her divorce and the pain that took her to a very low point. She shares how music became the light she held...