Adult Child

First time guest Sarah Michaud joins us today to discuss all things CODEPENDENCY. Sarah is the author the recently published " Co-Crazy - One Psychologist's Recovery from Codependency & Addiction ", which identifies what unconscious feelings are running our lives without our even knowing it, and gives you the tools to begin to speak for yourself and learn how to tolerate your "...

Returning guest, Adam Murauskas, is on the pod to discuss all things insecure attachment styles - what it is, what causes it, earned secure attachment, and how to navigate dating in a safe and healthy way. Adam is a relationship coach, writer, and recovering addict & codependent. He and his wife Rebecca abandoned their careers and moved to Panamá in 2019 to pursue passions for helping people h...

In today's episode, we are joined clinical phycologist Dr. Morgan Anderson. She is a relationship coach and attachment theory expert, with a mission to take the mystery out of having great relationships and great self-worth. Morgan helps stuck singles break toxic dating patterns and attract loving relationships. She is also the host of the podcast "Let’s Get Vulnerable: Relationship and Da...

In today's episode, we are joined by fellow recovering shitshow and therapist Kevin Petersen (LMFT). Kevin began his journey of recovery in May 1991 and has been sober ever since. He shares about his experience growing up with an addicted mother and workaholic mother, his journey to heal from the impact of his dysfunctional upbringing, and his experience in helping families navigate the addict...

Today is the 50th episode of Adult Child! And today we are going back to the beginning of Andrea's Adult Child rock bottom - aka The Tale of 2 Brian's - 2 painful relationships w/ alcoholics named Brian who were the catalyst to her Adult Child healing journey and this podcast. This is a story that illustrates how our emotional pain is truly our greatest gift - and no juicy detail is spared...

Today we are joined by entrepreneur, business coach & recovering shitshow - Tiffany Carter. about growing up with a Narcissist as a mother, being sexually groomed and abused between the ages of 12-21, and her struggles with codependency as an adult. Tiffany Carter is a passionate female empowerment speaker, money-making mentor, and marketing expert, Tiffany’s zone of genius are helping women b...

Today we are joined by Ken Kirkman - comedian, actress, writer & host of the podcast Anxiety Bites . Jen shares about her loving (yet dysfunctional upbriniging), her career, and her lifelong challenges with Panic and Generalized Anxiety Disorders. She also talks about her challenges with money and underearning. WHAT IS UNDEREARNING?!?!? "Underearning is many things, not all of which are ab...

Nate Postlethwait - writer, survivor, & inner child recovery advocate - joins us today to discuss complex trauma. Nate walked away from his 13-year career in 2018 to take a break and reset. A couple of years prior he had two big life-changing events. In 2016 he came out as gay after many years of conversion therapy and the next year he turned 40. Both collided and launched the internal courage...

Julie & Clay Engels - owners of Roots Collaborative - are on the pod today to discuss family recovery and breaking the cycle of generational dysfunction. Roots Collaborative provides a variety of services and support to help families navigate addiction and mental illness recovery. They are trained the invitational intervention model, which invites the entire family network to participate in th...

Abandonment trauma specialist, Susan Anderson, joins us today. She discusses the 5 stages of abandonment, how to recover from abandonment trauma, and her own experience with abandonment stemming from her childhood. Andrea also shares a new chapter of "The Tale of 2 Brian's". Susan Anderson is a a private practice psychotherapist in New York and the author of several books including The...

Today we are joined by actor, singer, and mindfulness consultant Elroy "Spoonface" Powell. He shares about his dysfunctional childhood, the racism he encountered as a Black Caribbean growing up in London, his rise and fall from fame in the music industry, and how he has used failure and hardship to cultivate a purposeful and fulfilling life. Spoonface achieved international recording succe...

Today we are diving deep in psychedelic-assisted therapy. Katie Mather, writer and podcaster, joins us today to share about her experience with psychedelic-assisted therapy (ketamine & cannabis) to treat depression and trauma - and the underlying theory on why psychedelics are believed to be effective in treating mental health issues. Katie grew up in Alaska with a respect for two things—natur...

Katie Mather, writer and podcaster, joins us today to share about her mental health & trauma healing journey. She shares about her childhood (which turns out to be not as functional she wants thought!!), her struggles w/ alcohol, the book that changed everything, and her experience w/ EMDR after being physically assaulted. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy...

In today's episode, we dive deep into Step 3 of the ACA program - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand God." Andrea share her experience with the step, common struggles Adult Children face related to this step, and how to act in faith instead of fear. She is then joined by fellow traveler, Michelle, who shares her experience with Step...

Recovering addict and adult child Francisco C. joins us today to discuss the gifts of adult child recovery, He shares about coming to America from Mexico at the age of 5, growing up with a dry drunk father and a codependent mother, getting sober at 23, hitting his adult child bottom at 4 years sober, and and how he went from being a high school drop-out to getting his PhD at an Ivy League school....

Today we are diving deep with actor and stand-up comedian Eddie Pepitone. We discuss the ACA laundry list, the impact of his traumatic childhood, and his love for marijuana. He also shares about his relapse during the pandemic and how he made his way back into the rooms of recovery. Eddie Pepitone is a master of the dark art of comedy. Hailed as a modern day cross between Jackie Gleason Don Rickle...

Today we are diving deep with Elizabeth Earnshaw couples therapist, couples therapist and author of "I Want This to Work: An Inclusive Guide to Navigating the Most Difficult Relationship Issues We Face in the Modern Age" .. We discuss boundaries, attachment styles and how she approaches trauma, addiction, and abuse in couples therapy. She also shares about her formally broken picker and ho...

Returning guest, Joe Ryan, is on the pod to discuss the fear of abandonment and how to overcome it. Joe is the host of the podcast "It’s Not You, It’s Your Trauma - Trauma, PTSD, Abuse, Anxiety & Recovery".  The fear of abandonment is common amongst those who grew up in an alcoholic or dysfunctional family. Many of us grew up in homes where we were either physically or emotionally aban...

In today's episode, Andrea dives deep into Step 2 of the ACA program - "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." We discuss what insanity looks like for an adult child and within the dysfunctional family system, the intergenerational & emotional cannibalization and cult-like tendencies of a dysfunctional family, how all that is required to he...

Dr. Melissa Fenton - licensed psychotherapist (and MY former therapist!!!) - joins us today - except this time - I get to ask all the questions!! Melissa shares about her own childhood trauma, how this surfaced in adulthood, and how she healed this unresolved trauma. We discuss many modalities of healing - hypnosis, EMDR, spiritual healing - and how to find the right therapist for you. http://mind...

Paul Gilmartin is on the pod today to discuss healing from his traumatic childhood, his struggles with addiction & intimacy, toxic shame, and setting boundaries with toxic family members. Paul is an American stand up comedian, podcast host and television personality best known as the longtime host of TBS's Dinner and a Movie. Since 2011, he has been the host and executive producer of the p...

Anna Runkle - "The Crappy Childhood Fairy" - is on the pod today to talk about her crappy childhood having grown up in an alcoholic and poor family, how her unresolved trauma surfaced in adulthood, her realization that she was suffering from CPTSD, and the tool she created to combat emotional dysregulation - one the hallmark symptoms of the Adult Child Trauma Syndrome. Crappy Childhood Fai...

Returning guest TJ Woodward is back on the pod to discuss his new book, Conscious Creation: 5 Steps to Embracing the Life of Your Dreams . He explains the 4 levels of consciousness, why making peace with the past and overcoming faulty core beliefs is the key to manifesting a fulfilling life, and what it means to live an awakened life. Conscious Creation: 5 Steps to Embracing the Life of Your Dream...

On today's episode, Paulina Pinsky (daughter of Dr. Drew) gets raw & vulnerable on a variety of topics - her battle with disordered eating, the impact of growing up with a hypercritical, over bearing mother, how she has healed her relationship with her mother, and what it's like to have a celebrity as your dad. She also discusses her new book - "It Doesn't Have to Be Awkward: D...

Returning guest Dr. Tian Dayton joins us to discuss her recently released "Adult Children of Alcoholics Workbook", in which she answers the question "What am I feeling the pain of my childhood, as an adult, when I am no longer even living at home?" Tian is a pioneer of the Adult Child movement, a senior fellow at The Meadows and author of 15 books including, "The ACOA Trauma Sy...