Being Human

In this special episode of the Being Human podcast, join Dr. Greg and Father Louis Merosne as they delve into the often-overlooked crises in Haiti, exploring the profound lessons for both Americans and Haitians, and opening up Christ's call to stay close to the poor. Discussed in this episode: Haitian News Edition of The CatholicPsych Show What Haitians can learn from Americans, and what Americans...

In this episode, Dr. Greg interviews Dr. Brad Wilcox, Catholic sociologist, professor and author of Get Married: Why Americans Should Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization. Learn about Dr. Brad's sociological research on family dynamics, marriage, and parenting across different cultures, and his key findings on what makes families strong. Discussed in this episode: Dr. Brad...

What are the "secrets to success" for dating, marriages, and relationships? In this episode, Dr. Greg discusses the profound and practical wisdom in JP2's book Love and Responsibility. Part 4 of our series on the psychology of Pope John Paul II.    Discussed in this episode: Personalistic norm: the most misunderstood principle in marriages and family dynamics A surprising and different way to unde...

A continuation of our series on the psychology of Pope John Paul II. In this episode, Dr. Greg discusses JP2's blueprint of the human person and how it is the answer to all the problems we face today. When it comes to transforming our culture, this is the lead domino that will knock over every other domino.   Discussed in this episode: What it means to have a blueprint of the human person Every mo...

A continuation of our series on how the psychology of JP2 is the answer to our modern world gone sideways. In this episode, Dr. Greg Bottaro and philosopher Dr. John Crosby delve deep into the human experience through the lens of Dietrich von Hildebrand and Pope John Paul II. Discussed in this episode: Why a psychology of JP2 is what the world needs to move forward from the mess we're in What it m...

Welcome to Episode 181 of the Being Human Podcast: Harrison Butker's Anger: Making Sense of Current Events This week, we're announcing our newest project: a live call-in show during which Dr. Greg Bottaro and Dr. Bryan Violette try to make sense of the latest news headlines. Among other news headlines, this episode includes a discussion of the football commencement speech heard round the world (Ha...

Welcome to Episode 180 of the Being Human Podcast: The Psychology of JP2: A Bold Proposal In this week's episode, Dr. Greg explores a bold new proposal for a Catholic standard of mental health rooted in the psychology of St. John Paul II. Dr. Greg entreats all Catholic psychologists and therapists to mine the treasures of JP2's Personalism in order to offer hope, clarity, and healing in an increas...

In this episode, Dr. Gerry Crete explores parts theory through the fascinating lens of Marvel superheroes, The Lord of the Rings , Scripture, and the saints. A master at leading people into their interior life, Dr. Gerry leads an experiential activity to connect the dots between parts work and inner peace. Discussed in this episode:   What parts theory is (parts work, IFS, Internal Family Systems,...

Welcome to Episode 178 of the Being Human Podcast: The Last 70 Years in Psychology: Personal Reflections with Dr. Paul Vitz In this episode, Dr. Paul Vitz reflects on the last 70 years of psychology, from psychoanalysis to the emergence of humanistic psychology, interpersonal psychology, family therapy, emotion-focused therapy, cognitive and behavioral therapy, forgiveness therapy, positive therap...

Welcome to Episode 177 of the Being Human Podcast: The Mystery of the Human Person with Dr. Peter Kreeft In today's episode, Dr. Greg had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Peter Kreeft, a convert to Roman Catholicism, and the author of over eighty books on Christian philosophy, theology and apologetics. Together they explore various topics such as psychology, philosophy, modern therapy, and the integ...

Welcome to Episode 176 of the Being Human Podcast: Human Suffering and Healing: A Roundtable Discussion with Dr. Paul Vitz, Dr. Gerry Crete and Mother Natalia In this episode, Dr. Greg had a great conversation with Dr. Paul Vitz, his professor from the Institute for Psychological Sciences, Mother Natalia from Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, and Dr. Gerry Crete, the author of Litanies of the Heart...

Welcome to Episode 175 of the Being Human Podcast: Rethinking Formation: Preparing Priests for the Future with Father Sam Kachuba In today's episode, Dr. Greg had a conversation with Father Sam Kachuba, a pastor, a podcaster and one of our Partner Mentors at CatholicPsych. They share insights on priesthood formation and the significance of CatholicPsych's Certification Program's Capstone Project....

Welcome to Episode 174 of the Being Human Podcast: Healing or Harm? Unveiling the Truth About Bad Therapy In this podcast episode, Dr. Greg delves into the controversial book, "Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up" by Abigail Shrier, which critiques modern psychotherapeutic practice, and exposes the dangers and ineffectiveness of current mental health trends. He talks about how mainstream p...

Welcome to Episode 173 of the Being Human Podcast: Unmasking Disintegration: Examining the APA's Stance on Gender Identity In this episode, Dr. Greg explores the importance of integration in dealing with complex societal matters. He stresses the need to integrate faith, reason, and science to understand and foster human development. Additionally, he addresses the troubling developments within the...

Welcome to Episode 172 of the Being Human Podcast: A Journey through Faith and Music with John Michael Talbot In this episode, Dr. Greg had a conversation with John Michael Talbot, a Catholic author, musician and the founder of Brothers and Sisters of Charity. He shares his inspiring conversion to Catholicism, and the impact of his faith on his music. They discuss the importance of the mystical an...

Welcome to Episode 171 of the Being Human Podcast: Catholic Mindfulness on College Campus In this episode, the last of our six-part series for Lent, I had a conversation with Lily McGibbon – a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame (and granddaughter of Paul Vitz!) - to discuss the integration of Catholicism with psychology and mindfulness.  Lily shares her perspective on the topics of mental h...

Welcome to Episode 170 of the Being Human Podcast: Navigating Mindfulness in Daily Living In this episode, the fifth video of our six-part series for Lent, Dr. Greg had another conversation with his wife, Barbra Bottaro, and they explore the practical application of mindfulness in fostering a balanced approach to life's complexities. They share their personal experiences to illustrate how mindfuln...

Welcome to Episode 169 of the Being Human Podcast: Breaking Free From Unhealthy Mental Habits In this episode, the fourth video of our six-part series for Lent, we feature a part of Dr. Greg's 8-week course entitled "Introduction to Catholic Mindfulness". He talks about how our interpretations of events shape our reactions and behaviors, using the ABC model of learning to illustrate this process....

Welcome to Episode 168 of the Being Human Podcast: Catholic Mindfulness in Daily Living with Dr. Bryan Violette In this episode, the third video of our six-part series on The Mindful Catholic, I had a conversation with a fellow Catholic psychologist and good friend of mine, Dr. Bryan Violette. We discuss the different dimensions of Catholic mindfulness and how it integrates with our personal exper...

Welcome to Episode 167 of the Being Human Podcast: Mindful Birthing and Other Stories with My Wife In this episode, the second video of our six-part series on The Mindful Catholic, I had a meaningful conversation with my wife, Barbra Bottaro. We discuss the basics of mindfulness in the home and how we can use this in our daily lives. She shares with us the beautiful story of how one of our kids wa...

Welcome to Episode 166 of the Being Human Podcast: How Catholic Mindfulness Makes You a Better Catholic As we enter the season of Lent, join us for a special series where we unpack Dr. Greg's book, The Mindful Catholic. Over the next six episodes, we will have insightful discussions along with beloved guests as we explore how mindfulness aligns with Catholic values and enhances our spiritual journ...

Welcome to Episode 165 of the Being Human Podcast: Understanding the Past to Navigate the Present with Fr. Sam Kachuba In this episode, Dr. Greg had the opportunity to talk to Father Sam Kachuba, a pastor, a podcaster and one of our Partner Mentors at CatholicPsych. They delve into the historical and philosophical underpinnings of societal shifts and their impact on the Church. From the countercul...

Welcome to Episode 164 of the Being Human Podcast: Finding Peace Beyond Understanding: Trusting God's Love Amidst Church Challenges There is a growing discontent in the Church at present, and there is a need to recalibrate and renew our relationship with God. In this episode, Dr. Greg explores the historical roots of why our Church seems to lack solid formation on human sexuality and how this impa...

Welcome to Episode 163 of the Being Human Podcast: Leading From Weakness: Authenticity in Fatherhood with Bobby Angel In this episode, Dr. Greg dives into conversation with Bobby Angel, a Catholic speaker, author, and one of our Partner Mentors at CatholicPsych. Bobby shares the challenges of being a husband and a father, and how we are all called to humility, self-reflection, and internal transfo...

Welcome to Episode 162 of the Being Human Podcast: Unveiling Grace: A Journey of Redemption and Mercy with Johnna Sullivan In today's episode, Dr. Greg had a meaningful conversation with Johnna Sullivan, a missionary in Haiti and one of our Partner Mentors at Catholic Psych. Johnna shares about her joys and challenges as a missionary and how God paved the way for her to discover her purpose in lif...