How to Trust Yourself: The Messy, Human Path to Becoming Who You Are

In this episode, Anna sits down with Kati Morton, LMFT, bestselling author and one of the internet’s most trusted mental-health educators. Kati has spent more than a decade helping millions of people understand their emotions, navigate trauma, and break unhealthy patterns. Her latest book, Why Do I Keep Doing This?, unpacks the emotional habits we fall into — and what it actually takes to change t...

Many of us pride ourselves on being good people. We strive to be helpful, responsible, accommodating, generous, and easy to love. On the surface, these qualities seem unquestionably positive. But what happens when being "good" becomes something we feel compelled to perform in order to earn love, approval, or belonging? In this episode, therapist Anna Holtzman explores the concept of good...

In this episode, Anna sits down with Naomi Vladeck, founder of Creativity Matters Coaching and author of Braving Creativity. Naomi brings over two decades of experience working with creative professionals in the nonprofit arts world, combined with her own background as a performer, writer, and solo parent. Her work helps artists navigate the emotional terrain of change, uncertainty, and reinventio...

Why can opening up feel so hard, even when connection is exactly what we want? In this solo episode, Anna reflects on a recent experience that unexpectedly cracked something open in her: an intimate dinner conversation with a cousin that led to a moment of tenderness, vulnerability, and surprising emotional healing. Although Anna has done years of therapy and personal growth work around painful ex...

In this episode, Anna sits down with Stephanie Thoma, speaker coach, author of Confident Introvert and Not That Sweet, and founder of Connect With Confidence. Stephanie helps introverts and rising leaders craft keynote talks, strengthen their messaging, build speaking schedules, and — most importantly — connect with people in a way that feels meaningful rather than performative. Stephanie is not i...

What do you do when fear takes over? How do you trust yourself when your nervous system is fully activated? And how do you move through moments of fear without swinging to one of two extremes: reacting impulsively in an attempt to regain safety… or overriding your own experience and convincing yourself everything is fine? In this deeply personal solo episode, Anna explores what happens internally...

In this soulful and expansive episode, Anna speaks with Noga Shefi — musician, healer, and guide for sensitive creatives — about what it means to heal, create, and live from a regulated, intuitive, embodied place. Noga’s personal story is profound. After being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2010 and told she’d be suffering for life, she embarked on a deep healing journey that took her far beyon...

Have you ever found yourself twisting into a pretzel trying to become the “right” version of yourself? The more visible we become — in business, relationships, leadership, creativity, or simply stepping into a new chapter — the easier it is to lose trust in ourselves and start overcomplicating everything. We think we need to be more polished, more impressive, more productive, more “on.” But what i...

In this rich, heartfelt episode, Anna is joined by Ashley Olson, Founder and Executive Chef of Southern with a French Twist. Ashley creates intimate culinary experiences across Austin and the Hill Country — from luxury dinner parties to private jet catering — with a philosophy that blends Southern warmth with French finesse. But this episode isn’t just about food. It’s about returning to the parts...

In this intimate and inspiring conversation, Anna talks with award-winning ceramic artist Hannie Goldgewicht, whose work blends wheel-thrown pottery with pine-needle basketry — a unique hybrid rooted in her Costa Rican upbringing, her travels throughout Latin America and beyond, and her lifelong devotion to handmade craft. Hannie’s creative journey began in childhood, learning soldering and jewelr...

What if the reason you don’t feel confident… isn’t because you’re unqualified? In this solo episode, I share a simple but powerful shift that came out of a recent Seen & Safe group session—one that challenges the common belief that we need to become experts before we can show up fully. We often tell ourselves: “I need more training.” “I need more experience.” “I need to feel ready first.” But...

In this illuminating and refreshingly honest conversation, Anna sits down with Richelle Fredson, Book Proposal Coach, publishing aficionado, and former Director of Publicity & Book Marketing at Hay House. With 20+ years of industry experience — including roles in acquisitions, author development, and major launches — Richelle has helped thousands of authors turn their ideas into compelling pro...

What if the thing holding you back isn’t what you’ve been through… but what you’ve had to hide? In this solo episode, I explore the physiology of shame—how the parts of ourselves we keep hidden don’t just stay tucked away, but actually shape how we move through the world. From the outside, it might look like you’re doing fine. But internally, there can be a quiet contraction: a subtle bracing in y...

What happens when the thing you most want to share is also the thing that terrifies you most? In this episode, Anna sits down with poet and author Mer Monson to talk about Mer’s debut poetry collection, For the Wounded, and the deeply human journey that brought it into the world. Together, they explore writing as a place of refuge, the connection between depression and expression, the fear of bein...

What happens when the pressure to perform pulls you out of connection with yourself? In this solo episode, Anna explores the subtle but powerful difference between performance and connection — and how getting stuck in performance mode can cut us off from our creativity, intuition, and leadership. Drawing from her former career as a reality television editor, Anna shares a vivid behind-the-scenes s...

In this episode, Anna talks with April Adams Pertuis, founder and CEO of LIGHTbeamers, visibility expert, and beloved guide for mission-driven women who want to speak with clarity, authenticity, and impact. April has over 30 years of storytelling experience — from TV journalism to producing to building a global community of women learning to use their stories as tools for connection, community, an...

What does it actually mean to trust yourself? On a podcast called How to Trust Yourself, it feels only fair to answer that question directly. In this solo episode, I explore self-trust through a simple but powerful lens: trust is a relationship. And like any relationship, it’s built — and eroded — through everyday interactions. Using examples from intimate partnerships (including my own marriage),...

In this episode, Anna sits down with Tracy Matthews , serial entrepreneur, Chief Visionary Officer of Creative Launchpad, and the creator of The Art of Reinvention . Tracy has spent her career helping creatives and founders build businesses that reflect who they truly are — not who they used to be. In this episode, we explore: What The Art of Reinvention is — and why Tracy created it The patterns...

Have you ever felt boxed in by the very role that once lifted you up? In this solo episode, I share a moment from my visibility group, Seen & Safe , when a member said she was “so tired of being known by my credentials.” That one sentence sparked recognition around the Zoom room — because so many of us know the feeling. Our degrees, titles, and professional identities can help us build credibi...

What if healing — and becoming who you’re meant to be — doesn’t happen through pushing harder… but through softening? In this episode, Anna is joined by Chelsea Emery , a chronic pain and symptom recovery coach who recovered from 45 years of migraines , along with a cascade of other debilitating symptoms, using mind-body and nervous-system-informed approaches. Chelsea is also a recent private coac...

In this episode, I’m sharing a deeply personal reflection on hiding and visibility—how parts of us retreat for safety, and how they eventually long to surface again. Through the lens of my Jewish experience, family lineage, and recent years of navigating identity in a politicized world, I explore how hiding can be a necessary survival strategy—and how, over time, it can begin to feel constricting...

In this deeply honest and wide-ranging crossover episode, Anna sits down with Zack Arnold — award-winning Hollywood editor (Cobra Kai, Burn Notice, Glee), creator of the Optimize Yourself program, and now host of The Zack Arnold Podcast — to talk about what REALLY happens behind the scenes of a life pivot. Together, they explore the messy middle of reinvention: income dips, identity crises, disapp...

What happens when life gets stressful — and you’re still the one who needs to lead? In this solo episode, Anna shares a very real story from a winter blizzard in New York City that involved a burst pipe, displaced tenants, exhausted nervous systems… and, unexpectedly, a chocolate milkshake. Using the metaphor of “tightening lids” versus “chocolate milkshake energy,” Anna explores how stress shows...

In this gentle, honest, deeply encouraging conversation, Anna talks with Ilona Glastonbury , Instagram strategist, chronic illness survivor, and founder of the Quiet Creatives Academy — a space for sensitive and introverted creatives who want to grow on Instagram without burning out or becoming someone they’re not. Ilona’s journey from potter to disabled creative to Instagram coach is rooted in li...

In this episode, Anna sits down with Chantelle Adams — professional speaker, story strategist, and “courage igniter” — to explore what it really takes to share your story out loud, even when fear is loud in your body. Chantelle has delivered over 1,000 talks, built a six-figure speaking business, and helped countless women craft and share talks that feel like a homecoming to who they really are. B...