Mind Your Self - Four Swans

We welcome former heroin addict turned neuroscientist Dr. Brian Pennie and his sister Anne Pennie, a trainee psychotherapist, for a deeply honest conversation about addiction, recovery, resilience, and the impact of addiction on families.   Together, they reflect on their shared journey, the challenges they faced as siblings, and the lessons they've learned about healing, hope, and personal growth...

In this episode, we sit down with outdoor business owner and digital creator Max Cody to explore the healing power of the outdoors, the rise of adventure culture in Ireland, and why more young people are stepping away from traditional nightlife.    Max shares his personal journey from long nights working in Dublin’s bar scene to building a life centred around sea swimming, hiking, connection, and...

What happens when the version of you that’s been holding it all together starts to fall apart?   In this powerful conversation, Myles McKenna shares his journey through burnout, hidden work addiction, and the quiet pressure many men carry to stay strong at all costs.    Together, we explore how emotional suppression shapes our lives, why vulnerability still feels out of reach for so many, and what...

We sit down with Lisa Browne, founder of My Mind and Me Kids, to explore children’s emotional wellbeing, modern parenting pressures, and the courage it takes to reconnect with yourself.   Drawing from her experience as a primary school teacher, mother of three, and now wellbeing entrepreneur, Lisa shares why so many children are struggling with anxiety, overwhelm, and emotional dysregulation and h...

Mum to triplets and a teen, Emma Lennon shares her journey through survival mode, motherhood, therapy, neurodivergence, and healing. From navigating a high-risk pregnancy during Covid lockdown to raising neurodivergent children while learning to understand herself, Emma speaks openly about chaos, resilience, and the courage it takes to keep going when life feels overwhelming. Together, we explore...

In this honest and deeply human conversation, Tracy Martin, author of So Not Me, shares her lived experience of trauma, chronic pain, and life-changing disability.    Becoming a wheelchair user at 18, Tracy reflects on loss, identity, and the long journey of finding her voice after years of staying small.   This episode explores the realities behind disability, the weight of layered trauma, and wh...

<span;>In this episode, we are joined by Veronica Martinez, a psychotherapist specialising in perinatal mental health, to explore the often unspoken realities of becoming a mother. <span;>Veronica shares both her professional insight and personal experience of postpartum anxiety, shedding light on the pressures, expectations, and emotional challenges many new mothers face. She explores...

In this powerful and grounding episode with a focus on men's mental health, we sit down with Niall McHugo of The Breathwork Project to explore the life-changing impact of Conscious Connected Breathwork.    From the intense pressures of school leadership to experiencing deep burnout, Niall shares his personal journey back to balance and how breathwork became a tool that didn’t just help him cope, b...

We sit down with psychotherapist Ciara Conlon, founder of Clear the Clouds Counselling, to explore what it really means to lose, and rebuild, your sense of self. Ciara shares her personal journey through identity loss, weight gain, and the emotional challenges that followed becoming a mother of three.  From reaching her heaviest point to making the life-changing decision to undergo bariatric surge...

Friend of Four Swans Therapy Dr. James O’Shea shares both his professional insights on grief and deeply personal experience of losing his wife Anne Marie to cancer aged just 56. We explore how grief doesn’t ever disappear, but instead gradually shifts and softens over time. This episode gently challenges the idea that we should move on when a partner dies and offers a more compassionate perspectiv...

Psychotherapist Alan Dignam opens up about his personal journey of growing up feeling different, and how that path led him into psychotherapy and teaching.    He speaks candidly about identity, resilience, and the importance of creating safe, informed spaces for LGBTQIA+ and neurodiverse clients.    This episode is a powerful reminder that what once made us feel isolated can become our greatest st...

In this powerful and deeply human conversation, we are joined by Aine Whelan, Movement and Healing Facilitator and founder of Heart & Soul studio.   Aine shares her journey of navigating mental health and spiritual awakening from a young age, challenging the idea that we are our diagnoses rather than experiencing them.   Through honest reflection, she explores the importance of soul-searching,...

A powerful, honest conversation offering hope to anyone struggling with addiction, or supporting someone who is.  Alan O’Brien shares his raw and transformative journey from early addiction and inner turmoil to over 20 years in recovery. An alcoholic by the time he reached his teens, he speaks openly about the emotional and psychological root causes of his addiction, the courage it takes to ask fo...

In this deeply powerful and inspiring episode, we are joined by Joanne O’Dwyer, psychotherapist, author, and manager of Meath Community Drug and Alcohol Response as she shares her extraordinary journey from addiction to recovery, and from survival to leadership.    Joanne speaks with raw honesty about her early life, experiences of trauma, and a long battle with addiction that began in her teens a...

In this deeply grounding and heart-led conversation, we are joined by Enda Greene, Kundalini yoga teacher and energy healer, who shares her journey of finding peace, purpose, and connection later in life. Enda speaks openly about the challenges she has faced from difficult early life experiences to navigating fear, disconnection, and uncertainty, and how discovering practices like Kundalini yoga,...

In this deeply honest and powerful episode, we sit down with Aileen White, who shares her lived experience of being diagnosed with breast cancer at just 38.   Aileen brings us through the shock of diagnosis, the reality of treatment, and the emotional and physical toll that cancer can take. Her story challenges common misconceptions, including the belief that breast cancer only affects older women...

In this powerful conversation, we are joined by Andrea O’Grady, Wellness and Mindset Coach and founder of The Wellness Edge, to explore the truth behind what it really means to be “well.”    From the outside, someone can look like they have it all together, but beneath the surface, many are carrying stress, burnout, anxiety, and overwhelming pressure.    Andrea shares her own lived experience of b...

In this episode, we are joined by holistic life coach and hypnotherapist Christina Goetz, who shares insights into one of the most overlooked aspects of mental health — the nervous system.  Many people today are living in a constant state of stress, overwhelm, and emotional exhaustion. A dysregulated nervous system can contribute to anxiety, burnout, panic attacks, depression, and addictive coping...

In this episode, we are joined by life coach, speaker, and Pilates teacher Karen Doherty-Cooke, who shares a deeply personal story of loss, resilience, and rebuilding a life after unimaginable change.   At the age of 41, Karen became a widow and a solo parent to three children. In the midst of grief, she found herself at the lowest point of her life — yet over time she discovered something powerfu...

In this episode we explore the changing relationship many women experience with alcohol in midlife. Joining us is hypnotherapist Yuki Fragariani from MindWorks Hypnotherapy, who works with women navigating the emotional, physical, and psychological shifts that can happen after 40 Many women don’t identify as having an addiction, yet they begin to notice that alcohol is no longer serving their slee...

In this episode, we are joined by Sarah Gardiner, civil funeral celebrant, death doula, and founder of Echoes of Life. Sarah’s work focuses on helping people approach death, dying and grief in a more human, honest and compassionate way. For many of us, conversations about death only happen in moments of crisis. Yet avoiding the topic can often leave people feeling more isolated, fearful, and unpre...