The Kelley Kitley Podcast

Cohen Miles-Rath is a fellow social worker, speaker, and mental health advocate whose nearly fatal mental health crisis transformed his life and clarified his purpose: to strengthen our mental health systems and deepen our collective understanding of mental illness and recovery. He’s the author of Mending Reality: An Advocate’s Existential Journey with Mental Health. I learned about Cohen listenin...

Christie Tate is an essayist and author who writes creative nonfiction and memoir. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Group , which was a Reese’s Book Club selection and has been translated into 19 languages. She is also the author of B.F.F.-- A Memoir of Friendship Lost & Found. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, McSweeney’s Inter...

Tricia Sims became a sobriety podcast trailblazer in 2018 when she created the Recovery Happy Hour podcast and since then has archived 139 episodes! Each conversation celebrates inspiring stories of recovery from alcohol addiction and gray area alcohol abuse. She and her guests look at life beyond the bottle and what's current in sober culture. Kitley was a guest on Episode #12 of Recovery Happy H...

Riley Whelan is a prominent TikTok creator, sober advocate, and shares content about addiction recovery, ADHD, emotional sobriety, relapse, and the importance of community. Her audience grew through candid videos mixing humor, vulnerability, and recovery education. As a young person, (29 years old) with three years of recovery, one of her videos has 6.7 million views after sharing her story of rel...

Mary Tilson is a Certified Professional Recovery Coach (IAPRC) with a Master’s Degree in the Psychology & Neuroscience of Mental Health. She draws on a holistic background, which includes Somatic Experiencing, a body-based approach to healing trauma and stress-related disorders and over a decade of experience as a Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher. Having experienced drug and alcohol addiction firsthand,...

Caroline Beidler is an author, speaker, and the Managing Editor of Recovery.com , a company that combines independent research with expert guidance on addiction and mental health treatment. Our mission is to help everyone find the best path to recovery through the most comprehensive, helpful network of treatment providers worldwide. She is the author of three books, When You Love Someone in Recove...

Hilary Phelps spent a long time being a woman who appeared to function — who had the family, the work, the life that looked like something — while quietly managing something she didn’t want to name. The perfectionism. The performing. The slow, creeping sense that the version of herself everyone saw wasn’t the whole story. Alcohol was part of it. So were the choices she made to keep disappearing in...

Women for Sobriety: Experiencing a life-threatening problem with alcohol or another drug is not a moral weakness. It is a serious disorder that demands rigorous attention to healing. Founded by a sociologist, Jean Kirkpatrick, Ph. D., in 1975, who believed that women face unique challenges in overcoming addiction, the WFS New Life Program is specifically designed to help women overcome guilt, depr...

Nikki Soda owns Sodas Consulting with her husband Jim and is a highly accomplished advocate and strategic marketer with a strong background in the behavioral health field. She possesses an MS in Addiction Policy from Georgetown University and has amassed 10 years of experience in this domain. In this episode Nikki shares her experience, strength, and hope as a woman in long term recovery, recently...

Rosemary O’Connor is the Founder of A Sober Mom’s Guide to Recovery , a consultant for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation , and a leading pioneer, expert, and spokesperson on mothers, children, and addiction. Rosemary has a B.A. in psychology. She is also a Certified Professional Coach, a Certified Addiction Coach, and a Certified She-Recovers Coach. O’Connor is a woman in long- term recovery with...

“A gripping, firsthand story of personal triumph and recovery by a wealthy American housewife who appeared to have it all but who was, in reality, losing life’s most important moments in an alcohol-induced haze.” (Hazeldon Betty Ford, publisher) Brenda Wilhelmson was like a lot of women in her neighborhood. She had a husband and two children. She was educated and made a good living as a writer. Sh...

Casey McGuire Davidson is a life and sobriety coach and host of the Top 100 Mental Health Podcast, The Hello Someday Podcast for sober curious women and gray area drinkers. Casey helps busy women quit drinking and create lives they love without alcohol. She’s a wife, a mom, a practical dreamer, retired corporate ladder climber, recovering people-pleaser and ex-red wine drinker, who’s been known to...

Alysse Bryson is almost 20 years sober!! She’s an award-winning media executive, founder, and cultural voice redefining modern sobriety. Through The Sober Curator, she built a global platform that’s reached over 1.1 million people seeking to live boldly in recovery. In this episode Alysse shares her experience, strength, and hope as a woman in long term recovery, how she used to identify as a “pro...

Heather Lowe, BSW, CPRC, CPC, CFAA-HR, PHR started Ditched the Drink because she knows what it feels like to look successful on the outside while feeling stuck in unhealthy patterns on the inside. She was filled with feelings, doubts, and questions too. There’s nothing wrong with you if alcohol feels different now. These are signals, not failures, and they’re pointing you toward another way. In th...

If you have pre-teen/teenage children, this is a MUST listen! In this episode, Kelley and Emma discuss what lead to her suicide attempt, her recovery both mentally and physically, how she takes care of her mental health today, and her beautiful purpose driven life. Emma Benoit is a Mental Health Advocate and Suicide Attempt Survivor who is an uplifting, nationally recognized speaker who became ext...

Carla Sosenko is the author of I’ll Look So Hot in a Coffin: and Other Thoughts I Used to Have About My Body, US Weekly executive editor at large, whose work has appeared in New York Times, Time Out New York, (where she was editor in chief), Entertainment Weekly, (where she was executive editor), Cosmopolitan, and other publications. In this episode Kitley and Cosenko discuss her “unconventional b...

It’s March 1st and Social Work Month! I’m a proud social worker who’s been in the field for the past twenty-five years. I’m grateful to my fellow social workers who show up everyday to make a difference in the lives of others. One month from today, on April 1st, in honor of Alcohol Awareness Month, I’ll be releasing the 2nd edition of MY self: An Autobiography of Survival, Recovery, & Empowerment....

Joan Lunden is one of America's most trusted and beloved broadcasters, best known for her iconic role as the longtime host of Good Morning America where she inspired millions each morning with her warmth, intelligence, and authenticity. She’s also a NYT Best-Selling author off 11 books, speaker, health advocate, and THE eternal optimist. She’s a wife, mom of 7, and grandma (JoJo) to 4 grandchildre...

Nicolle Hallman is a teacher, mother, and debut author of ‘Love, Katie.’ We’re so lucky her daughter Katie joins us, a Manasquan, NJ legend! In this special Valentine episode, we discuss compassion, community & joy! Nicolle shares her journey as a mom raising three kids with her husband David, one with special needs and their determination to learn her communication style, fears, and anxieties. Th...

Dr. Desi Bartlett is a leading women’s health expert, internationally published author, and creator of The BodyMind Workout™, a trademarked system that unites yoga, fitness, and meditation. With 30 years of experience, she was honored as the 2025 IDEA™ Fitness Leader of the Year and was recently named #1 in MSN’s Top 10 Health Voices Helping People Feel Better. In this episode Kelley and Desiree d...

Rachel Goldman , Ph. D., FTOS, FASMBS-IH (widely known as Dr. Rachel ) is a nationally recognized licensed psychologist, speaker, author, and media contributor specializing in the mind-body connection. With expertise in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and a holistic approach to health, she focuses on stress management, eating behaviors, obesity treatment, and health behavior change. In this epi...

Nadine Machkovech helps communities talk about the things that actually save lives. ​​​​​​​​​Too often, people walk around with good intentions but no place to process the real stuff — burnout, shame, identity loss, survival mode, disconnection. My work cuts through performance and inspiration to help people feel lighter, think more clearly, and live more whole lives. Her approach blends lived exp...

As an end of life resource guide, doula, ceremonialist, willow casket weaver and founder of We Too Shall Pass, Tiffany Johnson fosters tenderness, grace, and expertise in addressing end of life needs. With a core belief in dignity, her mission is to empower individuals to craft their unique end-of-life journey and to offer solace for the dying and their loved ones. She is passionate about staying...

Scilla Andreen is the Founder and CEO of Impactful Networks. She blends brain science, storytelling, and prevention to help people understand what’s happening in their minds and bodies and learn how to self-regulate before a crisis hits. *This episode covers sensitive topics such as loss, death by suicide and death by cancer. Scilla is the mother of 6 adult children and shares her grieving journey...

Sarah Spain is an an award winning sports journalist who’s been with ESPN for over 15 years. She’s also the host of the first and only women’s daily podcast about women’s sports, Good Game with Sarah Spain. She co-authored (with Deland McCullough, RB coach for the Raiders) Runs in the Family : An incredible true story of football, fatherhood, and belonging. Spain is also a TV Personality, Activist...