The Recovery Couch

What happens when everything the world calls success leaves you feeling empty? In this deeply personal episode of The Recovery Couch, host Brandon Couch welcomes Nataly Restokian, a multi-award-winning author, certified life and wellness coach, and former actress and journalist, for an extraordinary conversation about trauma, addiction, faith, and redemption. Growing up in war-torn Beirut, Nataly...

Everybody loves a comeback story. But what people don't always talk about is how hard that comeback actually is. Denny Matthews is back on The Recovery Couch, and this time we're talking about what life looks like after a relapse. After 20 months of sobriety, Denny found himself right back in a battle he thought he'd overcome. Now he's dealing with the emotional aftermath, the loss of his job, ser...

What happens when someone who has spent 20 months rebuilding their life in recovery suddenly relapses? In this deeply personal episode of The Recovery Couch, Brandon Couch welcomes back Denny Matthews for his third appearance. But this conversation is different. Just days before recording, Denny relapsed after 20 months of sobriety. What began with physical pain and prescription opioids quickly es...

Everybody loves a redemption story. But what happens when the person asking for a second chance has a criminal record, a history of drug addiction, or a past that makes people uncomfortable? In this powerful episode of The Recovery Couch, Brandon Couch challenges society's attitudes toward addiction recovery, incarceration, forgiveness, and second chances. As a recovering addict, convicted felon,...

What if getting sober is only the beginning? In John 11, Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb. Lazarus is alive again — but he's still wrapped in the grave clothes he was buried in. That hit me hard. Because that's what recovery has looked like in my own life. Jesus brought me back to life, but getting sober didn't automatically remove the shame, resentment, fear, pride, guilt, survival instincts a...

What are hallucinogens and psychedelics, how do they affect perception, and why have humans used them for thousands of years? In this episode of The Recovery Couch, Brandon Couch continues the Learning Together series with an educational examination of hallucinogens and psychedelics. We explore psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, mescaline, DMT, LSD, PCP, morning glory seeds, nightshade plants, nutmeg,...

David Jarvis went from serving 21 years in the British Army to facing a life-threatening Type 1 diabetes diagnosis—and then winning a gold medal at the Invictus Games. In this episode of The Recovery Couch, David shares how resilience, accountability, and adaptability helped him navigate some of the biggest transitions of his life. After being medically discharged from the British Army, David foun...

What really causes addiction? When we talk about addiction, we often start with the substance—heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, marijuana, or something else. But focusing exclusively on the drug can cause us to miss a much bigger question: Why did that person need to escape in the first place? In this episode of The Recovery Couch, Brandon Couch explores the underlying causes of...

Denny Matthews returns to The Recovery Couch to talk about something people rarely associate with sobriety: actually enjoying life again. Now 18 months sober, Denny shares how close he came to death before entering treatment, what surrendering to God looked like for him, and how recovery has helped him rebuild relationships, rediscover his personality, and find gratitude in the simple things he on...

What happens when you're sober, rebuilding your life, pursuing your purpose—and you still can't find peace? In this personal monologue episode of The Recovery Couch, Brandon Couch opens up about a difficult season of anxiety, depression, isolation, self-pity, spiritual frustration, and the warning signs that can become dangerous in addiction recovery. After experiencing growth in his business and...

For eight years, Dawn Mannion experienced homelessness while battling addiction. Today, she's sober, an author, rebuilding relationships with her children, and using her story to help others understand a world most people never truly see. In this powerful episode of The Recovery Couch, Dawn shares her journey from childhood exposure to alcohol and cocaine through methamphetamine addiction, IV drug...

Getting sober doesn't automatically repair everything addiction destroyed. In this raw solo episode of The Recovery Couch, Brandon Couch opens up about one of the hardest realities of addiction recovery: learning to forgive yourself while still accepting the consequences of the person you became during active addiction. After nearly two years of sobriety, Brandon finds himself wrestling with recov...

Denny’s journey through heroin addiction took him into some of the darkest moments of his life—but his story didn’t end there. In this powerful episode of The Recovery Couch, Denny opens up about his childhood, his first experience with heroin, overdose, and the battle to break free from addiction. He shares how questioning God eventually led to a profound spiritual awakening and a new understandi...

What happens when you've done everything you're supposed to do—and you're still hurting? In this raw solo episode, Brandon Couch shares the emotional reality of recovery after more than 103 weeks of sobriety. He discusses the loneliness that can follow addiction, the pain of broken relationships, recovery stigma, the difference between being heard and being corrected, and why emotional healing oft...

Brandon Couch flips the mic on himself in this solo episode of The Recovery Couch, opening up about the fear of not knowing what's next — in recovery, in business, and in life. He traces the origin of both the podcast and its parent company, True Story Media, and gets honest about the doubts, growth pains, and faith that have carried him through 17-plus months of sobriety-fueled entrepreneurship....

What if healing from addiction started with your cells, not just your mindset? In this episode of The Recovery Couch, host Brandon Couch sits down with Debbie Schmitmeyer, owner of Prime IV Hydration and Wellness in Springboro, Ohio, to break down how IV therapy, vitamin injections, and cryotherapy can support the body during recovery from addiction and beyond. Debbie spent 15 years in pharmaceuti...

In this episode of The Recovery Couch, host Brandon Couch talks with Kenneth O'Neal, a behavioral health technician in Shreveport, Louisiana, about his 15-year battle with opiate addiction, homelessness, and the legal system — and the surrender that finally led to sobriety on January 12, 2024. Kenneth shares candidly about losing a college scholarship, his brother's overdose death, unknowingly ing...

Jason Creery spent 30 years battling heroin and meth addiction and over 22 years homeless on the streets of Seattle, Texas, and Florida — surviving violence, addiction, and unimaginable loss. Today he's 11 months sober from alcohol, years clean from heroin, happily married, in school to become a counselor, and just published his memoir, "Breaking the Chains." In this raw, faith-centered conversati...

Is addiction really an incurable brain disease — or is it a spiritual yoke that can be fully broken? In this episode of The Recovery Couch, host Brandon Couch sits down with author Thomas W. Pohl to unpack his book "Deliverance from Addiction: Breaking the Yoke and Healing the Hurt." Thomas shares the difference between recovery and deliverance, why he believes addiction is rooted in unresolved tr...

In this episode of the Learning Together series on The Recovery Couch, host Brandon Couch continues reviewing the Getting Ready to Test preparation manual for drug and alcohol credentialing examinations — breaking down one of the most misunderstood drug categories: All-Arounders. Unlike depressants or stimulants, all-arounders — also known as hallucinogens or psychedelics — have the unique ability...

Alisha Bond was six years sober when she told herself one glass of wine couldn't hurt. She tried meth the same night — and the next five years took her home, her career, custody of her son, and her fiancé, who died of an overdose soon after prison. In this raw conversation with host Brandon Couch, Alisha (@LivingFreeWithAJ) traces relapse after long-term sobriety, meth and opioid addiction, a 52-m...

In this episode, Alicia Bond shares her powerful journey from childhood struggles and addiction to recovery and motherhood. Her story highlights resilience, faith, and the importance of community support in overcoming life's darkest moments. Alicia Bond shares her powerful journey through addiction, recovery, and self-love, highlighting the importance of compassion, mental health, and community su...

In this raw and unflinching episode of The Recovery Couch, host Brandon Couch sits down with his cousin Cooper Jackson to revisit one of the most traumatic nights of their family's life — the night 19-year-old Codi Jackson was shot and killed during a $20 marijuana robbery in Xenia, Ohio in March 2011. Cooper was 15 years old and sitting right next to his brother when it happened. Cooper opens up...

What happens when a mother watches her son slowly lose himself to addiction—and ultimately loses him to fentanyl poisoning? In Part 1 of this emotional conversation, Brandon Couch welcomes Christina Daley to The Recovery Couch to share the story of her son Blake's battle with addiction, mental illness, alcohol abuse, and recovery attempts before his tragic overdose death. Christina provides a rare...

In Episode 250 of The Recovery Couch, Brandon sits down with Christina Daley — a mother  who lost her son Blake to a fentanyl-laced cocaine overdose.  Blake was funny, charming, and loved by everyone around him. But behind that smile was  a teenager battling self-harm, anxiety, and addiction that a broken mental health system  repeatedly failed to treat. In Part 1, Christina shares: ✔️ The warning...