Episode Summary:

Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on a conversation that many in the spiritual and coaching industries have hesitated to have.

In this special mini-series, Bewitched: Breaking the Spell After Spiritual Mentoring Goes Wrong, we’re talking about what happens when coaching crosses ethical lines, when power imbalances and coercion take hold, and when the very mentorship you sought for expansion becomes a source of harm.

Joining me is my dear friend and the host of Reclaiming Consciousness, Alyse Bacine. Together, we’re sharing our personal journeys through a coaching experience that, in hindsight, held many red flags—financial manipulation, coercive control, and harmful psychological tactics disguised as spiritual mentorship.

This is about more than just one coach or one experience—this is about reclaiming consciousness, recovering from destabilizing dynamics, and moving forward as leaders who uphold integrity in the coaching space.

🔹 How a once-trusted mentor used coercion, manipulation, and power dynamics to keep clients financially and psychologically entangled.

🔹 The subtle and overt ways coercive control appears in coaching spaces, from shaming to sleep deprivation to fabricated crises.

🔹 The impact of high-control coaching on intuition, self-trust, and personal power.

🔹 The role of unresolved trauma in keeping people stuck in unhealthy mentorship dynamics.

🔹 The process of reclaiming sovereignty, grounding back into your own wisdom, and moving forward stronger.

🔹 A deeper conversation on spiritual integrity, ethical leadership, and why these stories must be told.

✨ “If it can happen to us, it can happen to anyone.”

✨ “There was always an enemy, someone out to get her—and we were constantly pulled into the psychodrama.”

✨ “Being in these high-control coaching environments destabilizes you at your core, and you start questioning yourself in ways you never did before.”

✨ “This experience made me even more committed to integrity in my work and helping my clients get real, tangible results.”

• Listen to Alyse Bacine’s Podcast: Reclaiming Consciousness
• Follow along on Instagram: @robynmckayphd | @alyse_breathes
• Interested in trauma-informed coaching and ethical leadership? Stay connected for upcoming conversations and resources.

This episode is an invitation to open your eyes, trust yourself, and have the conversations that matter. Have you experienced a coaching relationship that felt off? How did you navigate it?

Share your thoughts on Instagram and tag us:
📍 @robynmckayphd
📍 @alyse_breathes

If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might need to hear it. The more we bring these stories to light, the more we break the spell.

Thank you for being here—we’ll see you next time. We love you a million.

PS: Mil gracias to The Base Sound for your editing & production genius. They provide a perfect blend of tech, marketing and communication solutions for your brand through business podcasting…and a little more. "Because mediocrity isn’t an option when you’re set to rule the digital world.” You can find them right here: https://thebasesound.com/