Most people hear the word codependence and think: not me. But codependence isn't reserved for people in crisis or recovery – it's a spectrum, and most of us are somewhere on it. In Part 1, we look at what codependence actually is through the HOCI framework, and introduce five patterns that most people will recognize in themselves.

In this episode we will discuss:

We're not diagnosing. We're getting curious.

I've been doing the work. I've read the books, sat in the sessions, had the hard conversations. And then something happens -- and I find myself right back in a pattern I thought I was done with. What is wrong with me? Am I ever going to get there?

If you've asked that question, this episode is for you.

"Am I fully healed?" is one of the most common questions that surfaces in therapy -- usually from the people who are working the hardest. Today we sit inside that question rather than rush past it. We look at what healing actually is through the lens of the Healing Our Core Issues (HOCI) framework, why the pattern coming back doesn't mean you're starting over, and how to be in a lifelong journey without it crushing you.

In this episode:

The goal isn't to arrive. It's to become more yourself, more of the time.

Reflection question to carry with you: How is your relationship to the thing you've struggled with longest different today than it was two years ago -- even subtly?

Encountering You is a faith-informed podcast about mental health, healing, and the work of becoming more yourself.

Many of us grow up assuming marriage is simply the next step in life. But what happens when that story doesn’t unfold the way we expected?

In this episode, we explore the quiet disappointment many people carry regarding relationship status: whether that’s longing to be married, navigating singleness, divorce, dating later in life than expected, or feeling lonely within a marriage.

We also talk about how cultural and church messages around marriage can intensify this grief. When something is framed as inevitable, not experiencing it can feel like falling behind or missing something essential.

Using insights from attachment research, we explore why relational disappointment can feel so personal and painful, and how to separate grief from shame.

In this episode we explore:

1. Why relationship disappointment runs so deep

2. How cultural and church messages shape expectations around marriage

3. Attachment and the human need for connection

4. Hold longing without tying it to your worth

In this episode, Laura explores the difference between judgement and curiosity—and why learning to regulate our judgement is essential for becoming grounded, healthy adults. She explains how judgement is biologically protective, when it’s necessary for safety, and when it crosses into harmful territory. Laura then offers a roadmap for shifting from judgement to curiosity while holding ethical boundaries for ourselves and others.

If you’ve ever found yourself judging too quickly—or judging yourself even more harshly—this episode invites you into compassion, clarity, and deeper relational awareness for yourself and others.

In this episode of Encountering You, Laura Williams explains why nervous system regulation isn’t about being calm, positive, or emotionally controlled. Regulation is about your ability to stay present with stress, emotion, and discomfort without shutting down or becoming reactive.

You’ll learn how fight, flight, freeze, and fawn show up in everyday life, why dysregulation isn’t a failure, and how regulation grows through compassion, repetition, and safe connection.