In this episode of The Healing Mothers’ Club, I’m joined by IFS therapist and Human Design strategist Caitlan Siegenthaler for a fascinating conversation at the intersection of trauma work, nervous system awareness, and Human Design.

Caitlan shares how Human Design entered her therapy practice and how it can function as a powerful tool for self-understanding—especially for mothers navigating burnout, guilt, and the pressure to constantly be “on.” Rather than treating Human Design as a rigid framework or parenting manual, Caitlan reframes it as a compassion manual: a way to understand your unique energy, decision-making style, and nervous system patterns. Together, we explore how integrating Human Design with parts work approaches like Internal Family Systems (IFS) can help explain long-held beliefs, reduce mom guilt, and create more harmony between parents and their children.

This conversation also touches on how certain childhood labels—like being “too much” or “dramatic”—can connect to trauma patterns we later see in therapy. When we understand our energetic design and emotional wiring, we can begin to release those narratives and support both ourselves and our children with more compassion.

In this episode, we talk about:

1. How Human Design can serve as a compassion manual for mothers rather than a parenting rulebook
2. The five Human Design energy types and how they influence parenting, energy levels, and burnout
3. How integrating Human Design with trauma work and parts work can help explain negative core beliefs and reduce mom guilt

CONNECT WITH CAITLAN:

Get the free mini course on making decisions easy with with IFS and Human Design

Book a Human Design reading

Connect with Caitlan on Instagram

Listen to Return the podcast

CONNECT WITH DANIK:

Book your FREE coaching consultation (open worldwide)

Book your FREE therapy consultation(Ontario + Quebec, Canada only)

Get on the coaching newsletter so you don’t miss special offerings and discounts

Connect with Danik on Instagram

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is not meant to replace psychotherapy from a licensed mental health professional, does not give medical advice, is not a mental health assessment tool, and does not provide a diagnosis. This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only.

If you identify as an adult daughter of Emotionally Immature Parents or Narcissistic Parents, you know deep in your bones how it feels to be an inconvenience and to be chosen dead last (or completely ignored). And if you've entered motherhood or have considered becoming a mom, you probably heard the mainstream self-care messaging for moms: take care of yourself, choose yourself first. On one hand, you want to break the cycle of trauma, and on the other hand, you know just because you become a mom doesn't mean you suddenly stop having to meet your own needs. So how do we juggle it all without becoming our self-absorbed mother?

Danik answers in this first episode of season 2.

Meet Danik 1:1 for FREE (open worldwide)

Therapy for Ontario + Quebec residents 🇨🇦

Follow Danik on Instagram, @healingmothersclub

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DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is not meant to replace psychotherapy from a licensed mental health professional, does not give medical advice, is not a mental health assessment tool, and does not provide a diagnosis. This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only.

In this episode, Danik shares the full story of her great-grandmother Simone, who was institutionalized in the early 1950s in rural French Ontario, and explores how intergenerational trauma can live on in our bodies decades later. Through archival medical records, family history, and lived experience as a mother, Danik weaves together epigenetics, patriarchy, psychiatric violence, and motherhood—revealing how trauma, abandonment wounds, and survival patterns are passed down, and how awareness can become the beginning of healing.

In this episode, we explore:

1. Simone’s institutionalization, medical trauma, and the reality of motherhood under 1950s patriarchal systems
2. How intergenerational trauma and epigenetics can show up in motherhood, anxiety, and the nervous system
3. Why understanding our ancestors’ stories can release long-held emotional and somatic wounds

If this episode resonated, follow Danik on Instagram @danikhelpsmoms where she shares ongoing series on intergenerational trauma, cycle-breaking, and nervous system-informed motherhood. And if you’re beginning your own healing journey, consider what support you need to safely explore your family history—you don’t have to do this alone.

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is not meant to replace psychotherapy from a licensed mental health professional, does not give medical advice, is not a mental health assessment tool, and does not provide a diagnosis. This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only.

In this episode of The Healing Mothers’ Club, Danik is joined by bilingual educator and child development consultant Natasha Demers to explore how a child’s environment directly impacts behavior, regulation, and family stress—especially after the holidays. Together, they unpack how toy overload, clutter, and overstimulation can lead to dysregulation, and how intentional, values-based home setups can support calmer play, independence, and nervous system safety for both kids and parents.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How clutter, toy overload, and overstimulation affect children’s behavior and regulation
• Simple, realistic toy rotation and home setup strategies for small or open-concept spaces
• Letting go of guilt around purging, donating, or storing toys in different seasons of parenting

Connect with Natasha :

• On Facebook, Child Development Consultant
• On Instagram, @natashademers
• By email: [email protected]

✨NERVOUS SYSTEM REGULATION DURING TANTRUMS: Get your FREE consultation

Connect with Danik :

• On Instagram, @danikhelpsmoms
• Join the newsletter here

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is not meant to replace psychotherapy from a licensed mental health professional, does not give medical advice, is not a mental health assessment tool, and does not provide a diagnosis. This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only.

Breaking generational cycles not only for ourselves, but for our whole family❤️‍🩹

Welcome back to the Healing Mothers' Club! Today is a guest episode with Radha Dalal, M.A., and soon-to-be LMFT! We talk about:

• What it feels like to break generational cycles as daughters of immigrants and South Asian women;
• What we need to create safety when feeling pressured;
• How to confidently write our own story (as Radha says, "you're the author, not the aunties"!)

Connect with Radha:

• On Instagram, @radhathetherapist
• Website: radhadalal.com
• Podcast: The Pink Rose Pod

Connect with Danik:

• On Instagram, @danikhelpsmoms
• Website: danikbernier.com
• Get your FREE coaching consultation here

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is not meant to replace psychotherapy from a licensed mental health professional, does not give medical advice, is not a mental health assessment tool, and does not provide a diagnosis. This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only.

Today on the Healing Mothers' Club, we get real about what it takes to actually create and uphold boundaries with your children's toxic grandparents. If your children's grandparents fall somewhere on the emotional immaturity spectrum, chances are they have displayed toxic behaviours -- and the holidays can be the perfect storm for unhinged emotionally immature behaviour.

Most blogs and Instagram reels will suggest you clearly communicate your boundary. But unfortunately, when dealing with emotionally immature people, we just can't expect our demand for respect will be met.

In this episode, we cover :

• The fact that setting and upholding boundaries is probably still something that is very new. For most adult children of emotionally immature parents, setting and upholding boundaries is something they start contemplating when having children.
• How simply sticking with boundary scripts can set you up for a full blown trauma response (we aim for a trauma recall here, very different)
• How EMDR-inspired coaching cultivates the inner safety needed to effectively enforce boundaries so you can prove to yourself that YOU are the safe adult in your life.

Connect with Danik!

• On Instagram, @danikhelpsmoms
• Join my coaching newsletter so you don't miss special announcements!

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is not meant to replace psychotherapy from a licensed mental health professional, does not give medical advice, is not a mental health assessment tool, and does not provide a diagnosis. This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only.

Welcome back to the Healing Mothers Club! Have you ever wondered why popular parenting hacks don't work for your child who presents with signs of Autism? This episode is for you. Dr. Carolyn Solo, PhD, LCSW joins the club and shares:

• How her personal journey raising 3 daughters, one of whom is PDA Autistic, led her to a complete shift in parenting - from behavioural approaches to nervous system approaches;
• What PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance or, as we like to call it, Pervasive Drive for Autonomy) is all about and how to accommodate the nervous system;
• How she was able to find safety within, despite going against what parenting professionals recommended + traditional schooling

Connect with Carolyn:

• On Instagram for EMDR therapy
• On Instagram for EMDR intensives business coaching
• Listen to her podcast, Future Template Parent if you're an EMDR therapist curious about offering intensives in your practice
• Download her free guide if you're an EMDR therapist curious about intensives

Connect with Danik:

• On Instagram
• Download the free guide to Anger + Regulation

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Rabbi Shoshana, The PDA Safe Circle
• PDA North America
• Casey Ehrlich, Ph.D., At Peace Parents
• Amanda Diekman, Low Demand Parenting

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is not meant to replace psychotherapy from a licensed mental health professional, does not give medical advice, is not a mental health assessment tool, and does not provide a diagnosis. This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only.

In this solo episode of The Healing Mothers’ Club, Danik continues the conversation from the previous episode about why time-outs are not trauma-informed — and dives deeper into what it truly means to self-regulate as a mom with trauma. She explains how to build a baseline of inner safety so that you can stay regulated when your kids have big emotions or unwanted behaviours. You’ll learn why most popular parenting hacks don’t work for moms with trauma, what nervous system regulation actually looks like, and why timing is everything when it comes to feeling safe enough to co-regulate with your child.

In this episode, Danik talks about:

• Why cognitive and "quick fix" parenting tools don't work when your nervous system doesn't feel safe
• The difference between top-down and bottom-up nervous system regulation
• Why the timing of your regulation practice is more important than the tools you use

❤️‍🩹 Let's have a free, 1:1 chat about your parenting struggles and strategize (no obligation)

You can connect with the host on Instagram, @danikhelpsmoms

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is not meant to replace psychotherapy from a licensed mental health professional, does not give medical advice, is not a mental health assessment tool, and does not provide a diagnosis. This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only.

Welcome to the first episode of the first official season of the Healing Mothers’ Club podcast! I’m your host, Danik Bernier, fellow healing mom of 2, Certified EMDR therapist, EMDR consultant-in-training, and parenting coach for moms with childhood trauma wanting to break the cycle. Today, we kick off the new season by answering one of the most frequently unanswered questions on the most popular parenting accounts on Instagram: if I can’t give my kid a time-out, what should I do with them when they were intentionally "bad" ?

I break this down with as much nuance as possible :

• I explain the reason why time-outs became so popular and why they are now considered an ineffective and potentially traumatizing parenting tool
• I answer the question by explaining why co-regulation is what makes most sense on a nervous system level
• I go in detail as to what you can expect when using co-regulation as your go-to tool for big feelings AND unwanted behaviours (intentional or not)

✨Get your FREE + UNIQUE parenting strategy today by scheduling a free (no obligation) consultation with me. We’ll also discuss if coaching is right for you. Click here to schedule.

Next week we’ll talk about self-regulation and how good parenting starts with a baseline for inner safety.

Follow me on Instagram: @danikhelpsmoms

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is not meant to replace psychotherapy from a licensed mental health professional, does not give medical advice, is not a mental health assessment tool, and does not provide a diagnosis. This podcast is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only.

Updates, announcements, and trauma-informed parenting coaching offered worldwide!

Schedule your free, no obligation virtual consultation to plan your parenting + nervous system strategy 1:1 with Danik to see if coaching is right for you. Click here to schedule.

✨We'll meet for Season 1 on November 3rd

🇫🇷 Francophones and French-speakers: The podcast Mères Conscientes will drop soon. More details to come 👀

Thank you for being here❤️