Journey Beyond Divorce Podcast

By Karen McMahon

The Journey Beyond Divorce Podcast is your trusted companion through every stage of divorce—emotional, legal, financial, and parental. With over nine years of impactful episodes, this top-ranked podca... more

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How many episodes does Journey Beyond Divorce Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 498 episodes available.

Best of Journey Beyond Divorce Podcast

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Gray Divorce: What Every Man and Woman Over 50 Needs to Know About Retirement, Social Security, and Spousal Support with Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, Andrew Hatherley
Divorce after 50 looks nothing like divorce in your 30s or 40s. Custody battles and parenting plans give way to a different kind of high-stakes negotiation, one centered almost entirely on money: retirement accounts, pensions, Social Security, and spousal support. And with gray divorce rates doubling since 1990 for people over 50, and tripling for those over 65, Karen McMahon believes this is a conversation more couples urgently need. In this episode of the Journey Beyond Divorce Podcast, Karen sits down with Andrew Hatherly, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA), trained mediator, and founder of Transcend Retirement and Wiser Divorce Solutions. Andrew is also the host of The Gray Divorce Podcast, and after navigating his own midlife divorce, has made it his mission to help others understand exactly what's financially at stake before they sign a settlement. Karen and Andrew unpack why gray divorce carries a far higher financial risk than divorce earlier in life, since there's simply less runway to rebuild retirement savings after a late-life split. They explore why bringing a financial expert to the table, alongside an attorney and a divorce coach, is essential in any high conflict divorce, and especially critical when a marriage has spanned decades and retirement accounts, pensions, and home equity are all on the table. The conversation covers what men and women both need to understand about marital property, why "his" retirement account is actually a shared marital asset, and why spousal support calculations vary so widely from state to state. Andrew breaks down a critical but often-overlooked Social Security rule: spouses married 10 years or longer may be entitled to claim benefits based on their former spouse's earnings record, without reducing what their ex-spouse receives, and why couples approaching that 10-year mark should think carefully about timing. They also discuss the tax implications of dividing different types of retirement accounts, why a $500,000 Roth IRA and a $500,000 traditional 401(k) are not actually worth the same in a divorce settlement, and why remarriage can affect spousal support and estate planning decisions down the road. Karen and Andrew close with a candid discussion about what comes after the financial settlement is finalized, and why gray divorce, despite its financial complexity, can also become a powerful catalyst for reinvention, purpose, and a stronger, more intentional third act of life. Whether you're facing high conflict divorce, navigating gray divorce later in life, or are a man trying to understand your financial rights and responsibilities in divorce, this episode offers the financial clarity and strategic insight needed to protect your future and negotiate from a place of knowledge rather than fear. Andrew Hatherly is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA), mediator, and founder of Transcend Retirement and Wiser Divorce Solutions. He is the host of The Gray Divorce Podcast and author of The Gray Divorce Phenomenon, a free guide available at transcendretirement.net. Connect with Andrew: Free Gift: The Gray Divorce Phenomenon, a free guide available at transcendretirement.net. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhatherley/ Podcast: https://www.transcendretirement.net/podcast Resources Mentioned in this Episode: Book a Free Rapid Relief Call: http://rapidreliefcall.com Free Divorce Support Network Gift: https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/jbdpod
August 14, 202644min
Number 2: How to Stop Anxiety from Controlling Your Divorce Decisions with Mindful Drinking Coach, Colleen Freeland Kachmann
If you've ever felt like you can't think straight, can't stop second-guessing yourself, or can't figure out why you keep making decisions you regret, this episode is for you. One of the most damaging and least talked about effects of divorce is what anxiety does to your decision making. Fear takes over, your nervous system goes into overdrive, and suddenly you're not making choices from a clear, grounded place, you're reacting. Most people don't even realize it's happening until the damage is done, and for many, anxiety and alcohol end up feeding each other during this exact chapter of life. Karen sits down with Colleen Freeland Kachmann, a mindful drinking coach, host of the globally top ranked It's Not About the Alcohol podcast, and founder of the Accelerated Recovery Process, to talk about what anxiety is actually doing to your brain during divorce, why so many people reach for alcohol to cope with that anxiety without realizing that's what's happening, and how to get clear, get grounded, and start making decisions you can trust, with or without a drink in hand. They dig into why anxiety and fear take over during divorce and what's actually happening in your nervous system when they do, how anxious drinking during divorce becomes a coping mechanism for dysregulation rather than an actual solution, how to recognize when anxiety is making your decisions for you even when it doesn't feel like anxiety, and what it feels like to make a decision from a calm, grounded place instead of a fearful or alcohol-numbed one. They also talk about the role of emotional sobriety, a concept that applies whether or not alcohol is part of your story, in rebuilding self-trust during and after divorce, and what Colleen's work helping women change their relationship with alcohol taught her about fear, the nervous system, and self-trust that applies directly to divorce recovery. Colleen Freeland Kachmann is a mindful drinking coach and host of the globally top ranked It's Not About the Alcohol podcast. She helps high-achieving professional women reduce their alcohol consumption using holistic, evidence-based strategies in neurophysiology, nervous system regulation, and growth mindset, without willpower or an all-or-nothing approach to alcohol. Colleen is an addiction and recovery-certified master life coach with an MSc in health coaching, a BS in biology and chemistry, and certification as a women's functional and integrative professional. She founded Recover with Colleen, an intensive group coaching program built around her Accelerated Recovery Process. If this conversation resonated, whether it's the divorce anxiety, the drinking, or both, and you're wondering whether coaching support could help, Karen's Rapid Relief Call is a free way to find out. You can also connect with Colleen through her podcast, It's Not About the Alcohol, and her program, Recover with Colleen. Connect with Colleen: Free Gift: COMING SOON TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hangoverwhisperer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehangoverwhisperer Website: https://itsnotaboutthealcohol.com Resources Mentioned in this Podcast: Book a Free Rapid Relief Call: http://rapidreliefcall.com Free Divorce Support Network Gift: https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/jbdpod
September 14, 202649min
Number 3: 10 Year Anniversary Episode: High Conflict Relationships: Self-Love Deficit, Delusions & Boundaries
To celebrate a decade of Journey Beyond Divorce, we're sharing a special collection of episodes featuring Karen McMahon as a guest on some of her favorite podcasts. Over the years, Karen has joined incredible hosts across the divorce, coaching, and personal growth space to share her story and her expertise. This collection brings those conversations together in one place, offering a look at Karen's voice and message from a different angle, through the eyes of the hosts who welcomed her. Thank you for being part of this journey, and for helping Journey Beyond Divorce grow into what it is today. Karen McMahon on the Self-Love Recovery Podcast with Ross Rosenberg In this episode, originally recorded for the Self-Love Recovery podcast, host Ross Rosenberg, M.Ed., LCPC, CADC sits down with Karen McMahon, Chief Visionary and High Conflict Divorce Coach with Journey Beyond Divorce, for an in-depth conversation on high conflict relationships. Together they explore the behaviors and reactions that define these dynamics, from a self-love deficit at their root to the delusions that can keep people stuck, and why setting boundaries is so essential to breaking the cycle. Ross brings decades of clinical expertise in codependency, trauma, and narcissistic abuse to the conversation, while Karen offers her perspective on how these patterns show up in divorce and relationship transitions. Ross is a psychotherapist, educator, and author of The Human Magnet Syndrome, and founder of the Self-Love Recovery Institute, which he created in 2013 as a hub for personal development, workshops, and professional training. Learn more about Ross Rosenberg and the Self-Love Recovery Institute at selfloverecovery.com, and listen to the Self-Love Recovery podcast on all major platforms. Podcast: https://www.selfloverecovery.com/pages/podcast YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/RossRosenberg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCodependencyCure Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rossrosenberg_slri Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/RossRosenberg1 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rossrosenberg
September 08, 202636min
Number 4: How High-Conflict Childhoods Shape Adult Children with Dr. Sharon Martin, DSW, LCSW
High-conflict divorce doesn't end when the papers are signed. It lives on in the next generation, and often in the very patterns adults bring into their own marriages. In this episode, Karen McMahon sits down with Dr. Sharon Martin to unpack how growing up in a dysfunctional or high-conflict home quietly shapes the adults those children become, showing up years later as codependency, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and conflict avoidance. Karen and Dr. Martin trace how a child's instinct to stay safe around unpredictable or explosive parents can calcify into lifelong habits of self-abandonment, and why so many adults find themselves recreating the very dynamics they swore they'd leave behind. The conversation moves into practical territory, too, exploring what healthy boundaries actually look like, how they differ for a difficult parent versus a difficult boss or friend, and why self-compassion is the starting point for breaking the cycle rather than the reward at the end of it. Karen shares personal stories from her own divorce and parenting journey, and listeners walk away with concrete ways to spot these patterns in themselves and in their children, and real tools to begin interrupting them now. Dr. Sharon Martin is a licensed psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience helping adult children of dysfunctional families untangle the long-term effects of their upbringing, and the author of several self-help books along with a free re-parenting guide available on her website. Connect with Dr. Sharon Website: https://livewellwithsharonmartin.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharonmartinlcsw/, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_sharon_martin/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SharonMartin Free Gift: 12 Tips for Overcoming Perfectionism (one of over 30 self-help tools available in my free resource library): https://www.livewellwithsharonmartin.com/free/ Resources Mentioned in this Episode: Book a Free Rapid Relief Call: http://rapidreliefcall.com Free Divorce Support Network Gift: https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/jbdpod
August 25, 202644min
Number 5: How to Start the Divorce Process... What Most People Get Wrong
You've made the decision, or maybe it's been made for you. Either way, most people do what feels urgent: call a lawyer in a panic, tell their spouse too soon, move out of the house without thinking it through. Those early moves can follow you through the whole process. In this episode, Karen McMahon shares the five essentials to get right before you file, so you move forward with clarity and a plan instead of fear. First, investigate your legal rights, talk to a matrimonial attorney in your jurisdiction before you do anything else, so you understand where you stand on finances, assets, and custody. Second, share the decision strategically, using the BIFF approach (brief, informative, firm, friendly) and a real plan for timing and safety. Third, redefine home life, someone moves out of the master bedroom, and new household rules go into place so your actions match your words. Fourth, tell the kids with a simple, age-appropriate message: we love you, it's going to be okay, you'll still see both of us. Fifth, create a temporary parenting plan and trial a shared schedule, which becomes valuable data for negotiating custody later. Karen also covers whether you actually need a lawyer (almost always, yes) and how to file. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Smart Start Pre-Divorce Checklist: https://www.jbddivorcesupport.com/pre-divorce-checklist Explore Divorce Support Network: https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/ Book a Rapid Relief Call: https://www.jbddivorcesupport.com/rapid-relief-call
August 19, 202631min