What happens when love stops respecting boundaries?

In the season finale of Once Upon a Session, we’re stepping into the world of dark romance to explore boundaries, obsession, control, and the complicated line between intensity and intimacy.

Through Ryat Archer from The Ritual by Shantel Tessier and Zade Meadows from Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton, we examine relationships where desire is intense, boundaries are blurred, and behaviors that would raise serious concerns in real life become part of the fantasy on the page.

We unpack what these characters can teach us about consent, possessiveness, power, and why fictional relationships can be compelling without becoming a blueprint for healthy love.

Because you can enjoy the fantasy without romanticizing the reality.

And sometimes the most important boundary is knowing the difference between the two.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but not your therapists. This podcast is for reflection and conversation, not a substitute for therapy.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session as we close the book on Season One—and get ready for more stories, psychology, and healing in Season Two.

What happens when the life you planned is no longer the life you get?

In this episode of Once Upon a Session, we explore the grief of imagined futures—the careers, relationships, identities, and versions of ourselves that never had the chance to exist.

Through Violet Sorrengail from Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, we examine two very different responses to a life that didn’t unfold as expected.

Violet is forced to abandon the future she spent years preparing for and slowly learns to find meaning in a path she never would have chosen. Snape remains emotionally attached to the life he believes he could have had, allowing grief, regret, and unresolved love to shape the person he becomes.

Because sometimes the hardest thing to let go of isn’t the past.

It’s the future we thought was supposed to be ours.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but not your therapists. This podcast is for reflection and conversation, not a substitute for therapy.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session for new episodes exploring stories, psychology, and healing.

Family isn’t always the people we’re born to.

Sometimes it’s the people who choose us, protect us, and remind us that we belong.

In this episode, we explore the psychology of found family through Feyre Archeron from A Court of Thorns and Roses and the magical children of The House in the Cerulean Sea. We unpack how healing relationships can challenge old beliefs, create emotional safety, and show us that love isn’t defined by blood—it’s built through trust, acceptance, and belonging.

Because sometimes the family that changes your life is the one you find along the way.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but not your therapists. This podcast is for reflection and conversation, not a substitute for therapy.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session for new episodes exploring stories, psychology, and healing.

Fear of abandonment isn’t just about being afraid of someone leaving.

Sometimes it becomes the reason we lose ourselves trying to make them stay.

In this episode, we explore fear of abandonment and codependency through Lily from It Ends With Us and Molly from Where’s Molly. Together, their stories reveal how early attachment wounds, trauma, and insecurity can blur the line between love and dependence—and why walking away can feel impossible, even when a relationship is causing harm.

Because healing isn’t about convincing someone else to stay.

It’s about learning that healthy love doesn’t require abandoning yourself.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but we’re not your therapists. Everything shared here is for conversation, reflection, and entertainment.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session for new episodes where two therapists turn their TBR pile into treatment plans—and every story becomes a session.

What if one book leaves you questioning what’s real… while the other asks you to question the life you’re living?

In this Lit in Lit episode, Vanessa dives into Verity by Colleen Hoover, exploring unreliable narration, manipulation, and the psychology of perception, while Nareesa unpacks The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, examining regret, possibility, and what it means to find purpose in an imperfect life.

Together, these stories invite us to explore two very different questions: Can we trust what we believe?And what if the life we have is enough?

Because sometimes the greatest plot twists don’t change the story…

They change the way we see ourselves.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but we’re not your therapists. Everything shared here is for conversation, reflection, and entertainment.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session for new episodes where two therapists turn their TBR pile into treatment plans—and every story becomes a session.

Love triangles aren’t always about choosing between two people.

Sometimes they’re about choosing between the relationship you have… and the one you deserve.

In this episode, we explore the psychology behind toxic relationships through the lens of Fabric of Our Souls by K.M. Moronova & Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube. Together, we unpack trauma bonds, attachment, red flags, emotional dependency, and why walking away from someone we love can feel so much harder than staying.

Because sometimes the hardest relationship to leave isn’t the one that’s hurting us—it’s the one we’ve built our hope around.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but we’re not your therapists. Everything shared in this podcast is for conversation, reflection, and entertainment—not a substitute for therapy.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session for new episodes exploring stories, psychology, and healing.

Why do we push away the things we want most?

In this episode, we explore the psychology of self-sabotage through Elide Lochan from Throne of Glass and Anthony Bridgerton from The Viscount Who Loved Me. One believes she’s a burden. The other believes love always ends in loss. Different stories, same pattern: fear quietly convincing us that safety matters more than happiness.

Together, we unpack how trauma shapes our choices, why self-protection can start looking like self-destruction, and what it takes to believe we’re worthy of the lives we keep talking ourselves out of.

Because sometimes the biggest obstacle in our story… is the one we’ve unknowingly become.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but we’re not your therapists. Everything shared in this podcast is for conversation, reflection, and entertainment—not a substitute for therapy.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session for new episodes exploring stories, psychology, and healing.

Some of our earliest lessons about love, safety, and self-worth come from the people who raise us.

In this episode, we explore the psychology of the father wound through Klaus Mikaelson from The Vampire Diaries and Dorian Havilliard from Throne of Glass. We unpack how control, rejection, fear, and impossible expectations can shape identity, relationships, and the ways people learn to survive.

Because sometimes the hardest part isn’t understanding where our wounds came from—it’s deciding what happens next.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but not your therapists. This podcast is for reflection and conversation, not a substitute for therapy.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session for new episodes exploring stories, psychology, and healing.

Grief changes us.

Sometimes in obvious ways.
Sometimes in ways we don’t recognize until much later.

In this episode, we explore the psychology of grief through Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones and Diana Martinez from the Gods & Monsters series. Together, we unpack how loss shapes identity, influences relationships, and impacts the choices people make long after the moment of loss has passed.

Because grief isn’t just about what we lose.

It’s also about who we become afterward.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but we’re not your therapists. Everything shared here is for conversation, reflection, and entertainment.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session for new episodes exploring stories, psychology, and healing.

Some people make jokes because they’re funny.
Others make jokes because they learned early that making people laugh was safer than letting them see the truth.

In this episode of Once Upon a Session, we explore the psychology behind humor, avoidance, and emotional masking through two unforgettable class clowns: Lehabah from Crescent City and Carrion Swift from Quicksilver.

Together, we unpack what happens when humor becomes armor, why the funniest people are often carrying the heaviest emotional loads, and how being “the comic relief” can sometimes mean no one notices when you’re struggling.

Because sometimes laughter isn’t about joy.

Sometimes it’s survival.

Disclaimer: We’re licensed therapists, but not your therapists. This podcast is for reflection and conversation, not a substitute for therapy.

✨ Follow Once Upon a Session for new episodes exploring stories, psychology, and healing.