Permission to Heal

What is actually normal after you have a baby… and what’s a sign you might need support?

In this honest, practical, and deeply reassuring conversation, Kelly is joined by Natalie, a Registered Psychotherapist, mom of one, and currently pregnant, to talk about the postpartum experience no one prepares you for. They unpack the emotional reality of the early weeks after birth, including the very common “baby blues,” the mental load no one talks about, and the difference between what’s hard-but-normal and what may be postpartum depression, anxiety, or OCD.

You’ll learn:

What the baby blues really feel like (and how long they last)

What no one tells you about the postpartum experience

How postpartum depression, anxiety, and OCD can show up

The signs it’s time to reach out for help

How to prepare before baby arrives to protect your mental health

How partners and loved ones can offer meaningful support

This conversation is for anyone (pregnant folks and supporters!) who wants a more honest, compassionate understanding of postpartum mental health, without shame, fear, or unrealistic expectations. Because the more we talk about it, the less alone new parents have to feel.

🎙 Hosted by Kelly, Registered Psychotherapist and host of Permission to Heal

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At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable for everyone. Visit alli.io to book a session with an intern therapist (your first session is free, and sessions start at $45 after) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115.

In this episode of Permission to Heal, Kelly sits down with Kristen Seaton, a Toronto-based fitness instructor and talent leader at Lululemon, to talk about the moment her life changed with an unexpected cervical cancer diagnosis.

Kristen shares what it was like to move through fear, uncertainty, and treatment while staying gently connected to her body through movement and to her people through deep human connection. She speaks candidly about the emotional weight of diagnosis, the patience and slowness healing requires, and how joy can still exist, even when it looks very different than before.

This conversation is a reminder that movement and community can be powerful forms of medicine, that you are capable of handling incredibly hard things, and that you can always get back to a new version of yourself.

This episode is for you if you’re navigating illness, supporting someone who is, or learning how to stay connected to your body and joy through life’s hardest seasons.

🎙 Hosted by Kelly, Registered Psychotherapist and host of Permission to Heal

📩 Share this episode with someone who might need it

⭐ Follow, rate, and review to help us continue bringing these conversations into the light

At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable for everyone. Visit alli.io to book a session with an intern therapist (your first session is free, and sessions start at $45 after) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115.

In this episode, Kelly is joined by Susan, an associate therapist at Alli Therapy, for a thoughtful conversation about how childhood attachment wounds can shape our sense of safety, relationships, and emotional world as adults.

Many of the ways we show up in relationships today were learned long before we had the words to understand them. Together, Kelly and Susan explore how early experiences with caregivers can influence attachment styles, trust, emotional regulation, and the way we connect with our caregivers and others later in life.

This episode is for you if…

• you find yourself feeling anxious, insecure, or distant in relationships

• you hold hurt, anger and resentment towards your caregivers

• you struggle to trust that people will stay or truly support you

• you notice old emotional patterns showing up in your adult relationships

• you want to better understand your attachment style and where it comes from

• you’re curious about how healing childhood wounds can help you move toward more secure, fulfilling connections

Most importantly, this episode focuses on healing. Kelly and Susan discuss what it looks like to move toward secure attachment, how therapy and self-awareness can support that process, and how making sense of our childhood experiences can open the door to healthier relationships and a more grounded sense of self.

🎙 Hosted by Kelly, Registered Psychotherapist and host of Permission to Heal

📩 Share this episode with someone who might need it

⭐ Follow, rate, and review to help us continue bringing these conversations into the light

At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable for everyone. Visit alli.io to book a session with an intern therapist (your first session is free, and sessions start at $45 after) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115.

What does a toxic relationship really look like and why is it so hard to see when you’re in it?

This week on Permission to Heal, Kelly sits down with Kojenwa Moitt, actor, marketing expert, entrepreneur, and PR maven for a powerful and deeply honest conversation about surviving abusive relationships with men who displayed narcissistic personality traits. Kojenwa shares her personal story of being in relationships that were manipulative, emotionally abusive, and confusing.

Together, we explore:

• The subtle and overt signs of toxic and unhealthy relationships

• Why intelligent, capable, successful women still struggle to recognize red flags

• The psychological impact of gaslighting, control, and emotional abuse

• Why leaving is complicated, emotionally, practically, and neurologically

• The first steps toward safety, clarity, and reclaiming your voice

• How healing begins with authenticity, truth-telling, and community

If you’re navigating a difficult relationship, healing after emotional abuse, or learning how to trust yourself again this episode is for you.

🎙 Hosted by Kelly, Registered Psychotherapist and host of Permission to Heal

📩 Share this episode with someone who might need it

⭐ Follow, rate, and review to help us continue bringing these conversations into the light

At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable for everyone. Visit alli.io to book a session with an intern therapist (your first session is free, and sessions start at $45 after) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115.

Self Care Warning: This episode contains stories that include toxic, unhealthy and abusive relationship patterns and may not be a helpful part of everyone’s journey. If this doeosn't serve you, please skip this episode. With care, Permission to Heal.

This week on Permission to Heal, Kelly sits down with Dr. Peter Johnston, chiropractor and chronic pain specialist, for an informative conversation about what chronic pain really is and why understanding the mind-body connection can change everything.

Dr. Peter shares his journey into becoming a chiropractor, how he approaches his work with his clients and the patterns he sees again and again in patients navigating persistent pain. They discuss the different kinds of chronic pain, the role that stress, fear and nervous system play, what patients can actively do during recovery to support healing, how mindfulness can reduce suffering, even when pain is still present. You’ll also be guided through a practical mindfulness exercise that you can return to anytime pain or tension flares up.

If you live with chronic pain, support someone who does, or simply want to better understand the powerful connection between your brain, body, and nervous system, this episode will leave you feeling informed, empowered, and less alone.

Follow us, Permission to Heal, and get caught up on Youtube, Apple and Spotify. At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable for everyone. Visit alli.io to book a session with an intern therapist (your first session is free, and sessions start at $45 after) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115.

Relationships can be hard, not because you’re doing them wrong, but because they involve two different people with two different nervous systems, histories, needs, and ways of loving.

In this solo episode of Permission to Heal, Kelly explores what actually makes relationships work, and why it’s not about finding “the one,” but about choosing someone you’re willing to work through differences with while staying emotionally connected.

This episode unpacks how many of our behaviours in relationships are really attempts to find connection, love, and security. Kelly invites listeners to look beyond surface-level conflict and instead understand what’s happening underneath, what we’re really asking for when we react, withdraw, argue, or shut down.

You’ll also hear about the importance of listening to understand (not to win), navigating differences with compassion, and how repair, coming back together after disconnection, is one of the most powerful skills in any healthy relationship.

This episode is for anyone who wants deeper connection, healthier communication, and more understanding in their relationships, especially when things feel hard.

Follow us, Permission to Heal, and get caught up on Youtube, Apple and Spotify. At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable for everyone. Visit alli.io to book a session with an intern therapist (your first session is free, and sessions start at $45 after) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115.

Kelly and Luisa, associate therapists at Alli Therapy, explore one of the most asked questions in mental health today, can AI and ChatGPT replace therapy with real, human therapists?

They break down the pros and cons of using AI for mental health support, including where tools like ChatGPT can be helpful and where they fall short compared to human therapy. They also discuss the research, ethical considerations, limitations, risks, and the missing human to human therapeutic relationship.

And just for fun, Kelly and Luisa try using ChatGPT as a therapist themselves, sharing what felt surprisingly supportive, what felt off, and why the therapeutic relationship still matters. This episode offers a grounded, realistic conversation about AI in therapy, without fear-mongering or hype.

If you’ve ever wondered whether AI is replacing therapists, how ChatGPT fits into mental health, or how to use technology thoughtfully alongside therapy, this episode will help you make sense of it all.

At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable for everyone. Visit alli.io to book a session with an intern therapist (your first session is free, and sessions start at $45 after) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115.

Kim McAvoy-MacNeil, a Certified Divorce Coach, joins us for a practical and empowering conversation about what to expect when going through a separation and how to move through the process with clarity, confidence, and as little emotional and financial damage as possible.

We walk through the separation process, including how to advocate for yourself, important decisions to consider early on, and common mistakes that can increase conflict, legal costs, and long-term stress. We talk about how to protect your emotional wellbeing, navigate co-parenting, and support your children through separation in age-appropriate, compassionate ways.

This episode also explores how to rebuild your life after separation, emotionally, practically, and relationally, while setting boundaries that reduce wasted energy, prolonged conflict, and unnecessary pain.

Whether you’re considering separation, in the middle of a divorce, or supporting someone who is, this episode offers grounded guidance, emotional validation, and practical tools to help you move forward with intention.

At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable for everyone. Visit alli.io to book a session with an intern therapist (your first session is free, and sessions start at $45 after) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115.

We sit down with Susan, a fellow therapist, to talk about love, loss, and what it means to grieve someone while they’re still here.

Susan shares the story of her second marriage and the moment her husband was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Together, they explore the reality of anticipatory grief, the quiet, complicated mourning that begins long before a goodbye and how a relationship shifts when love and partnership are suddenly entwined with caregiving.

This conversation gently unpacks the emotional weight of becoming a caregiver, the ways identity and connection change under the strain of illness, and the layered grief that continues both before and after loss. Susan also speaks honestly about where she is today, how she has survived the unthinkable, and the practices that have helped her cope and continue living with meaning.

This episode is for anyone navigating grief, loving someone with a life-limiting illness, supporting a partner through caregiving, or learning how to hold sorrow and love at the same time.

Self Care Warning: This episode contains stories that include mental health experiences and may not be a helpful part of everyone’s journey. If stories of terminal illness, cancer, grief and loss don't serve you, please skip this episode. With care, Permission to Heal.

At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable for everyone. Visit alli.io to book a session with an intern therapist (your first session is free, and sessions start at $45 after) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s actually like to be a therapist, what goes on behind the scenes, how they really think and feel, or are curious about what's a myth and what's fact, this episode is for you.

In this revealing and honest conversation on Permission to Heal, we’re joined by Christina Persaud, who shares her journey into becoming a therapist and what it truly means to hold space for others while growing as a human yourself. Christina opens up about imposter syndrome, learning how to care deeply without over-attaching and how therapists balance compassion with healthy boundaries to create transformative therapeutic relationships.

Together, we debunk common myths about therapy, that it’s a sign of weakness, that something has to be “wrong” with you to go, or that therapists have everything figured out. Christina reminds us that mental health is health, and that being in therapy is one of the smartest, most courageous ways to invest in yourself.

This episode is for anyone curious about therapy, thinking about starting, or wanting to better understand the person behind the therapist.

At Alli Therapy, we make mental health support accessible and affordable. You can book with an intern therapist (your first session is free, with sessions starting at $45) or connect with an associate therapist starting at $115. Learn more or book a session at alli.io.

Follow us on Instagram @allitherapy, TikTok @alli.therapy, on YouTube, or visit us at alli.io/podcast.