"I honestly don't think you could give me any therapy," Rob wrote to Renee when she asked if he wanted to be on the show. He agreed to appear nonetheless, and Renee took his hopelessness as a challenge. Once Rob's story unfolded, it was clear that he had come to his hopelessness honestly, as his biography is punctuated by bullying, chaos at home, addiction, and isolation. Despite this - or perhaps because of this - Rob is absolutely hilarious, which makes his already stunning story that much more compelling. By the end of the conversation, Renee has a stomach ache from laughing, and Rob has a solid sense of hope.

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Alyson, an artist who attended the renowned "Fame" school in New York City, was 14 the first time she met with a therapist. Despite some prickly family dynamics that would have been perfect therapy content, Alyson had had a different agenda. "I was afraid I was going to die a virgin!" Spoiler alert: she didn't. This theme of longing, however, became a constant presence in Alyson's life. Now, after marriage and divorce, Alyson is back in the dating world and cannot seem to figure out why she is always pining after unavailable men. She comes to the show hoping Renee can figure it out. The two women talk fathers, fawning, and facebook crushes before Renee figures out what is holding Alyson back from the love she wants. Alyson is a brilliant story teller with a compelling life history, and by the time Renee is finished, she also has a new lease on love.

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Tyler describes his  childhood home as an "active war zone." After years of physical and emotional abuse by his parents, he married young in the hopes that he could create the harmonious family for which he longed as a child. Unfortunately, he once again found himself in an abusive relationship, this time with his ex-wife, who is now colluding with Tyler's mother in a grueling custody battle. Having survived decades of depression, anxiety, physical pain, and grief, he comes to the show with hope and an open heart, ready to embrace any insight and direction Renee can offer. And she has plenty, of course! As Tyler unfolds his absolutely stunning story, Renee traces the trauma strands and leverages his remarkable resilience to harness the light within a devastatingly dark family story.

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Yvonne is a firecracker! An actor, writer, and comedian who has been sober for 31 years, Yvonne has done a lot of therapy to unburden herself of the codependent behaviors she developed while growing up with an emotionally withholding, narcissistic father and hypercritical, dysregulated mother. But despite her hard-won confidence, compelling personality, and many tries at dating, Yvonne hasn't met a man who can hold her interest. What's going on? That's the question Yvonne brings to the show, and Renée has answers. The two women have a blast talking drugs, astrology, rage, and revenge before Renee breaks it down and finds the trap that is keeping Yvonne stuck. 

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Andrew grew up in a small town that left his voracious, neurodivergent mind profoundly bored. As a teen, this boredom bred criminal behavior and depression. As an adult, however, his energy found outlets in tremendously successful entrepreneurial endeavors. His peripatetic lifestyle and demanding career kept Andrew safely away from his deeper emotions until a recent breakup cracked him open. He has been working on himself with characteristic commitment since then and comes to the podcast wondering if Renee can find the places where he still needs healing. And make no mistake: he has been on it. So he is pleasantly shocked when Renee does, in fact, find the sweet spots that will lead to deeper transformation. It's hard to say who talks faster, but, regardless, Andrew and Renee tear it up in a fast-paced, lightbulb-pinging episode.

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Morgan is a former Olympic athlete who can't stop moving - moving homes, moving her body, moving away from pain. She comes to the podcast hoping Renee can help her move from self-criticism to compassion and from distraction to contentment. And since Morgan has recently pivoted from sports to psychology as she studies to become a therapist herself, she deftly unrolls her trauma stories, from her experiences as the parentified child of a single mom to recent familial betrayal. Renee finds the connections and the pressure points and helps Morgan carve out a path to peace, leaving perfectionism and self-loathing in the rearview mirror.

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Maya comes to us from New Zealand hoping Renee can get her unstuck. She suffered an emotional trauma during the birth of her second child for which she holds her husband responsible. Now, three years later, Maya still hasn't been able to let go - she hasn't forgiven her husband, and she doesn't understand why. Renee doesn't understand why either, at first! But she realizes Maya will have to go back in order to go forward, so they put together the psychological puzzle with pieces made of Maya's childhood trauma and current relationship dynamics. Things start to make sense quickly, and there are several "aha!" moments for Maya, whose compelling narrative paves the way for Renee's plan forward.

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Adam C. comes to the podcast with a whole bunch of juicy content to discuss: his recent diagnoses of borderline personality disorder and type 2 diabetes; self-destructive romantic relationships; and the internet's favorite topic...narcissists! And these are only a few of the stops Renee and Adam make as they endeavor to break Adam out of the relational patterns that keep him from healthy attachment. Adam's candor, insight, and humor set the perfect stage, and Renee digs deep to find the missing piece of his healing puzzle.

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"I feel like I just got off Dr. Phil. I don't even know what just happened!" So said Shana towards the end of her conversation with Renee. Shana had come to the podcast without ever having listened to it; she had no expectations. Having noticed from Renee's Instagram bio that she is a nutritionist as well as a therapist, Shana figured they could discuss her recent weight gain. A few minutes into their conversation, though, Renee had other ideas. They talk through Shana's
experiences with addiction, abusive relationships, debilitating anxiety, and family conflict. Renee does answer Shana's questions about weight gain in the end, but only after leaving a very excited Shana with a new, liberating lens on her past, present, and future.

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Amy has gone from a controlling mother to controlling girlfriends to controlling partners. She comes to the podcast looking to better understand this pattern and, ultimately, to break it. Renee traces through Amy's history - with stops for closer looks at issues from abandonment fear to toxic masculinity- as she helps Amy develop a plan to break the pattern deepen her trust in herself. Plus, Josh tells the story of his harrowing Valentine's Day dinner!

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