Control doesn’t always look like control. Sometimes it looks like care, protection, or “respect.” That’s what makes coercive control the most dangerous form of abuse because it hides in plain sight.

Dr. Christine Cocchiola, clinician, survivor, and one of the world’s leading experts on coercive control, joins Lisa to expose the playbook every abusive man uses. From “I just don’t like your friends” to “I’m only trying to protect you,” Christine breaks down how control starts as suggestion, grows through compliance, and ends in captivity. Together, they reveal why love was never the problem, the erosion of your liberty was.

This conversation shatters the myth that abuse only counts if it leaves a bruise. When he controls your choices, your time, your body, or your sense of self… that’s not love, that’s domination disguised as devotion.

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Therapists hear what people say in marriage. Divorce lawyers see what people do when it ends. And what they see tells the truth about power, control, and the quiet games that keep women stuck in “high-conflict” divorces. 

Lisa sits down with family lawyer and content creator Justin Lee to expose the patterns behind the myth that “women ruin men in divorce.” They unpack how abusers weaponize the court system — dragging out cases, withholding money, and using children as pawns — while claiming victimhood online. 

Justin breaks down what really happens behind the scenes: why women file after years of trying, how financial control becomes legal abuse, and why the system isn’t rigged for women, but against fairness itself. This conversation is a masterclass in seeing through the “crazy ex-wife” narrative and a reminder that justice may take time, but your peace is worth fighting for.

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“Abuse isn’t gendered.”

That phrase gets thrown around every time women speak up. Yet,  it’s not true and it’s not harmless.

Lisa sits down with Rebecca Pacheco, Education and Development Manager at Embrave: Agency to End Violence, to break down why gender can’t be removed from the conversation on violence. Together they unpack the difference between domestic violence and gender-based violence, the patriarchal systems that sustain abuse, and how funding cuts and systemic neglect leave survivors with nowhere to turn.

Rebecca shares what life looks like on the front lines — shelters filled beyond capacity, survivors turned away, and the impossible choices women face when “just leaving” isn’t an option. 

This isn’t about politics or blaming men; it’s about naming the truth. Abuse is rooted in inequality, entitlement, and the belief that power belongs to one gender. Naming that truth is how we change it.

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If you’ve ever said yes to sex when every part of you wanted to say no, that’s not “being a good partner,” It’s coercion. 

Coercion is abuse.

Lisa sits down with certified sex therapist and clinical sexologist Dr. Danielle Kramer to talk about sexual coercion, consent, and how entitlement destroys intimacy. They unpack the cultural conditioning that teaches men to pursue and women to comply — and how that conditioning turns connection into control.

Dr. Kramer breaks down the difference between persuasion and coercion, how purity culture fuels sexual shame, and what healing looks like when you’ve been taught your body is an obligation.

This conversation will make you rethink what real consent and intimacy actually mean — and remind you that sex isn’t something done to you. It’s something done with you.

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“If it was really abuse, you would’ve left.” That lie has silenced survivors for decades. The truth? Most women in abusive relationships don’t know it’s abuse, because abusers work hard to make sure they don’t. Lisa sits down with trauma therapist and “Love & Trust Therapist” Chelli Pumphrey to unpack the psychology behind not knowing. They dive into gaslighting, cognitive dissonance, and how abusers weaponize your empathy, optimism, and attachment against you. Chelli also shares her own story — as both a therapist and survivor — revealing how smart, capable women can still get trapped in psychological warfare disguised as love. This conversation will help you truly understand that manipulation is by design. Naming that truth is where your healing begins.

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We keep telling men to “open up” and “be more emotional,” but that’s not the problem — and it’s definitely not the solution. Real strength isn’t found in suppressing feelings or turning men into girlfriends; it’s found in presence, purpose, and the courage to lead with heart and integrity. 

Lisa sits down with men’s coach Nick Matiash, founder of The Evolved Man, to dismantle outdated myths about masculinity, fatherhood, and emotional expression. Nick shares how breaking down on his kitchen floor with a newborn at home became the turning point that reshaped his understanding of what real manhood looks like — not fragile, not performative, but grounded. 

This conversation cuts through culture-war noise and gets to the truth: men aren’t broken, but what they’ve been taught about being a man is. 

If you’ve ever felt unseen by the men in your life — or wondered why connection feels so hard to build — this one’s for you.

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When a relationship feels like oxygen at first and a chokehold later, you’re not “being dramatic”—you’re being indoctrinated. Narcissistic abuse doesn’t look like a one-off bad boyfriend; it mirrors a cult: love-bombing as recruitment, rules that keep shifting, punishment for noncompliance, and a leader who claims to be the only source of truth and love. If you’ve ever wondered why smart, capable people stay, this is why. Lisa sits down with licensed therapist and author Vanessa M. Reiser, LCSW, to map the cult mechanics of narcissistic relationships: idealize–devalue–discard, the Pavlovian reward/punishment loop that forges a trauma bond, and the “double bind” that ensures you’re wrong whether you comply or resist. They dismantle myths (“I’d never fall for that,” “you could have left anytime”) and name what’s really happening—coercive control that erodes free will, isolates you from your reality checks, and keeps you chasing crumbs after a manufactured high. Vanessa shares clear, clinician-backed ways to reclaim yourself: depersonalize the abuse (“it wasn’t about your worth”), rebuild nervous-system safety, and replace the fantasy with facts. 

You are not weak for being targeted; predators select, condition, and confuse. Clarity is the exit ramp. With language for what happened and community that reflects your reality back to you, you can break the bond and rebuild a self that’s yours again.  

Resources mentioned 

• Vanessa M. Reiser, LCSW — therapist & author 

• Dr. Ramani — educator on narcissistic abuse 

• Dr. Nadine Macaluso — clinician speaking on trauma bonds

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Staying up at night over your daughter’s safety is expected. Losing sleep over your son becoming the guy who drains a woman’s light? That’s the fear most moms whisper about. In a culture that platforms the manosphere and calls misogyny “self-improvement,” mothers are raising kids on two very different battlegrounds.

Lisa sits down with creator and mom Grace Presley (the viral “mid-loser” post) to name what so many feel: girls are trained to shrink, accommodate, and survive while boys risk being groomed online into entitlement and contempt. Together they unpack how “nice guy” rhetoric masks exploitation, why boys need modeling (not lectures), and how to teach mental load, empathy, and accountability at home before TikTok and podcasts do it for you. Grace shares the simple practices she uses with her 14-year-old son and the non-negotiables for calling out peers, unlearning enabling, and breaking generational patterns.

This isn’t man-hating, it’s future-making. If you’re parenting through the red-pill era, you’re not alone and you’re not powerless. Hold the line on empathy and standards, model what respect looks like, and refuse to raise a daughter who disappears or a son who takes.

Resources mentioned:
• Grace Presley — TikTok: @HeyGracePressly • Instagram: @GracePressly • Website: AstoriaWorthLoving.com
• Books: Atomic Habits — James Clear; Can’t Hurt Me — David Goggins
• Referenced manosphere examples: Andrew Tate; Fresh & Fit; Nick Fuentes (contextual discussion)

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New episodes drop every Tuesday.

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Stalking isn’t love, and it's certainly not devotion. It’s control, entitlement, and fear dressed up as “concern.” Survivors know that sickening feeling of being watched, followed, or “checked on,” only to be told they’re imagining it. But as retired Detective Lieutenant Mark Wynn makes clear: stalking is real, it’s dangerous, and it’s often the red flag that precedes lethal violence.

With over four decades in policing and global training, Mark exposes how law enforcement has historically failed survivors by treating stalking like an “incident” instead of a course of conduct—a pattern of coercion, intimidation, and surveillance meant to strip away liberty. He and Lisa pull back the curtain on how abusers minimize their behaviors (“I was just sitting in my car,” “I only put a tracker on her phone”), why victims delay reporting, and how trauma responses like denial and appeasement become survival strategies. Through raw stories, chilling stats, and lived experience, they underline what too many minimize: stalking is a pathway to homicide if unchecked.

The conversation is sobering but deeply empowering. With the right tools, training, and accountability, stalking can be predicted, prevented, and prosecuted.

You are not “crazy” for feeling unsafe. Your instincts are evidence, your safety matters, and there are resources designed to help you trust those instincts and take action.

Resources Mentioned
- One Love Foundation — healthy relationship education + risk assessment app
- Bright Sky app — safety and risk assessment tool
- Ontario Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment (ODARA) — police risk assessment model
- Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) — by Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell, Johns Hopkins
- SPARC: Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center
- SHARP: Stalking and Harassment Assessment and Risk Profile (via SPARC)
- Coercive Control by Evan Stark
- Why Do They Kill? by David Adams
- The Stalking of Kristin by George Lardner Jr.
- Mental Healness (Lee Hammock) — self-aware narcissist creator who supports survivors

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Somewhere along the way, society convinced us that the battle lines in blended families are always drawn between “evil stepmom” and “bitter baby mama.” But what if the real chaos is coming from the man in the middle—or from a system that thrives on pitting women against each other? Survivors know that nothing fuels abuse and dysfunction like smoke and mirrors, and blended family dynamics are no exception.

Lisa sits down with Naja Hall, host of I Know I’m Crazy and founder of VIP Stepmom, to peel back the layers of high-conflict parenting after separation. From stepmoms stepping into landmines they didn’t plant, to biomoms fighting for stability while being mislabeled as “bitter,” Lisa and Naja call out the unspoken truths about how men’s avoidance and manipulation often set the stage for these wars. They trade raw stories and hard-won lessons—naming the difference between boundaries and control, exploring why “keeping it real” with kids can cross into emotional abuse, and spotlighting the cost of outsourcing fatherhood to stepmoms.

What emerges is not a call to pick sides, but an invitation to clarity: to name dysfunction for what it is, to refuse loyalty binds, and to remember that kids deserve love and stability over ego and power plays. Healing starts when we stop playing by the tropes and start telling the truth.

Resources mentioned
• VIP Stepmom — community platform by Naja Hall
• I Know I’m Crazy — podcast hosted by Naja Hall
• Girl Bye, She’s Not Going Anywhere, Neither Are You — journal by Naja Hall
• Stepmom Mastermind Intensive — monthly program led by Naja Hall
• Co-parenting apps: TalkingParents, OurFamilyWizard

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This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at strongerthanbefore.ca

Book A Session with Lisa

Follow on IG: @_stronger_than_before_coach
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Want to pitch a topic or guest to me? Click here.

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth — and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.