Agony Aunties: Co-Parenting with an Ex When Trust Is Broken
In this Agony Aunties episode, we answer a listener asking how to co-parent after a breakdown of trust. We focus on steadying yourself to steady your child, keeping them out of adult conflict while keeping communication open and age-appropriate, and putting clear, written boundaries in place - a simple parenting plan, predictable handovers, and one co-parenting app for all logistics. We suggest shared reading to build a common language, leaning on a small support team (friend, therapist, mediator), and simple self-care so you can be consistent. The aim is a workable, child-centred plan that protects secure relationships with both parents.
If safety is a concern, please seek professional and legal support.
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Grace Spence Green on What Disability Taught Her About Living Fully
In this episode of Therapy Works, I have the privilege of speaking with Grace Spence Green - a junior doctor and wheelchair user whose life changed dramatically after a spinal cord injury caused by a traumatic accident.
Grace shares with such honesty the physical and psychological challenges she faced during her rehabilitation, and how she has learned to navigate the daily realities of life in an able-bodied world. What shines through is her remarkable courage, her ability to redefine her own story, and her deep commitment to disability justice movements.
We talk about the importance of community support, the role of radical acceptance in finding peace, and how she continues to build a fulfilling life and career as a doctor. Grace also speaks about her relationships, her writing, and her advocacy for better understanding and treatment of disabled individuals.
I hope you find Grace’s story as moving and inspiring as I did.
Find Grace:
Instagram: @gracesg
Buy Her Book: To Exist As I Am by Grace Spence Green | Waterstones
To Exist As I Am a book by Grace Spence Green - Bookshop.org UK
TO EXIST AS I AM by Grace spence Green is published by Profile, £16.99 hardback.
Support Links:
Radical Acceptance in DBT — overview of the skill discussed in the episode: https://dialecticalbehaviortherapy.com/distress-tolerance/radical-acceptance/
ADHD UK: https://adhduk.co.uk/
National Autistic Society: https://www.autism.org.uk/
More from Therapy Works:
Subscribe to the Therapy Works Substack for guidance on everyday struggles and access to Julia’s monthly live webinar: https://juliasamuel.substack.com/
Follow Julia on Instagram: @juliasamuelmbe for tips, tools, and conversations about navigating life’s challenges.
If you enjoy this episode, please consider rating, reviewing, and subscribing — it makes a big difference and helps others discover these conversations.If you need help finding a therapist, visit: The Samuel Therapy Practice
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Agony Aunties: How Do I Cope with Anxiety About My Adult Children?
In this episode of Agony Aunties, the Aunties tackle a listener’s heartfelt question: “How do I cope with the anxiety I feel around my adult children?”
Together, they explore:
Why anxiety often has roots in our earliest relationships
Practical self-soothing tools you can try straight away — from breath work to grounding exercises
How to find balance with a partner when worries spill over
Ways to set healthy boundaries around communication with your children
The power of separating facts from anxious thoughts
The conversation blends insight with compassion, reminding us that while worry is natural, it doesn’t have to run our lives.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/therapyworks and get on your way to being your best self.
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Dan Snow on Loss, Legacy, and Learning to Live in the Present
In the first episode of the new season of Therapy Works, I sit down with historian and broadcaster Dan Snow to explore the powerful forces that have shaped his life: his family’s legacy of high achievement, his insatiable drive for professional fulfilment, and the challenges of finding joy in the present moment.
Dan speaks candidly about how closely his work and personal identity are entwined and how this sometimes makes it difficult to savour life’s simplest pleasures, like a beach holiday with his children.
We also discuss the influence of history not only on nations, but on individuals: how the personal lives of historical figures informed their decisions, and how curiosity and context can deepen our understanding of both the past and the present.
Dan shares movingly about loss, reflecting on his experience of a late-term miscarriage and the importance of family and community in helping us survive grief.Our conversation closes with reflections on what history can teach us about resilience, the power of storytelling, and why curiosity remains one of the most vital tools for personal growth.
If you’d like to try BetterVits, you can get 15% off sitewide with my code JULIA15 at bettervits.co.uk/discount/Julia15. I’m keen to hear your thoughts!
Find Dan:
Instagram: @thehistoryguy
Podcast: Dan Snow’s History Hit
More from Therapy Works:
Subscribe to the Therapy Works Substack for guidance on everyday struggles and access to Julia’s monthly live webinar: https://juliasamuel.substack.com/
Follow Julia on Instagram: @juliasamuelmbe for tips, tools, and conversations about navigating life’s challenges.
If you enjoy this episode, please consider rating, reviewing, and subscribing - it makes a big difference and helps others discover these conversations.
If you need help finding a therapist, visit: The Samuel Therapy Practice
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mini Recap: Nadiya Hussain on Turning Anger Into Determination
In this powerful mini recap, Therapy Works revisits my moving conversation with Nadiya Hussain.
Nadiya reflects on growing up surrounded by women who seemed exhausted and unfulfilled, and how that shaped her determination to carve a different future. She opens up about the moment her parents forbade her from going to university at 18, threatening to change the locks if she left home and the fury, grief, and powerlessness that followed.
Instead of giving up, Nadiya turned her anger into relentless hard work, taking on multiple jobs and forging her independence. Later in life, she reclaimed her dream, studying at university while raising three children, with the unwavering support of her husband Abdul - the same man who signed her up for Bake Off.
This is just a glimpse of our conversation. Nadiya’s honesty and courage were deeply inspiring, and I’d highly recommend listening to the whole episode - it’s a story of defiance, determination, and the power of finding your own path.
Listen to Nadiya's full episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/nadiya-hussain-on-defying-expectations-fighting-self/id1646616622?i=1000698819007
Find Nadiya:
Website: https://www.nadiyahussain.com/Instagram: @nadiyajhussain
Buy Nadiya's new book 'Rooza': https://www.nadiyahussain.com/book/rooza/
Please subscribe and leave a review—it truly makes all the difference! Follow Julia at @juliasamuelmbe for more insights, tips, and conversations on life's challenges and how to improve your mental well-being.
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Bestselling author and psychotherapist, Julia Samuel, invites us into her therapy room as she talks to both known and unknown voices about some of life’s biggest challenges.
Therapy Works is full of therapeutic conversations which may contain difficult emotions but those that can paradoxically bring light, in all its form.
Listeners will hear what the guests have learnt, failed to learn and how they have grown through their experience. At the end of each episode, Julia reflects on her session with her two psychotherapist daughters who will share their thoughts on the conversation. You’ll quickly discover that not all therapists agree on everything!
Follow @juliasamuelmbe
Ireland