The Couch and The Chair
Episodes
Chosen Family: Intentionally Creating The Relationships We Dream Of
27 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle discuss the concept of creating a chosen family. Kate shares how she created this as an adult by being polyamorous and Michelle talk...
Autism: Trusting the Process of Discovery in Adulthood and in Parenting
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle share two different perspectives on autism. Michelle talks about parenting an autistic child who was recently diagnosed. Kate talks ...
Grieving During the Holidays: Adapting in the Midst of Loss
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about experiencing grief in different forms during the holidays; Michelle is experiencing grief after the deaths of both her mo...
The Challenges of Being a Therapist in 2025: Being Human with Our Clients
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
2025 isn't fully finished yet and it has already been a year filled with uncertainty as Trump's second presidential term has gotten underway...
The Challenges of Aging Parents with Kimberly Slagle: Give Yourself Grace in Your Grief
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by special guest Kimberly Slagle to discuss the challenges of being in relationship with parents who are aging. Both Kate...
Finding Meaning: Uncovering What's Missing in Your Life
27 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about each of their journeys to find meaning in their life, including how they were influenced by their parents about this topi...
Political Differences: Uncovering the True Impact on Families
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about how they have been impacted by family members holding different political views. Highlighting how politics have changed s...
Experiencing Joy: Going Beyond Just Feeling Happy
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle both share their experiences of joy throughout different stages of life. They also talk about challenges that interfere with their...
Making Friends in Adulthood: A Universal Struggle
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about the challenges and successes they've experienced with establishing friendships in adulthood. They discuss the reason...
Father Relationships: The Men Who Impact Us The Most
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about each of their relationships with their fathers during childhood and adulthood. They both share how they have found close ...
Going Through the Holidays: Not Always Merry and Bright
24 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The holiday season is upon us! Kate and Michelle talk about each of their own childhood memories from the holidays, both positive and challenging. The...
Staying in a Struggling Relationship: Fighting for Love When It's Hard
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle share about their current struggles in their marriages and their reasons for deciding to stay with their husbands in spite of the ch...
Coercive Control with Sarah Kardelen: Breaking Free from Relationship Imprisonment
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by special guest Sarah Kardelen to talk about coercive control in romantic relationships. Coercive control is a specific ...
ADHD with Ashley Wilkinson: Overcoming Challenges and Finding Benefits
26 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by Ashley Wilkinson as she and Kate discuss their experiences living with ADHD. They both talk about how it felt to be di...
Conflict Avoidance with Jason Wilkinson: Overcoming Fears to Find Connection
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Michelle is joined by Jason Wilkinson to talk about conflict avoidance in romantic relationships. Michelle and Jason both talk about how their childho...
The 4th Trimester with Shannon Heers: The Physical, Emotional and Relational Challenges
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by Shannon Heers, a perinatal mental health therapist, to talk about post-partum experiences, specifically the challenges...
2023 Changes!
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle announce that the frequency of episodes will now be reduced and explain reasons for making this decision. Support the showWant to g...
Panic Attacks with Chris Campassi: Find What's Underneath the Panic
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by special guest Chris Campassi to talk about panic attacks. Chris and Kate share their stories and backgrounds prior to ...
Burnout with Dr. Tara Sanderson: Give Yourself Some Grace
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by Dr. Tara Sanderson to talk about experiences with burnout. Tara shares how she started noticing burnout during COVID a...
Sexual Experiences: Discovering What Actually Turns You On
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about their sexual histories and how past sexual experiences have either been helpful or harmful to their mental health. They b...
Being Female: The Key Ways We Are Treated Differently
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about living as females and messages they have received about three different topics: what it means to take care of other peopl...
Chronic Pain: Treat Your Body With Kindness
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about personal experiences with chronic pain throughout their lives, including how they accepted it and how it impacted their m...
Self-Care: The Challenge of Nourishing Ourselves
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about how they personally engage in self-care as well as challenges they've experienced with making room for it in their l...
Childhood Trauma with Rebecca Nystrom: Unpacking the Weight of Childhood Wounds
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by Rebecca Nystrom to discuss childhood trauma. Rebecca and Kate share personal experiences of childhood trauma followed ...
Perfectionism with Catherine Lee: Letting Go of Fearing Failure
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Michelle is joined by Catherine Lee to discuss perfectionism. Both Michelle and Catherine share their personal histories with perfectionism and how th...
Self-Harm with Jaclyn George: Removing Stigma to Find Understanding
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by Jaclyn George to discuss self-harm. Jaclyn and Kate share personal experiences of self-harm followed by a discussion a...
Sexual Trauma with Phebe Brako-Owusu: Finding Self-Love in Healing
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by Phebe Brako-Owusu to discuss the topic of sexual trauma. Phebe and Kate share personal experiences of sexual trauma fo...
Disenfranchised Grief with Dr. Jessica Lamar: Give Your Grief a Voice
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by Dr. Jessica Lamar to discuss the topic of disenfranchised grief. Dr. Jessica gives a detailed overview of what ambiguo...
In-Law Relationships: Respecting Yourself and Them
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about personal experiences with in-laws, specifically being disliked by in-laws and living with them. They also share tips for ...
Personal Substance Use Experiences: Notice Without Judgement
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle share their personal substance use histories, including reasons for why they've used substances in the past and why they curren...
Impostor Syndrome: Believe in Your Unique Self
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about their own personal struggles with impostor syndrome, both personally and professionally. Along the way, they both talk ab...
Ending Relationships Amicably: Acting with Respect and Appreciation
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about their experiences with ending relationships amicably in the past, including what transitioning to friendship has looked l...
Religion/Spirituality: Find Something That Excites You
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about their personal experiences with religion and spirituality and how they found spiritual practices that they both enjoy cur...
Relationship with Food: Connect the Dots Between Your Past and Present
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about their relationships with food, specifically how their experiences in childhood and young adulthood continue to impact the...
Body Image: Learning to Appreciate our Bodies
01 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle each discuss their own personal challenge and issues with body image throughout their lives while also sharing helpful ways to start...
Friendship Loss: The Pain of Growing Apart
17 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about experiences with losing friends over the years. They also share reflections on the evolution of their own friendship and ...
Special Announcement!
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle will be taking a break from podcasting for a few months, but don't worry - it's for a good reason as Michelle transitions ...
People-Pleasing: Un-Learning Old Patterns
03 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about their ongoing personal struggles with people-pleasing and where these challenges originate for each of them. They also sh...
Climate Change: Finding Hope While Being Realistic
20 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle discuss how climate change can affect our mental health and lead to feeling hopeless and powerless. They discuss ways to maintain a ...
Grieving a Parent with Mental Health Issues with Denise Hie: Forgiving Yourself and Forgiving Them
06 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by Denise Hie, a fellow therapist who struggled for years with her mother's mental health struggles before her mothe...
Saving and Spending Money: Nobody is Perfect
23 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For better or worse, money is a necessary part of life. Kate and Michelle both share their personal histories with money and how this has influenced K...
Confidence: The Importance of Finding it from Within
09 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle discuss personal challenges with finding confidence throughout their lives and share how they help their clients work on becoming mo...
Pregnancy Loss, Abortion, and Infertility: A Loss Like No Other
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle share their personal experiences with pregnancy loss, abortion and infertility. They both share what has been helpful for them when ...
Setting Boundaries with Emily Wood: Believing that Boundaries are Not Bad
11 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by a special guest, Emily Wood. Emily and Kate both share their personal struggles with setting boundaries. Emily talks a...
Transitional Anxiety with Rachel Elder: Manifesting Smoother Life Transitions
28 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by a special guest, Rachel Elder. Rachel and Michelle both share their personal experiences with transitional anxiety. Ra...
Life-Work Balance with Dan Kelley-Petersen: What Career Really Means
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle are joined by a special guest, Dan Kelley-Petersen. Dan and Kate both share their personal experiences with finding life-work balanc...
When Your Partner Struggles with Substance Abuse: It May Look Different Than You Think
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Following up on last episode about having a partner who struggles with mental health issues, Kate and Michelle discuss relationship experiences with a...
When You and Your Partner Both Have Mental Health Issues: Remember Your Needs, Too
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle discuss common challenges that can arise when you're in a relationship with a partner who also struggles with mental health iss...
Anger: It's Okay To Feel It
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about their personal struggles with allowing themselves to feel angry in the past and also share what's helped them expres...
The Therapeutic Relationship: Healthy Attachment is Healing
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle talk about how their connections with their therapists have evolved over time and been healing. They also discuss how it feels as th...
Depression: Take Pleasure in the Small Things
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kate and Michelle discuss their own experiences with depression as well as tips they recommend to their clients who struggle with depression.TRIGGER W...
Who We Are and How We Got Here
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Kate and Michelle! In this first episode, they introduce themselves by talking about when and why they started therapy as well as talking about h...