What really happens when you cut ties with your own family?

In this episode, I’m joined by psychologist and author Karl Melvin, whose book Navigating Family Estrangement has been a lifeline for people trying to break free from toxic family systems. Together, we dive into the misunderstood world of family estrangement — exploring the deep grief, the guilt, the gaslighting, and the complex layers of going no contact.

We talk about:

• Why estrangement is sometimes the healthiest choice
• How society often sides with the abuser
• The pressure to forgive, reconcile, and “just move on”
• What healing can actually look like on the other side

Whether you’ve cut contact, are considering it, or are struggling to stay away, this conversation will help you feel seen, validated, and a little less alone.

Karl Melvin is an IACP (Irish Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) accredited psychotherapist with an MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy. He has spent 14 years working with estranged adults of different perspectives, including adult sons and daughters, siblings and parents. He has spent several years training professionals on his own approach to understanding the complex reality of family estrangement in contemporary society and how to support clients through the various psychological, relational, and social challenges they face.

He has published one paper in the Family Journal, entitled The Changing Impact and Challenges of Familial Estrangement, and his first book, Navigating Family Estrangement, published by Routledge, is a practical guide for professionals and estranged adults and is available from all book sellers now.

Link to Book (There's sale on at the mo):

https://www.routledge.com/Navigating-Family-Estrangement-Helping-Adults-Understand-and-Manage-the-Challenges-of-Family-Estrangement/Melvin/p/book/9781032423067

Link to Workshop on Jun 5th (8 things everyone needs to know about family estrangement):

https://www.therapyacademy.ie/details/webinar/1673

Socials:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karl-melvin-psychotherapist-ma-miacp-2a29679/

https://www.instagram.com/karl.melvin/

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In this deeply personal and vulnerable episode, Josh Connolly shares his journey to 13 years of sobriety. But this isn’t just a story about putting down the drink. It’s a story of survival, chaos, pain, and ultimately transformation.

Josh opens up about his early experiences with cannabis at age 12, the spiral into alcohol and hard drugs, and the chaos that followed — from blackouts and self-destruction to brushes with death. He recounts traumatic events, addiction-fueled madness, and his darkest moments, where the idea of escape felt like the only way out.

But this episode is more than just a retelling of a troubled past. It’s about healing. Josh reflects on how sobriety didn’t fix everything overnight, how emotional wounds ran deeper than the addiction itself, and how he learned to live with — and eventually love — himself.

Whether you’re struggling with addiction, supporting someone who is, or just curious about the raw reality of sobriety beyond the social media highlight reel, this episode is a must-listen.

🔹 Topics Covered:

• The raw reality of addiction — beyond the social media facade.
• The love affair with substances and the chaos that followed.
• The turning point — from suicidal despair to a life of service.
• The truth about sobriety — why it’s more than just quitting.
• Josh’s ongoing journey — the challenges and the gifts of 13 years sober.
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Listen now to hear the story behind the resilience.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the very first guest episode of Dysfunctional, I’m joined by writer and embodiment coach Leona Waller — and we go all in on the toxic side of self-improvement culture.

We explore how the wellness and personal development world can subtly (and not-so-subtly) feed the same control, shame and conformity that many of us grew up with. We talk about embodiment as an antidote — not the trendy version, but the real, messy, human kind. The kind that gets you out of your head, back into your body, and into a life that actually feels like yours.

We also dig into:

— Why gratitude lists can actually make things worse

— How capitalism hijacked healing

— Why being “zen” isn’t always the answer

— The problem with trying to meditate your trauma away

— And how embodiment can help you feel less crazy and more you

Leona Waller is a writer and facilitator helping people trust their own bodies and emotions more than Instagram wellness influencers. She’s the co-creator of The Body Knows, a newsletter and community using somatics and embodiment to help people stop optimizing life and start living it. With a background in neuroscience and emotional psychology, she creates spaces where people shed the shoulds and come home — to the power and joy that are their birthright.

Follow Leona’s work here:

🔗 The Body Knows on Substack

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Subscribe to Dysfunctional for raw, unfiltered conversations about healing, systems, and seeing clearly — because if you grew up in dysfunction, chances are, you’re still surrounded by it.

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