Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of childhood sexual abuse, religious trauma, suicide attempts, and domestic violence. Please listen with care.

In this powerful episode of Dysfunctional, Karinne shares her story of surviving a childhood shaped by the Jehovah’s Witnesses — a group she now calls a cult — and parents who were both abusive and narcissistic.

Kicked out at 16 after being groomed and blamed for it, Karinne found herself completely alone in the world, trauma-bonded to the very people who harmed her, and struggling to make sense of a reality she was never prepared for.

What follows is a conversation about real healing — not the Instagram version with matcha and mantras, but the messy, angry, beautiful kind that happens when you start telling the truth.

Together we explore:

What it’s like growing up in a high-control religious cult

The impact of narcissistic parenting and spiritual abuse

Purity culture, fear-based control, and enforced submission

The trauma bond and why it’s so hard to break

What healing actually looks like — day-to-day, years on

Karinne is funny, fierce, and real. She’s not here to sugarcoat anything. This is what healing sounds like in real life.

📲 Connect with Karinne on insta - @girl_inshambles

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Most people think they’re broken. Most people think dysregulation is a problem. Most people think the answer is to regulate, reframe, or reset.

But what if all of that is just another distraction?

Another way to bypass what actually needs to be felt?

This episode is a full-bodied dismantling of the healing and wellness world as we know it — with the brilliant Sam Miller, who teaches Mind-Body Recovery through a trauma-informed, Jungian, and deeply embodied lens.

We talk about:

Why your symptoms might actually be your body healing

How emotional repression creates chaos in the system

Why "cognitive reframing" is like shouting to the basement from the attic

The cult of regulation and fake safety in the healing space

Performative masculinity, football fights, and the grief men won't feel

And how real emotional healing often looks more like screaming, shaking, and collapsing into a ball in a sauna than it does cold plunges or coaching frameworks

We also dig into the absolute state of the wellness industry — the bypassing, the ego-led facilitators, and why a lot of what’s branded as “healing” is just a new costume for the same old disconnection.

This one goes deep. It’s raw. It’s real.

It’s Dysfunctional.

Best place to find Sam is here - https://youtube.com/@the_mindful_gardener?si=WasM11Ci0DIGsXCg

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Today, I’m joined by the brilliant Dr. Genevieve von Lob – clinical psychologist, conscious parenting coach, and author of Five Deep Breaths: The Power of Mindful Parenting. Genevieve is a powerful voice for highly sensitive people (HSPs), and she's on a mission to create healing spaces for parents and children who’ve never felt like they fit the mould.

In this raw and deeply validating conversation, we explore what it really means to be highly sensitive in a world that often gets it wrong. We talk about the link between sensitivity and misdiagnosis, the emotional toll of being pathologized, and the damaging impact of growing up misunderstood.

Genevieve shares why many sensitive children end up labelled, punished, or shamed – and how their intense emotional world can actually be their greatest gift. We discuss addiction, bullying, co-regulation, parenting struggles, empowered sensitivity, narcissistic abuse, and why true healing happens in community, not isolation.

This is one of those conversations that might just change how you see yourself – or your child – forever.

Find out more about Dr Genevieve von Lob here -

www.drgenevieve.com

@drgenevievevonlob (instagram) https://www.linkedin.com/in/drgenevieve/ (linkedin)

01:00 Introduction to Dr. Genevieve Von Lobb

02:59 Discovering High Sensitivity in Children

06:19 Personal Journey and Understanding Sensitivity

09:28 Challenges of Highly Sensitive Children

13:21 Recognizing and Supporting Sensitive Children

25:04 The Western Medical Model and Sensitivity

34:19 Bullying and Sensitivity

40:30 Understanding Trauma and Its Impact

41:59 The Dilemma of Highly Sensitive People

42:35 Ignoring Red Flags and Gut Instincts

45:38 Energetic Entanglement and Boundaries

47:12 The Reality of Bullying and Narcissism

50:03 The Journey to Empowerment

01:03:30 The Importance of Community Healing

01:04:57 Final Thoughts and Future Plans

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Josh is joined by IFS coach Kevin O’Neill — the man who guided him through 10 transformational sessions of Internal Family Systems work. Together, they explore what it really means to stop fighting your inner world and start leading from your Self. Josh shares the breakthrough that changed everything: realizing he was still judging himself through the lens of who he was at 22. They dive into shame, identity, addiction, inner protectors, and why even the messiest parts of us are just trying to help. This episode is a raw and moving deep-dive into parts work, masculinity, and what happens when you realise… there are no bad parts.

Working with Kevin was life changing for me and you can find out more about him and how to work with him yourself here -

www.nobadparts.coach

On instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/no_badparts/

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In this raw and powerful conversation, I’m joined by writer and survivor Stéphanie St-Jean, whose viral piece “I Hope This Finds You Unwell” marked the moment she stopped hiding and started healing.

Stéphanie shares the quiet devastation of emotional and financial abuse, the trauma of post-separation control, and how writing became the tool that helped her reclaim her truth, her worth, and her voice.

We talk about:

• The subtle patterns of narcissistic abuse that often go unseen
• How trauma survivors are misdiagnosed instead of supported
• Speaking out, smear campaigns, and the cost of telling the truth
• Creating a children’s book to help others feel worthy from the start

This episode is about what happens when you stop apologizing for your truth and finally say what needs to be said.

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of narcissistic abuse, miscarriage, emotional manipulation, and post-separation abuse.

Find Stephaine here - https://lessonsindiscernment.substack.com

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What if your burnout, your self-doubt, your struggle to belong weren’t personal problems, but symptoms of a system that was never built for you?

In this raw and powerful conversation, Josh is joined by master intuitive psychology coach Helen to dismantle the myth of individual healing in a broken society. Together, they explore how patriarchy, capitalism, and outdated leadership models disconnect us from our true selves and how coming home to our intuition is an act of resistance.

This isn’t just another coaching chat. It’s a call to break free from the systems that broke you. Expect uncomfortable truths, gut-punch insights, and a reminder that real change starts within but never ends there.

Find Helen here -

www.helendudzinska.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-dudzinska-b75087184

Insta - @helendudzinska

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If you’ve ever dealt with a toxic person online or in real life, this episode is for you.

Josh breaks down a recent Facebook interaction that perfectly illustrates the exhausting tactics toxic people use to wear you down — from word salads to projection, reactive abuse, triangulation, moral superiority, and weaponised vulnerability.

You’ll learn:

• Why you’ll never “win” against a toxic person
• How they twist your words, deny reality, and drag you into chaos
• The difference between true vulnerability and manipulative victimhood
• How these same toxic tactics show up in cult-like communities and spiritual spaces
• Why gray rocking might be the only sane response

It’s raw, honest, a bit messy — and definitely dysfunctional.

Whether you’re healing from family dysfunction, dealing with online trolls, or navigating toxic dynamics in your life, this one will help you feel a little less crazy.

00:00 Introduction to Toxic Relationships

00:57 Personal Anecdote: The Persistent Commenter

04:32 The Facebook Confrontation

07:59 Understanding Reactive Abuse

17:17 The DAVO Tactic Explained

20:01 Confrontation and Gaslighting

22:22 Understanding Word Salad

23:45 Triangulation in Toxic Relationships

25:22 Weaponized Vulnerability

29:26 Moral Superiority and Cult-like Behavior

36:45 Personal Reflections and Community Building

40:55 Final Thoughts and Podcast Wrap-up

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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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