TherapyTalks

In a solo episode, Chris chats about Christmas and how to manage the stressful moments. He explores the perfectonism myth and looks at ideas of 'good enough'. He discusses different strategies to manage  stress and also explores deeper psychological explanations of Christmas from a Jungian perspective.

Madeleine talks with Chris about her journey from a horrific act of sexual violence perpetrated against her when she was only 13 , and how she healed over the years, and now speaks about her story and bravely shares her experiences, cultivating courage and shining a light on shame so it can lose its power.  She speaks honestly and openly about the impact on her life of these experiences and how she finally spoke out publicly in 2014.  She trained as a therapist and now speaks at various events inspiring others to speak out and break the cycle of shame that keeps people silent. 
She has written a book, unbroken, and has appeared on 2 Ted Talks, and has had a podcast called Unbroken, healing through storytelling. 

If people are impacted by what we discuss, see some support  helpline numbers available 

National 24 hour Rape Crisis Helpline 1800778888
Samaritans 116123
Connect Counselling 1800477477
Text about it 50808

For a list of accredited therapists and psychologists  in Ireland:
http://www.iacp.ie
https://iahip.org
https://www.psychologicalsociety.ie


 

Marc shares with Chris his journey to the world of coaching and corporate speaking. This is a fascinating discussion where he shares very honestly and openly the challenges from leaving Ireland as a child and moving to the UK,  his early career and how a chance bet, led him to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. This led him into the  world of Corporate Speaking events, Mentoring and Coaching.  Marc brings much insight the world of coaching and how framing his work in a psychodynamic perspective helps him to make more connections with his clients and helps them reflect more deeply about their challenges.

Alan Cooke, Emmy award winning writer and poet returns to the podcast to talk about his experiences of a profound grief after the death of his cat,  and the journey of healing he undertook. His present loss coupled with other significant losses in his life led him to travel the roads of Ireland meeting many people along the way and through shared experiences of loss and grief and connecting to the landscapes he started a healing path that continues and is bringing him forward in ways he could not have anticipated.  

Chris introduces Season 5 and talks about potential guests and recaps on season 4. Also talks about his work evelopements in Galway City counselling and the experiences of being a Dad. 

Amy talks with Chris about her journey that led her to start training as a psychotherapist.  She shares with Chris her experiences of having three siblings with Autism and the changing family dynamics and coming to terms with this.  She talks with Chris with honesty and insight and they talk about the impact of her early experiences moving from Co Dublin to the West of Ireland and the struggle of adjustment.  They talk about being sensitive and how valuable this is for the work of therapy but also how painful it can be.  Amy shares with Chris a family bereavment that had a profound impact on them all and how this and her brothers cancer diagnosis all happened at the beginning of the pandemic. This was a chat that was filled with honesty and openness. 

Chris talks with Padraig about his years of working in positive behavioural support and applied behavioural analysis and his changing focus since the pandemic. He discovered the power of communicating insights from psychology in a way that people can understand and has since  worked with the media and has worked with different organisations utilising psychological insights  to support them. And then he became a Dad and chats with Chris about this amazing,  life changing experience and they share their thoughts on fatherhood and being first time Dad's.

Eylül joins Chris to talk about her life in Turkey and the challenges and pressures of a life studying medicine and not following her passion for music.  She shares with Chris how she moved from the clinical setting to Academia and her love of science.  She talks about the challenges of life in Turkey and about what led her to move to Ireland. They talk about the work she is doing as a post doctoral researcher here.  And always music follows her and she shares with Chris this ongoing journey to becoming a musician and her passion for music and for the written word and how  melodies and lyrics  come to her and and how therapeutic this process is. 

Laura and Enda join Chris discussing their amazing Cafe and the ethos that they wish to bring to their customers. Authentic connection and great coffee are keys to their business and they share their journey to getting to where they are today. Enda talks about passion for your work versus expectation and societal norms and his movement from engineering to coffee and Laura describes the importance of being real and how this underpins their interaction  with customers.   It's clear they are both passionate about their work and they see that as fundamental to their daily lived experience. 

Sarah and Chris have a fascinating discussion about therapy and theatre and the healing aspects of their  integration. Sarah talks about her journey into the world of theatre and the paths her career has taken and her hopes going forward.  She shares with Chris her passion for the craft of acting but how she finds the industry of acting at odds with the craft. They discuss the potential for theatre and the creative arts to be therapeutic and therapy as place to help open up our creative potential.  

Lisa Berry joins Chris in chatting about her work as a Yoga teacher and practitioner and shares with Chris the profound impact yoga has had on her life. She shares her work and her approach and  brings great insight into the the world of Yoga and the very positive impact it can make in our lives. This is a fascinating conversation that has many twists and turns and captures the wide nature of Yoga and how it is so much more than the physical practise  often associated with Yoga.

Yvonne chats with Chris about her work as a therapist and her passion for psychotherapy and the healing power of the therapeutic relationship.  She also talks about her work as a singer with the band  The Raines and as a producer on a variety of projects with her husband Tommy Tiernan and more recently on the Tommy, Hector and Laurita Podcast. 

Chris talks with Niall Ronan about his former professional career in Rugby, playing with Leinster, Munster and Ireland.  He talks about the valuable lessons he learnt as a player and how he uses these in his life now and in the area of corporate wellness where he is director of a company, Titan Wellness.  Niall and Chris chat about different ideas that relate to wellness and Niall shares with Chris a wealth of ideas that can add value to our life.  

Chris concludes season 3 reflecting on the different episodes and their impact. He also reflects on the profound year that occurred during season 3 with the sudden  loss of his dad and the birth of his son.  He shares his hopes for the podcast and his gratitude for everyone who has taken the time to listen.

Steve has completed the  channel swim, swimming from England to France. He talks with Chris about his experiences during the swim and talks in particular about the mental battle of the first two hours. This is a very honest  chat and he gives us an amazing insight into the experiences of swimming such a vast distance and  of having to deal with the  major obstacle of completing such an endurance event, and that is the mind. He describes the process of having a continuous debate with himself, one side arguing for the merits of stopping and the other reminding him of why he is doing this swim.  He talks about the importance of sharing his difficulties with his support crew and the invaluable support they gave him. He has been raising money for Cancer Care West, who provide professional, community based practical and emotional support services  free of charge to anyone affected by cancer. 

In the penultimate episode of the Steve Tummon channel swim talks, Chris and Steve talk about how Steve is coping with the last couple of days before he starts the swim. He is staying in Dover and is feeling very ready to get swimming.  He talks about  the importance of external supports and how much he has found people getting in contact with their support very meaningful and very positive in terms of readying himself for the swim.  They talk about adrenaline and panic and using this to fuel him for the swim.  

Chris and Steve reflect on the last 18 months and some of the strategies that Steve has learned that are proving very important now as he faces the final few weeks before the challenge.  Steve talks honestly about his nervousness but also reflects on the work he has done to get to this position.  He talks about the final preparations and the importance of his team on the day.   All proceeds raised from this challenge will go to Cancer Care West. 

This week Steve and Chris talk about some of the important psychological strategies that Steve uses to support him during very long swims and different training challenges. What comes across really strongly is how much Steve loves swimming in the sea and that it is this love of sea swimming to helps him keep smiling as he focuses on pushing himself for those extra hours in the sea.  They talk about key concepts including reframing, taking perspective and motivation.  There are some very useful tips and strategies that can be used in everyday life, not just endurance events.

In this episode, kindly hosted by Thomas Conway, as Chris was working and not available, we follow Steve through 2 days of intense swimming, chatting before during and after these very long swims. He has a successful 7 hour swim and then the following day doesn't go to plan but they talk through the successes and important lessons of when it doesn't work out.  Steve shares valuable insights about his mental and physical preparations and how he copes with the challenges of this endurance event.  

Steve and Chris will spend the next few episodes chatting about Steve's final preparation for the channel swim,  his mental and physical challenges as he counts down the days to swimming the English Channel.  Today they chat about some of the mental battles he has to deal with and also having to deal with the 'waiting'.  He talks about his recent 6 hour swim along the promenade in difficult conditions and some of the mental techniques he uses to help in the process.