Grow Yourself Up

In this episode Cath was joined by Dr Emma Offord. Cath and Emma talked about Emma's path to motherhood, childhood trauma, how Emma tends to and advocates for herself and her children and sensory needs and how these are so important to understand, particularly in the context of families/food/parenting. We talked about autism, ADHD, neurodivergence and trauma, late diagnosis, OCD and how Emma experiences OCD and Emma talked about unmasking and how she advocates for herself in order to tend to her needs.

Dr Emma Offord is a clinical psychologist and founder of Divergent Life, a neuroaffirming practice supporting neurodivergent children, parents, and adults. Divergent Life offers diagnostic assessments for autism and ADHD, alongside therapy, coaching, and group programmes that centre the whole person rather than deficit-based models.
Emma is passionate about challenging medicalised approaches to neurodivergence and naming the systemic harms that arise when difference is misunderstood. Her work helps people understand their nervous systems, developmental histories, and strengths in context, with a particular focus on breaking cycles of shame, survival, and self-blame in parenting and family life.

She brings both clinical expertise and lived experience as a late-identified neurodivergent woman and parent, shaped by complex developmental trauma and a deep understanding of how these layers interact across generations.

Emma hosts This Voice Is Mine: The Unquiet Podcast and offers group programmes including the Neurodivergent Identity Programme (NDIP), Nervous System Reset (NSR), and Empowered Parenting.

Instagram: @divergentlives
Website: divergentlife.co.uk

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To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram.

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In this episode Cath answers a listener's letter. The content of this episode deals with the question: ‘How can we tend to ourselves when we realise some of our parenting has come from our own pain and trauma?’ How do we deal with the guilt and shame arising from this? What helps this shift?

If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it. To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram.

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In this episode Cath speaks about how control is such a key coping strategy for so many of us and how this rears its head at times of stress (like early motherhood) and in new situations. Control is not the solution we think it is and Cath shares a recent incident from her own life showing how control is so seductive and seems to be the answer, but really it is an illusion.

If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.

To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram.

Follow Cath on social media here:
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In episode 160 Cath speaks about how we have to develop our own sense of power and sovereignty as we heal from childhood trauma and how this involves really moving away from external approval. She talks about developing self trust, ceasing to gaslight ourselves and the concept of unconditional love. We have to consciously unhook from societal messages so we can craft the life of our own dreams.

If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.

To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram.

Follow Cath on social media here:
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In this deeply touching episode Cath was joined by attachment expert and psychotherapist Anne Power. Anne shared about her own attachment journey, some of her childhood story, boarding school, brief explanations about the different attachment styles, attachment in couple relationships and attachment, grief and repair in the parent child relationship. This episode will help you feel supported and seen.

Anne Power first qualified at The Bowlby Centre, and later trained at WPF, Tavistock Relationships and Relate. She has worked in various settings but now works online with couples and parent-with-adult-child pairs. She has written many academic papers and two books; all of these use attachment theory to understand relationships and clinical experience.

Her book Contented Couples is based on interviews with eighteen long-term couples from different traditions, including arranged marriage. It explains couple dynamics in an accessible way and describes how partners’ complementary attachment patterns can work well together.

Anne posts on Instagram @and_attachment with content for people who want to understand attachment in their relationships. Her TEDx talk ‘Attachment theory is the science of love’, also addresses this theme and has been watched by over a million people.

You can watch the TEDx talk yourself by clicking here.

Anne has also recently finished writing a novel about a couple counsellor and the diverse couples who come to see her. Do watch for news and publication of her forthcoming novel on her Instagram page, or on her website where you can also download free PDFs on attachment themes at https://www.contentedcouples.com/

If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.

To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram.

Follow Cath on social media here:
Instagram: @cathcounihan
Substack: Nurture.Heal.Grow
Facebook: Cath Counihan
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.