In this touching and insightful conversation, Patrice returns to share an update on her ongoing journey of self-trust, relational clarity, and emotional healing. After creating space from a previous relationship that couldn’t meet her needs, she reflects on patterns of seeking connection in unavailable places, and the surprising grief that can arise even in the presence of new joy and ease. Together, we explore the nuanced process of discerning what it really means to meet our own needs in relationship, not in isolation.

Listen to hear a powerful metaphor about sitting in the sun to illuminate our active role in seeking strategies and environments that help us flourish, without slipping into self-blame or control. The episode highlights the paradoxical healing that can happen when joy brings our old pain into sharper focus, and reminds us that ease, play, and connection are not luxuries: they are pathways home.

Key Takeaways:

1.Self-trust is not all-or-nothing: it can be practiced on a continuum and deepened through lived experiences.

2.Grief often arises after joy, as we finally feel the contrast between past deprivation and present nourishment.

3.We are co-creators in meeting our needs, not passive recipients or isolated islands.

4.Ease and play can feel foreign at first, but are vital indicators of healing environments.

5.Healthy relationship dynamics aren’t about forcing others to change, but about choosing where we bring our longing.

If you're looking for a high caliber small group where you can deepen your practice and really live into the principles of compassion, non-violence and relational presence, apply for The Mentorship Circle, which will begin November 2nd. It will be three hours every month of advanced teaching, deep discussion, and practical integration. Learn more here.

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus

What do you do when you’ve poured your heart into being a better parent, and your adult child still keeps you at arm’s length?

In today’s heartfelt (and heart-heavy) coaching conversation, we sit with Josie: a mother navigating the complex grief of feeling used, dismissed, and emotionally exiled by her daughter.

Despite years of inner work and a deep desire to connect, Josie finds herself hurt and unsure: Should she take space? Should she block her daughter’s messages? Is silence a form of self-care, or a veiled cry to be rescued?

Together, we untangle the knot between boundaries and punishment, help her find clarity around her deeper intentions, and explore how unmet childhood needs can hijack our adult relationships. Whether you’re a parent, a child, or both, this episode will speak to the ache of misalignment and the courage it takes to stay rooted in love while protecting your own heart.

In this episode:

•How to discern the difference between setting a boundary and delivering a covert ultimatum

•Why “taking space” sometimes carries unspoken hopes for change, and how to separate them

•The ache of being the family scapegoat, even after decades of healing

•Navigating the painful realization: Nobody else sees me the way my children do.

•A metaphor for overexposure to painful dynamics: The emotional sunburn

•Why it’s essential to tend to your inner child before asking others to meet your unmet needs

•Sample scripts for taking space with clarity, not punishment

•The real purpose of pausing contact: and how to do it with integrity

If you're looking for a high caliber small group where you can deepen your practice and really live into the principles of compassion, non-violence and relational presence, apply for The Mentorship Circle, which will begin November 2nd. It will be three hours every month of advanced teaching, deep discussion, and practical integration. Learn more here.

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus

When the world of healing turns out to be more political than personal, more performative than compassionate, what do you do?

In this episode, we explore a powerful, vulnerable question from Katie, a listener discerning whether to pursue psychology as a profession. What unfolds is part mentorship, part memoir, and a whole lot of honest reflection on the tangled terrain of becoming a healer inside complex systems.

I share a bit of my own journey through graduate school, toxic professional cultures, disillusionment with insurance models, and the soul-stretching cost, both financial and emotional, of pursuing clinical licensure as a single mother in my 40s.

But this conversation isn’t just about psychology. It’s about discernment. It’s about staying connected to your deeper “yes” when fear, fatigue, and broken systems threaten to drown it out.

Whether you’re an aspiring therapist, a burnt-out practitioner, or simply someone trying to live with more integrity and heart, this episode is for you.

Listener Takeaways:

•Why disillusionment in helping professions is not a sign you’re broken, it’s a call for deeper discernment.

•How to honor your “yes” even when fear and power dynamics swirl.

•Why finding your people is just as important as finding your profession.

•The real cost of licensure, and what to consider before taking on debt.

•What it looks like to stay within a system without losing yourself in it.

If you're looking for a high caliber small group where you can deepen your practice and really live into the principles of compassion, non-violence and relational presence, apply for The Mentorship Circle, which will begin November 2nd. It will be three hours every month of advanced teaching, deep discussion, and practical integration. Learn more here.

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus