Content Warning: This episode discusses suicide, self-harm, and mental health. Please listen with care.

What if your teen’s big emotions weren’t the problem, but your response was?

Kate Mason sits down with licensed therapist and author Katie K. May, a leading expert in teen self-harm, DBT, and emotional regulation. Together, they explore the often-quiet struggles parents face when their teenager is overwhelmed by big, burning feelings, what Katie calls being “on fire.”

Drawing from her personal journey and professional experience, Katie explains why some kids feel more intensely, how parents unintentionally fuel the flames, and the radical shift needed to connect with and support teens through emotional storms.

Listen For

3:36 Why do teens self-harm and what does it achieve?
7:26 How did Katie K. May overcome self-harm and trauma?
12:57 What is radical acceptance in parenting?
20:32 Why does fixing your teen often backfire?
30:15 Can stable teens still engage in self-destructive behavior?

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Connect with guest: Katie K. May

LinkedIn | TikTok | Instagram | Instagram | Facebook

Contact Kate:

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Is your baby really hungry—or just hooked on ultra-processed foods?

Kate Mason sits down with children’s nutritionist and author Mandy Sacher to unravel the tangled world of feeding babies and toddlers.

From decoding misleading food labels to tackling fussy eating head-on, Mandy shares her powerful journey, from developing childhood obesity programs with UK hospitals to launching Australia's first real food rating system.

She opens up about how her own child’s love of broccoli sparked a national movement for better children's nutrition.

Together, Kate and Mandy tackle the myths, the fears, and the everyday realities of starting solids, avoiding food-related anxiety, and raising resilient eaters in an ultra-processed world.

Listen For

3:02 Why did Mandy shift to kids' nutrition?

6:00 What’s wrong with food labels?

12:47 When should babies start solids?

19:10 How can parents stay calm at mealtimes?

34:34 When does picky eating start?

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Connect with guest: Mandy Sacher | Pediatric Nutritionist and Chief Nutrition Officer

Website | Instagram | Real Food Rating Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Contact Kate:

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This is an episode originally published in November 2024. It is one of my most popular.

Are you tired of living with your adult kids? The phenomenon of adult children living at home with their parents has become increasingly common, leaving many to wonder: is this the new normal?

Kate looks at the realities of adults living with their parents, whether due to economic challenges or shifting cultural norms.

Joined by life coach Jeanine Mouchawar, they discuss how to navigate this complex dynamic with grace and mutual respect.

From reshaping communication styles to setting boundaries and fostering independence, this episode is packed with practical advice for parents and adult children.

Listen For:

7:06 Parental expectations vs. economic realities

13:56 Resetting boundaries

17:51 Avoiding conflicts: Top communication strategies

22:32 Sitting in the hole: How to truly support your child

Guest: Jeanine Mouchawar

Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | Website | Website |

Contact Kate:

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Is Christmas your calm or your chaos?

Kate Mason welcomes returning couple therapists Helen and Shahn to unpack why the festive season so often becomes a pressure cooker and how couples can reclaim it with clarity and compassion.

They share their own blended-family reset, choosing Christmas morning at home to create sleep, sanity, and new traditions.

From end-of-year exhaustion to old family roles that snap back under one roof, they explain how reactivity takes over and how to stay “untangled” by planning ahead, agreeing on boundaries, and responding by values.

You will hear practical scripts like saying “ouch, that is sharp,” advice for united communication with parents and in laws, and survival tips that include pre warning, lightening the alcohol, and offering grace when family of origin ghosts appear.

The result is a toolkit for couples who want a kinder, more intentional holiday season.

Listen For

3:00 How do you create new Christmas traditions when old ones no longer work?

7:28 Why does Christmas bring back old family roles and tension?

11:00 What should you do if you're stuck with a toxic relative during dinner?

23:42 How can couples set boundaries with their families around Christmas?

30:13 What are the best survival strategies for a smoother festive season?

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Connect with guests:

Shahn Baker Sorekli, Director | Author | App Founder | Clinical Psychologist | Couples Therapist | Board Approved Supervisor

Shahn's LinkedIn

Helen Robertson, Director | Clinical Psychologist | Author | Advanced Certified Schema Therapist | Schema Certified Supervisor | Board Approved Supervisor

Helen's LinkedIn

The 8 Love Links Book | Website | Instagram |TikTok |Tiktok

Contact Kate:

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Is your partner your teammate… or just your roommate?

Kate Mason dives deep into why so many loving couples start to feel emotionally disconnected—not because of conflict, but because of neglect.

With warmth and insight, Kate introduces the "Five-Minute Personality Check-In," a powerful weekly ritual that helps couples realign, reconnect, and stay curious about each other, even when life gets chaotic.

She explores how our unique personality types shape how we connect (or clash), revealing practical tools to bridge the gap between introverts and extroverts, thinkers and feelers, planners and free spirits.

If your relationship feels more functional than emotional lately, this episode offers a refreshingly simple yet powerful way to find your way back.

Listen For

6:57 How do introverts and extroverts experience connection differently?

9:26 How do thinkers and feelers misread each other’s intentions?

11:52 Why does planning the week create conflict for some couples?

14:15 What are the three questions in the Five-Minute Check-In?

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Contact Kate:

Email | Website | Kate’s Book on Amazon | LinkedIn | Facebook | X

What if your health isn’t something you do, but something you are?

Kate Mason sits down with wellness journalist and author Casey Beros to trace her path from a Perth uni student obsessed with health reporting to on-air roles with ABC’s evidence-based program Tonic and a dream daily TV gig that was axed 35 episodes in—followed by a grief-soaked reset that clarified her true mission.

Casey shares how building Paper Tiger health retreats gave her real-world empathy, why she trusts slow science over fast headlines, and how her “Headlines to Live By” cut through fads: move, eat mostly whole foods, sleep, tend your mental and social health, and see your doctor.

She rejects quick fixes (and “expensive urine”), champions agency over obedience in a more horizontal model of care, and offers micro-actions—water, breath, a text to a friend, ten squats—that compound into real change.

Listen For

:32 What sparked Casey’s lifelong obsession with health journalism?
3:25 How did a bold pitch to Dr Norman Swan open the first big door?
7:12 What did Casey learn creating ABC’s evidence-based show Tonic?
14:51 How did she rebuild after a dream TV job was suddenly axed?
38:07 What “minimum viable interventions” can you start using today?

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Connect with guest: Casey Beros | Medical Facilitator | Educator | Communicator

LinkedIn | Website | Next of Kin Book | Instagram | X | Facebook | Newsletter

Contact Kate:

Email | Website | Kate’s Book on Amazon | LinkedIn | Facebook | X

Are we expressing more than we’re actually coping?

Kate Mason poses three big, bold questions to five insightful guests—Cat, Cassie, Jack, Maryann, and Tracy.

Together, they explore what today’s kids are most missing: is it freedom, discipline, or connection?

They unpack whether our personality or our experiences shape us more deeply, and whether the current culture of emotional openness is fostering resilience or just performance.

With perspectives from teachers, parents, and leaders, this episode invites listeners to rethink the way they parent, teach, connect, and even scroll.

It’s honest, nuanced, and might just shift the way you see the emotional lives of both kids and adults.

Listen For

2:33 What are kids missing most—freedom, discipline, or connection?

8:51 Are we shaped more by personality or experience?

14:27 Have we become better at expressing or just posting emotions?

19:47 How can we help kids build real resilience offline?

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Contact Kate:

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Ever wondered if siblings raised by the same parents actually grow up in completely different families?

Kate Mason sits down with author, veteran, and filmmaker Pamela Vines to explore how sibling dynamics, birth order, and evolving parenting styles shape who we become.

Through heartfelt storytelling and humorous reflection, Pam shares how she and her two sisters (each born in a different decade) experienced three radically different versions of the same parents.

From being a self-sufficient middle child to caring for her aging father, Pam reflects on generational shifts in parenting, perception, and purpose.

Together, Kate and Pam dig into how personality, timing, and life circumstances affect our family roles, childhood memories, and ultimately, how we parent.

Listen For

6:59 What inspired Pam Vines’ project on aging, caregiving, and creativity in later life?

14:00 How did birth order and big age gaps affect Pamela's family dynamic?

24:17 Did all three sisters really experience the same parents?

31:41 How did different rules apply to each sibling when it came to freedom and trust?

37:52 How do parents unintentionally show favoritism—and can they ever see it?

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Connect with guest: Pam Vines CEO of Vines Film and Media, Author

LinkedIn | Website | Book | Instagram

Contact Kate:

Email | Website | Kate’s Book on Amazon | LinkedIn | Facebook | X