Nexus Family Healing
Restoring Hope. Reshaping Futures.
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Author Rebekah Taussig shares her experience growing up with a disability, navigating depression, and learning to understand herself in a world shaped by ableism. In this conversation, she reflects on identity, motherhood, and the shift from seeing herself as deficient to recognizing systemic barriers.
Author Isaac Fitzgerald reflects on a childhood shaped by substance use, violence, and mental health struggles, including the loss of his mother to suicide. Despite these challenges, he shares how love, literature, and community helped guide him toward healing and a more hopeful path.
Aggressive behaviors like hitting or biting can be difficult to navigate, but they are often a child’s way of communicating unmet needs or overwhelming emotions. By understanding the root cause and responding with consistency, modeling, and positive reinforcement, caregivers can help children build healthier ways to express themselves. Early support makes a lasting difference.
Author Ashley C. Ford shares her experience growing up with a mother who was both loving and abusive, while her father was incarcerated for most of her life. In this conversation, she reflects on making sense of those complex family dynamics and how they continue to shape her identity, relationships, and healing as an adult. It’s a powerful look at understanding where we come from, and how it impacts who we become.
Actor Paul Scheer reflects on his childhood with an abusive stepfather and how those experiences shaped his relationship with anger, conflict, and identity. Through therapy and conversations with his wife, he began to understand the lasting impact of that trauma and how it showed up in his adult life. He shares how he’s working to break those patterns and build a healthier relationship with himself and his family.
Loneliness is on the rise, and rebuilding meaningful connections can feel harder than ever. As social habits shift and relationships take more effort to maintain, loneliness can quietly become the norm for youth and adults. So how do we begin to recover? It starts with a simple idea: “do then feel.”
Actor and writer Joel Kim Booster shares his journey growing up in a deeply religious adoptive household where his sexuality and mental health struggles were not accepted. After his parents discovered he was gay by reading his journal, Joel left home at 17 and began building a life on his own while later navigating a diagnosis of bipolar II disorder. In this candid conversation, he reflects on self-acceptance, boundaries with family, and the path toward reconciliation and stability.
At just 22, Frank Cobbe has already done significant work to understand his mental health and support others. After being diagnosed with bipolar II disorder and later discovering he is on the autism spectrum, Frank and his mom began a journey that helped them both better understand their mental health. In this episode, Frank shares how family support, education, and self-discovery helped him make sense of experiences like hypomania and psychosis, and why he now advocates for young adult mental health.
Natural and man-made disasters in recent news can cause stress, especially for children. As a parent, it’s important to remember that your reactions to these disasters can impact the way your child views the world around them. Remain calm, give yourself time to process and create a plan that works for your family.
Growing up as the only person of color in her adoptive family, Kris Jamieson always knew she was different, but understanding her identity proved far more complicated. From reconnecting with her birth mother to navigating painful family estrangement, Kris shares how race, belonging, and loss have shaped her mental health journey. It’s a powerful conversation about complicated families, clarity around who “Mom” is, and learning to live with depression and anxiety while holding onto your sense of self.
Newspaper columnist and community leader Ka Vang reflects on surviving war and displacement as a Hmong refugee and the lasting mental health impacts on her family. She shares how generational trauma continues to echo today, as immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota trigger fear and flashbacks within the Hmong community.
Friendship breakups can be just as painful as romantic ones, yet they’re often overlooked. When a close friendship ends, whether it fades or breaks abruptly, it can bring deep grief, including sadness, anger, and loneliness. If a relationship feels one-sided, draining, or no longer aligned with your values, it may be time to let go. Give yourself permission to grieve, seek support, and focus on healing.
After the loss of both her parents, author and artist Tracey Yokas found herself supporting her daughter through grief that developed into an eating disorder and self-harm, all while navigating her own mental health challenges. In this episode, Tracey reflects on parenting through crisis, examining how her own childhood experiences shaped her family dynamics, and the long, complex path toward healing and understanding across generations.
Comedian, writer, and podcast host Ophira Eisenberg joins us to explore generational trauma, hypervigilance, and resilience. Reflecting on her upbringing in a family shaped by unaddressed war-related trauma, she shares how anxiety and anger carried into her own life and parenting — and how she’s learning to face difficult emotions with honesty, humor, and a commitment to keep moving forward.
Children today face many kinds of worries, from everyday stressors to larger uncertainties in the world around them. These stressors can feel overwhelming, especially for kids who are still learning how to understand their emotions and make sense of new experiences. As caregivers, we play an essential role in helping children feel grounded, supported, and safe. With all these stressors, how can we help keep kids feeling safe and secure in today’s world?
Acclaimed writer and university professor Jason Tougaw finds time to reflect on a chaotic childhood marked by instability, inherited family myths, and the search for identity in a time when being gay felt unsafe. In conversation, he shares how paying close attention to the patterns he didn’t want to repeat—and finding unexpected sources of healing—helped him build a calmer, more intentional life as an adult.
NPR’s Peter Sagal joins Dr. Michelle K. Murray for a candid conversation about mental health, family history, and personal growth. Known for his humor on Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me, Peter shares his experience with undiagnosed ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and how reflection and therapy helped him break unhealthy patterns and build stronger family connections.
When constant breaking news feels overwhelming, your body may need a pause. This blog offers simple, grounding techniques to help regulate your nervous system and reduce stress. These tools can help you reconnect with your body, take your next breath, and remember that you are not alone.
In this special episode, Dr. Michelle K. Murray offers some practical advice on taking care of yourself and your loved ones during these tumultuous events. She discusses creating a safety plan, setting healthy boundaries, and staying grounded in your values. A short, compassionate guide to help families navigate uncertainty together.
A year ago, I came across the Danish custom of “hygge” (pronounced “hoo-gah”). “Hygge” doesn’t have an exact translation in English. According to the New York Times article where I first came across the term, a close translation is “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” The feelings I experience in winter of safety, comfort, and community are in line with hygge.
Nexus Family Healing’s "In This Family" podcast brings together powerful voices who share how mental health, addiction, and recovery have shaped their lives and families. This best-of roundup highlights four impactful episodes that spark honest conversations, reduce stigma, and remind us that healing begins when stories are shared.
Rapper, singer, and author Dessa shares how she faced big feelings as an adolescent and how she got the help she needed when she needed it. Dessa tells us how family support and a curiosity about health and medicine have served her well.
Actor and writer Bill Corbett shares an honest look at his journey with anxiety, addiction, and recovery, reflecting on how growing up without conversations about mental health shaped his life. He opens up about his breakdown in New York City, his path to sobriety, and the work it took to regain balance.
Holiday gatherings can be joyful, but they can also bring stress, anxiety, and complicated family dynamics. This blog shares three practical self-care strategies to help you navigate the season with confidence. With thoughtful preparation, you can create space for connection and joy, even in challenging moments.
Resources provided through our website are informational in nature and not meant to take the place of consulting your physician, mental health professional, or other qualified health providers regarding your well-being or the well-being of others.
