Facets of Connection

In this episode of Facets of Connection, Sarah Melissa Oswald explores why healthy relationships don’t simply happen—they are consciously led. Drawing from Relational Life Therapy, Gestalt Therapy and living-systems thinking, she explains the skills couples need in order to move beyond reactive patterns and build partnerships that grow stronger over time.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why most couples were never ...

This conversation with Cynda Collins Arsenault explores the connections between personal experience, community, and global change. Cynda reflects on how her journey—rooted in her role as a mother and community-builder—has shaped her decades-long work in peace, inclusion, and female leadership. The discussion moves through themes of respectful relationships, the transformative power of grief, and the importance of inclus...

In conversation, Brett Goldstein reveals a refreshingly honest and relatable approach to both work and life—he and Sarah move fluidly between stories of vulnerability, reflections on personal growth, and practical wisdom cultivated from real mistakes and successes. Their dialogue uncovers how Brett’s leadership style is grounded in emotional openness and “human connection,” exploring how trust and authentici...

In this powerful conversation, host Sarah Melissa Oswald speaks with Dr. Jae Sevelius—Senior Research Specialist at Relational Life Foundation and a nationally recognized psychologist—about the evolving research behind Relational Life Therapy (RLT). Together they explore how relationships heal us, the vision for making RLT an evidence-based, scalable modality, and the exciting intersection of relational work and psyched...

In this powerful episode, host Sarah Melissa Oswald sits down with therapist and peace facilitator Chiddie Anyasodo to explore her remarkable journey from oil and gas engineer to relational healer. Drawing on her background in engineering systems and her training in Relational Life Therapy (RLT), Chiddie has pioneered a groundbreaking approach to conflict resolution, transforming age-old community tensions in Nigeria through the cr...

In this episode of Facets of Connection, host Sarah Melissa Oswald sits down with Iuri Melo to explore the urgent youth mental health crisis and the power of proactive solutions. 
Iuri is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience and the proud father of five. He’s the co-founder of SchoolPulse, a nationwide student support service that delivers positivity, optimism, and growth mindset tools to...

In this conversation, Sarah sits down with Kathi Burns, a best-selling author, board certified professional organizer, personal stylist & nationally recognized for her simple organizing & style solutions. She has also been featured on Good Morning America as a successful woman owned business. Sarah and Kathi explore how our relationship with our built and digital environments impacts our well-being, productivity, ...

In this heartfelt and thought-provoking conversation, RLT-certified coach Beverly Joy Ehrlich sits down with Sarah Melissa Oswald, Director of Relational Life Foundation, to explore what it means to foster intimacy through community. Their conversation illuminates the limitations of the nuclear family model and invites us to reimagine relationships as living systems—ever-evolving, interdependent, and rich with possibility. Fr...

In this rich conversation, therapist, educator, and RLT mentor Caron Starobin, LCSW-C, joins us to explore the unique complexities—and deep potential—of neurodiverse relationships. Drawing on decades of experience, Caron shares how Relational Life Therapy (RLT) offers an empowering framework for supporting couples where one or both partners are neurodivergent. We discuss the intersections of trauma and neurodivergence, ...

In this heartfelt episode of Facets of Connection, we sit down with therapist, author, and mother, Susan Caso, MA, LPC, to explore how respectful, connected relationships between parents and teens can help shift the trajectory of our current youth mental health crisis. Drawing from over two decades of experience and her book The Parent-Teen Connection, Susan offers actionable tools for building emotional closene...

In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Stacee and Ya’Ron Brown, licensed professional counselors, married couple, and co-founders of the Relational Growth and Wellness Foundation. They share their mission to bring healing, transformation, and liberation to BIPOC and Pan-African communities through accessible mental health care, relational education, and cultural representation. Drawing from their lived experience and 17 ...

Join our host, Sarah Melissa Oswald, as she takes you inside the Colorado State Penitentiary, where she witnesses the transformative power of the Realness Project. Through heartfelt conversations with incarcerated men, she explores what it means to connect, to lead, and to heal—even in the most dehumanizing environments. This episode is a moving reflection on resilience, relational leadership, and the belief that all humans a...

In this short podcast segment, we explore the evolution of RLT’s Relationship Grid. You'll learn how healthy self-esteem balances equally warm regard for self and others, and how having both protective and containing boundaries is essential for respectful relational dynamics. We also unpack the pitfalls of externally driven self-esteem, and the power of practicing relational health every day. Whether you're a therapist or sim...

In this episode of Facets of Connection, we explore the intersection of purpose, relationships, and entrepreneurship with venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and philosophy enthusiast Matt McCall. We dive into the power of storytelling, the challenges of balancing personal and professional relationships, and how entrepreneurship serves as a microcosm for self-growth. Matt also reflects on life’s transitions, human-centric ...

In this powerful episode of Facets of Connection, Sarah sits down with Tracy McCartney— mother, writer, connector, and co-founder of Red Canary Magazine — for a heart-opening conversation about how storytelling fuels social and environmental justice. From typewriting poems as a toddler to creating an award-winning magazine amplifying marginalized voices, Tracy shares her inspiring journey of transforming grief...

In this heartfelt episode, Sarah is joined by Toufic Hakim—scientist by training, spiritualist by choice, and Executive Director of the Foundation for Self Leadership. Together, they explore what it means to cultivate sustainable hope in uncertain times by tending to our inner worlds, our relationships, and our communities. 
Toufic offers wisdom on how self-awareness, compassion, and connection can help us meet t...

In this episode, new board president and founder of Relational Life Therapy (RLT), Terry Real, joins senior RLT practitioner and faculty member Anna Sterk, LMFT for a powerful conversation about one of the toughest relationship questions: Should I stay or should I go?
​Together, they unpack the concept of relational reckoning—weighing whether what we’re getting is enough to make grieving what we’re not get...

In this episode, host Sarah Melissa Oswald speaks with Laurie Lazar, founder and CEO of Realness Project, about her work in prisons, where she brings authentic relating practices to incarcerated individuals. Through deeply moving stories, they discuss the generational impact of incarceration, the resilience of the human spirit, and how connection can be a catalyst for change. Join us for a conversation that challenges ass...

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Neda DeMayo, president founder of Return to Freedom, on the powerful lessons horses teach us about relationships, community, and ourselves. Explore how the secret language of horses mirrors human communication, inspires healthier communities, and offers profound healing for trauma survivors. Learn how wild horse behavior influences leadership, land management, and our connection to nature...