ShrinkChicks

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen talk about expectations versus reality and why life’s biggest moments often don’t feel the way we imagined they would. From marriage and motherhood to careers, birthdays, friendships, and family relationships, they explore what happens when reality doesn’t match the version we pictured in our heads.

They answer listener questions about difficult in-law relationships, weddings b...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen talk about making friends as an adult and why something that used to happen naturally can suddenly feel so difficult. They unpack what actually creates friendship (hint: it’s less chemistry and more repeated proximity), why exclusion feels so dysregulating, and how friendships naturally evolve over time.

They answer listener questions about where to meet people, making friends without kids...

On today's rewind episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen discuss what it actually looks like to respond, not react. They discuss the practice of responding and not reacting, identifying and understanding your personal triggers, responding vs. reacting with others AND with yourself, why romantic relationships typically trigger us the most, and working toward not absorbing other people’s energy/mood. The episode ends wit...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen talk about feeling lonely in a relationship: why it happens, how common it is, and what actually helps you reconnect. They explore loneliness during different life stages, especially after having kids, why expecting one partner to meet every emotional need is a recipe for failure, and how differences in emotional depth or love languages can contribute to disconnection. Listener questions cover ...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen are joined by Keltie Maguire, host of The Kids or Childfree Podcast and a clarity coach who helps people decide between parenthood or a childfree life. Together, they unpack the often overwhelming “in-between” of not knowing what you want, why that gray area can feel so hard to sit in, and how to get out of it. 

Keltie shares her own experience of being on the fence for years, w...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen break down the phases of relationships and how couples evolve over time, from the honeymoon stage to deeper intimacy. Using a developmental model from couples therapy, they explain why conflict often comes from partners being in different stages at the same time.

They walk through each phase and explain why the shift out of the honeymoon stage can feel so jarring. Listener questions cover when t...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen talk about estrangement and going no contact, a topic that’s more common than we think but still carries a lot of stigma. They unpack why people choose cutoff, the difference between setting boundaries and full estrangement, and why there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.

They explore when hard conversations should come first, how to decide between taking space versus cutting someone of...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen talk about navigating the “what am I doing with my life” era, those moments when your path, career, or identity no longer feels as clear as it once did. Whether it’s a career pivot, life transition, or just a general sense of uncertainty, this stage can bring up doubt, anxiety, and a lot of second-guessing.

They explore the difference between burnout and being in the wrong care...

This week on ShrinkChicks,Em and Jen explore healing your inner child and advice to give to the kid who lives within your adult self. They talk about why revisiting younger versions of ourselves can bring both compassion and anger, and how learning to care for your inner child can help break patterns that still show up in adult relationships.

Listener questions dive into projection and unresolved childhood pain, how to hold empathy ...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen talk about why joy and anxiety often show up together, especially when something good is happening. When positive moments arrive, the nervous system can start scanning for what might go wrong, making it hard to fully relax or enjoy the experience.

They explore why happiness can feel vulnerable, why some people try to dampen joy to avoid disappointment, and how anxiety can act as protection again...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen continue their storytelling series where notable guests share the real emotional journey behind their success. Today’s guest is Nicole Pellegrino, content creator and host of the Long Story Short with Nicole Pellegrino podcast, who Em and Jen first connected with years ago when she was engaged and navigating the loss of her mother.

Now married and newly a mom, Nicole opens up about the ide...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen explore grief; not just the kind that follows death, but the many forms of loss that shape our lives. From pregnancy loss to complicated family relationships to the life you imagined but didn’t get, grief can surface in ways people don’t always expect or understand.

They talk through different types of grief, including anticipatory grief, ambiguous grief, traumatic grief, and disenfr...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen are joined by trauma therapist, parenting educator, and cycle-breaking advocate Maggie Nick (AKA Maggie with Perspectacles) to talk about the hidden cost of being the “good kid.” Maggie shares her own story of growing up as the easy, responsible child no one had to worry about, and how perfectionism, people-pleasing, and self-criticism often grow out of that role.

They unpack why bei...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen wrap up their trauma response mini-series with a deep dive into the fawn response, the often-overlooked survival strategy rooted in people-pleasing and conflict avoidance. While many people are familiar with fight or flight, fawning happens when your nervous system moves quickly to smooth things over, keep the peace, and protect the connection.

They explore how the fawn response can look like sa...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen continue their trauma response series with a deep dive into the flight response: what it is, how it shows up, and why it can feel so productive while still being avoidant. Unlike fight or freeze, flight often looks subtle in daily life: staying busy, overworking, changing the subject, scrolling, researching, or emotionally distancing when things feel intense.

They explore how the flight response...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen launch a new storytelling series featuring notable voices sharing the real emotional journey behind their success. First up: content creator, author, and host of Conversations with Cam, Cameron Rogers.

Cameron opens up about transitioning careers, building a brand in motherhood and mental health, and how becoming a mom reshaped her relationship with work. She shares how people-pleasing showed up...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen continue their trauma response series with a deep dive into the fight response: what it is, why it develops, and how it shows up in everyday life. Often misunderstood and heavily judged, the fight response is a nervous system survival strategy rooted in mobilization, power, and protection.

They explore how fight can look like anger, defensiveness, control, irritability, or needing to win, especi...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen break down the freeze response, one of the most misunderstood trauma responses. They explain how freezing is an involuntary nervous system reaction to overwhelming threat, often linked to trauma, and why so many people carry shame for something their body chose automatically.

They explore what freeze can look like in daily life (numbness, dissociation, procrastination, avoidance, shutdown), as w...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen are joined by one of their all-time favorite guests, Alexandra Solomon, licensed clinical psychologist, adjunct professor at Northwestern University, and host of the Reimagining Love podcast, for a conversation about healthy relationships and the patterns we carry from our families of origin.

Together, they explore why it’s so hard to break old dynamics even when you can name them, why cha...