In this episode of Dysfunctional, Josh sits down with Debra Paynter — business manager, single parent, and advocate — for a raw conversation about raising her son, Teddy, who is autistic and has a learning disability.

They explore:

Why SEND families are so often failed by schools, local authorities, and society

The difference between a tantrum and a meltdown, and what public judgement really feels like

How lockdown became a turning point in Teddy’s development

The exhausting fight to secure the right school place and legal protections

What society could do — right now — to better support SEND parents

The unexpected joy, connection, and resilience Debra has found in her journey

This is a conversation about courage, love, and truth-telling — and it will make you think differently about SEND parenting.

Follow Debra:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debs.does.asana/

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In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Josh sits down with Dr. Sherrie Campbell — psychologist, author, and unapologetic disruptor in the toxic family space — ahead of their joint Come Home to Yourself event in Los Angeles on October 4th.

What starts as an excited chat about the event quickly dives deep into some of the most taboo and misunderstood truths about healing from family abuse:

• Why forgiveness can become a weapon that keeps you trapped.
• How anger is an emotion of justice — and why you need it to set real boundaries.
• The myth that boundaries can “fix” toxic people.
• How bypassing, “love and light” culture, and the obsession with being nice can actually harm survivors.
• The danger of therapists colluding with abusers (often unintentionally).
• The reality of parental sadism and why you may never get a satisfying “why.”

Dr. Sherrie shares the most vulnerable moment of her healing journey — the day she realised her mother had no respect for her because she kept forgiving her — and how that moment became a turning point toward freedom.

This is not a conversation for those looking for sugar-coated healing. It’s for those ready to face the truth, drop the audition for love, and come home to themselves.

🎟 Come Home to Yourself — Los Angeles, October 4th

A full-day interactive experience with Josh & Dr. Sherrie featuring deep teaching, inner child work, live Q&A, and a powerful breathwork session for emotional release.

Spaces are limited: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/come-home-to-you-tickets-1461867257319?aff=oddtdtcreator

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In this episode of Dysfunctional, I’m joined by therapist and childhood trauma expert Patrick Teahan for a raw and powerful conversation about healing from toxic family systems.

We explore:

• Why estrangement can be necessary for healing — and the grief that follows
• How toxic parents keep control through subtle emotional tactics
• The long-term impact of growing up in dysfunctional family systems
• The limits of 12-step recovery when it comes to childhood trauma
• Why grieving the parent you never had is a turning point in recovery
• How society mirrors toxic family dynamics — and what it takes to break the cycle

Patrick also shares insights from his group therapy model, the Relationship Recovery Process, and reflects on his journey from early therapy to becoming a leading voice in the trauma recovery space.

If you're healing from family dysfunction, this one will land deeply.

Find Patrick here - https://linktr.ee/patrickteahan

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What if the same coercive control you grew up with in your family is playing out on a societal scale—and no one’s supposed to name it?

In this unapologetically raw episode, I’m joined by political punk artist Hyphen to call out the hidden systems most people are too afraid to touch. We unpack classism, manufactured consent, and how we’ve all been programmed to blame individuals instead of broken structures.

Hyphen shares how losing a close friend, burning out in finance, and growing up as the child of Indian immigrants shaped his activism—and how political punk gave him a voice loud enough to be heard.

We get into:

• Why being angry is the only sane response to injustice
• The truth about “freedom” under capitalism
• How systems mirror abusive family dynamics
• Why 3.5% of people are all it takes to ignite change
• And how slogans like “Hate Yachts, Not Dinghies” can become rallying cries for a generation
• 
  

This one is for the misfits, the scapegoats, the question-askers.

This is Dysfunctional. And we’re not here to behave.

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In this raw and emotional episode, I sit down with Lulu and Georgina—two sisters who grew up in the chaos of having a father in prison. What starts as a conversation about parental imprisonment unfolds into a powerful exploration of shame, silence, systemic failure, and the unbreakable bond between siblings who carried each other through the storm.

We talk about what it’s really like for the children left behind:

The raids.

The media frenzy.

Being judged by teachers, friends, and strangers.

And the complete absence of support.

Georgina was arrested at 17—just for being related to the man who committed the crime. Lulu was a child being searched at prison visits, isolated by her peers, and silently carrying the burden of a family under siege.

Together, they’ve turned pain into purpose—becoming advocates for Children Heard and Seen, a charity supporting children affected by parental imprisonment.

This conversation is a call to action. It’s about seeing the invisible victims of crime, breaking the cycle of silence, and reminding every child out there who’s been impacted: It’s not your fault.

Key Topics Covered:

Living with media stigma when a parent goes to prison

The trauma of police raids and prison visits as a child

The emotional toll of secrecy, shame, and being judged

Attachment wounds and survival responses

How families hold each other together in chaos

The desperate need for better support and resources for children of prisoners

Why advocacy matters and what needs to change

Trigger Warning: This episode contains emotional conversations around childhood trauma, imprisonment, police raids, and systemic neglect.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bold and unfiltered episode, I’m joined by Christian John — a truth-teller who walked away from a toxic family system and now uses his platform to speak the things most people are too afraid to say out loud.

Together we explore:

• What estrangement really means — and why it’s often an act of survival
• How narcissistic abuse in families mirrors the dysfunction of society
• The performative trap of modern healing spaces
• Rage, grief, identity, and the reclaiming of personal truth
• How capitalism gaslights the nervous system and commodifies healing
• And why consciousness without community is just another echo chamber

This conversation is real, raw, and deeply validating for anyone who’s been scapegoated, silenced, or made to feel like they’re the problem.

🔗 Follow Christian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hype.r.vigilance?igsh=MXUwbnJ6NzNiemlndA==

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of childhood sexual abuse, religious trauma, suicide attempts, and domestic violence. Please listen with care.

In this powerful episode of Dysfunctional, Karinne shares her story of surviving a childhood shaped by the Jehovah’s Witnesses — a group she now calls a cult — and parents who were both abusive and narcissistic.

Kicked out at 16 after being groomed and blamed for it, Karinne found herself completely alone in the world, trauma-bonded to the very people who harmed her, and struggling to make sense of a reality she was never prepared for.

What follows is a conversation about real healing — not the Instagram version with matcha and mantras, but the messy, angry, beautiful kind that happens when you start telling the truth.

Together we explore:

What it’s like growing up in a high-control religious cult

The impact of narcissistic parenting and spiritual abuse

Purity culture, fear-based control, and enforced submission

The trauma bond and why it’s so hard to break

What healing actually looks like — day-to-day, years on

Karinne is funny, fierce, and real. She’s not here to sugarcoat anything. This is what healing sounds like in real life.

📲 Connect with Karinne on insta - @girl_inshambles

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Most people think they’re broken. Most people think dysregulation is a problem. Most people think the answer is to regulate, reframe, or reset.

But what if all of that is just another distraction?

Another way to bypass what actually needs to be felt?

This episode is a full-bodied dismantling of the healing and wellness world as we know it — with the brilliant Sam Miller, who teaches Mind-Body Recovery through a trauma-informed, Jungian, and deeply embodied lens.

We talk about:

Why your symptoms might actually be your body healing

How emotional repression creates chaos in the system

Why "cognitive reframing" is like shouting to the basement from the attic

The cult of regulation and fake safety in the healing space

Performative masculinity, football fights, and the grief men won't feel

And how real emotional healing often looks more like screaming, shaking, and collapsing into a ball in a sauna than it does cold plunges or coaching frameworks

We also dig into the absolute state of the wellness industry — the bypassing, the ego-led facilitators, and why a lot of what’s branded as “healing” is just a new costume for the same old disconnection.

This one goes deep. It’s raw. It’s real.

It’s Dysfunctional.

Best place to find Sam is here - https://youtube.com/@the_mindful_gardener?si=WasM11Ci0DIGsXCg

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