Share

cover art for Q&A: Empathy, Boundaries, and Healing

CALLING HOME with Whitney Goodman, LMFT

Q&A: Empathy, Boundaries, and Healing

•

Balancing boundaries and empathy in family relationships means understanding and validating your family's feelings and experiences while also protecting your own emotional and mental well-being. Empathy allows you to connect with your loved ones on a deeper level, but without boundaries, it can lead to neglecting your own needs and compromising your personal space. Setting boundaries doesn't mean you care any less. Instead, it enables you to nurture healthy, respectful, and sustainable relationships without sacrificing your well-being.


In this Q&A episode, Whitney answers real caller questions on issues they are having with their family. Listen and get valuable insights on how to set and maintain healthy boundaries, practice empathy, and heal past wounds within family dynamics. 


Tune in!

What You Will Learn:
  • [00:01] Intro and what in for you in today’s show 
  • [00:29] How to practice empathy for your parent without breaking your boundaries 
  • [07:22] How to navigate parent-sibling dynamics and adult healing 
  • [13:00] Parent-sibling relationship healing and resources 
  • [13:54] Wrap up and end of the show


Standout Quotes:


  • “You can have empathy and understanding for your parents without totally letting it derail and destroy any boundaries or personal space that you have in your life.” [07:08]
  • “You have to start working on resolving and healing feelings around how you were treated in comparison to your siblings when you were younger so that it doesn't impact your life in a negative way.” [13:01]


Let’s Connect

Have a question for Whitney? Call Home at 866-225-5466. 


Join Whitney’s Family Cycle Breakers Club for further support and discussion on family dynamics at CallingHome.co. Follow the Calling Home community on Instagram.

Click here to get “Toxic Positivity” on paperback. 

Follow Whitney Goodman on Instagram or TikTok.


The Calling Home podcast is not engaged in providing therapy services, mental health advice, or other medical advice or services, is not a substitute for advice from a qualified healthcare provider, and does not create any therapist-patient or other treatment relationship between you and Calling Home or Whitney Goodman. For more information on this, please see Calling Home’s Terms of Service. 


Mixing, editing and show notes provided by Next Day Podcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More episodes

View all episodes

  • Life After Estrangement: Grief, Doubt, and Building What's Next

    23:37|
    So you made the decision to leave a harmful family relationship. And you're wondering why it still feels so complicated. In this episode, Whitney walks through why the grief shows up at the strangest times, how to handle doubt without getting derailed, and what it means to finally start building a life that's yours.Whitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.Have a question for Whitney? Send a voice memo or email to whitney@callinghome.coJoin the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhitFollow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic PositivityThis podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.

  • Therapists React to Shameless and What the Show Gets Right About Parentification

    49:53|
    Whitney is joined by therapist Emma Mahony to break down one of the most unflinching portrayals of a parentified child on television: Fiona Gallagher from Shameless. Through neglect, addiction, manipulation, and moments of genuine heartbreak, they explore what it does to a child when taking care of your family becomes your entire identity. Emma Mahony is a mental health therapist based in London whose work centers on helping people understand the patterns they grew up with and how to move toward healthier, more conscious relationships with themselves and others. Emma’s website: https://www.ecmtherapy.co/Emma’s IG: emma.in.therapyEmma’s TikTok: @emma.mahonyWhitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.Have a question for Whitney? Send a voice memo or email to whitney@callinghome.coJoin the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhitFollow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic PositivityThis podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.

  • Choosing Not to Reconcile with a Family Member

    25:43|
    Not every relationship can be repaired, and not every relationship should be. In this episode, Whitney validates the decision to walk away from a family relationship for good and gives you the language to hold that boundary when the people around you won't stop pushing you to reconcile.Whitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.Have a question for Whitney? Send a voice memo or email to whitney@callinghome.coJoin the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhitFollow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic PositivityThis podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.

  • Therapists React to Succession and What the Show Gets Right About Narcissistic Parents

    55:53|
    Whitney is joined by therapist Stephanie Lindeman to break down the Roy family from the HBO Max show Succession. Succession is one of the most psychologically precise portrayals of a narcissistic patriarch on television. Together Whitney and Stephanie explore what happens to adult children who spend their lives trying to win approval from a parent who is constantly playing a game that no one else can ever win.Stephanie’s website:https://www.alifeworthsharing.com/aboutStephanie’s IG:@steph_the_attachment_therapistWhitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.Have a question for Whitney? Send a voice memo or email to whitney@callinghome.coJoin the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhitFollow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic PositivityThis podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.

  • When Your Parent Denies Your Memories

    18:34|
    When you bring up a painful memory and your parents say it never happened, it can feel like you're losing your mind. Whitney explains the science behind why parents and children encode the same events differently. But how do you tell the difference between that and a parent who refuses to let your reality exist?Whitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.Have a question for Whitney? Send a voice memo or email to whitney@callinghome.coJoin the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhitFollow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic PositivityThis podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.

  • "I'm Glad My Mom Died" By Jeanette McCurdy, Emotionally Immature Moms, Boundary-Ignoring Gifts

    28:20|
    Whitney breaks down Jeanette McCurdy's interview on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy. She discusses enmeshment, parentification and the painful process of accepting that a parent was abusive. Then she answers a listener question about an emotionally immature mother who insists on playing best friend and family authority at the same time.Whitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.Have a question for Whitney? Send a voice memo or email to whitney@callinghome.coJoin the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhitFollow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic PositivityThis podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.01:27 Jeanette McCurdy's Story18:32 Listener Question

  • Toxic Mothers with Patrick Teahan | Therapists React to Animal Kingdom

    57:22|
    Whitney is joined by therapist Patrick Teahan to break down one of the most diabolically toxic mother figures on television: Smurf from Animal Kingdom.Follow PatrickYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@patrickteahanofficialInstagram: @patrickteahanofficialWhitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.Have a question for Whitney? Send a voice memo or email to whitney@callinghome.coJoin the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhitFollow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic PositivityThis podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.

  • Are Therapists Biased Against Estranged Parents?

    35:24|
    Why aren’t therapists centering estranged parents at least as equally as their children? Whitney breaks down what bias actually means in a clinical context.Whitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.Have a question for Whitney? Send a voice memo or email to whitney@callinghome.coJoin the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhitFollow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic PositivityThis podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.

  • How Not to Apologize

    38:23|
    Most apologies aren’t great and sometimes even make things worse. If you've ever given or received an "I'm sorry" that left you feeling dissatisfied, Whitney walks through the three-part anatomy of an apology that will help get your relationship back on track.Whitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles.Have a question for Whitney? Send a voice memo or email to whitney@callinghome.coJoin the Family Cyclebreakers Club⁠⁠Follow Whitney on Instagram | sitwithwhitFollow Whitney on YouTube | @whitneygoodmanlmft⁠⁠Order Whitney’s book, Toxic PositivityThis podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.