Share

cover art for Ep 86: Being a Changemaker, Fawning and Growing Up in Motherhood with Kemi Omijeh

Grow Yourself Up

Ep 86: Being a Changemaker, Fawning and Growing Up in Motherhood with Kemi Omijeh

Ep. 86

In episode 86 Cath was joined by Psychotherapist, Speaker and Clinical Supervisor Kemi Omijeh. Cath and Kemi talked about Kemi's journey to motherhood, how her own parenting differs from the parenting she received and how she centres her children and supports them in getting their needs met. Kemi talked about being a changemaker in workplaces which are predominantly white and how exhausting that is, fawning, people pleasing and much more about Kemi continues to grow herself up and be her authentic self wherever she goes. 


Kemi Omijeh is a registered psychotherapist and clinical supervisor working with children and families for over 15 years. She is also a trainer and speaker with her specialist subjects being cultural competence, racial identity, racial trauma and antiracist practices in education.


Kemi champions inclusive mental health for children and young people and states that support for young people should include a consideration of the child’s context, culture and identity. Kemi believes in preventing the onset of significant mental health difficulties in children and young people by fostering an environment that is child centred and fosters connection and belonging. She works with organisations to support them to develop antiracist practices and a trauma informed approach. Kemi passionately believes that good mental health is the foundation for success across all areas of life. She has a special passion for and extensive experience working in schools, and with families.


Kemi is a Black woman in a leadership position and has both lived experience and psychological understanding of the impact of navigating a predominantly white workspace. As a result, is passionate about providing awareness and tools to support and advance Black women in leadership roles without sacrificing their mental health and wellbeing.


Kemi’s passion is normalising talking about mental health and ensuring we are all investing in our mental health as we would our physical health.


She has been featured on BBC Bitesize, Huffpost UK and The Irish Times, and was the Resident Therapist for the BBC Docuseries 'Mimi On a Mission'. She has worked with many organisations including the NHS, Anna Freud Centre and Kings College.

 

Connect with Kemi Omijeh below

Web: kemiomijeh.com/

Instagram: therapy_with_kemi

Twitter: therapy_with_kemi

LinkedIn: Kemi O


If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it. To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. 


Follow Cath on social media here:

Instagram: @cathcounihan

Substack: Nurture.Heal.Grow

Facebook: Cath Counihan

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 161. Ep 161: Control and the Chaotic Shit Show (Re-release)

    40:15||Ep. 161
    In this episode Cath speaks about how control is such a key coping strategy for so many of us and how this rears its head at times of stress (like early motherhood) and in new situations. Control is not the solution we think it is and Cath shares a recent incident from her own life showing how control is so seductive and seems to be the answer, but really it is an illusion.If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. Follow Cath on social media here:Instagram: @cathcounihanSubstack: Nurture.Heal.GrowFacebook: Cath Counihan
  • 160. Ep 160: Sovereignty, Secure Attachment and Unconditional Love

    29:37||Ep. 160
    In episode 160 Cath speaks about how we have to develop our own sense of power and sovereignty as we heal from childhood trauma and how this involves really moving away from external approval. She talks about developing self trust, ceasing to gaslight ourselves and the concept of unconditional love. We have to consciously unhook from societal messages so we can craft the life of our own dreams.If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. Follow Cath on social media here:Instagram: @cathcounihanSubstack: Nurture.Heal.GrowFacebook: Cath Counihan
  • 159. Ep 159: Attachment Styles, Finding our Voice, Avoidance, Grief and Growing with Anne Power

    57:59||Ep. 159
    In this deeply touching episode Cath was joined by attachment expert and psychotherapist Anne Power. Anne shared about her own attachment journey, some of her childhood story, boarding school, brief explanations about the different attachment styles, attachment in couple relationships and attachment, grief and repair in the parent child relationship. This episode will help you feel supported and seen.Anne Power first qualified at The Bowlby Centre, and later trained at WPF, Tavistock Relationships and Relate. She has worked in various settings but now works online with couples and parent-with-adult-child pairs. She has written many academic papers and two books; all of these use attachment theory to understand relationships and clinical experience. Her book Contented Couples is based on interviews with eighteen long-term couples from different traditions, including arranged marriage. It explains couple dynamics in an accessible way and describes how partners’ complementary attachment patterns can work well together.Anne posts on Instagram @and_attachment with content for people who want to understand attachment in their relationships. Her TEDx talk ‘Attachment theory is the science of love’, also addresses this theme and has been watched by over a million people.You can watch the TEDx talk yourself by clicking here.Anne has also recently finished writing a novel about a couple counsellor and the diverse couples who come to see her. Do watch for news and publication of her forthcoming novel on her Instagram page, or on her website where you can also download free PDFs on attachment themes at https://www.contentedcouples.com/If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. Follow Cath on social media here:Instagram: @cathcounihanSubstack: Nurture.Heal.GrowFacebook: Cath Counihan
  • 158. Ep 158: Complex Trauma, Mother Wounds and Generational Healing with Dr Arielle Schwartz

    59:51||Ep. 158
    In this rich and wide ranging episode Cath is joined by Dr Arielle Schwartz. We discussed Arielle's path to motherhood, mother wounds in her matrilineal line and how this impacted her childhood, ambivalence in motherhood, complex trauma, nervous system healing, vagal toning and much much more. This episode is woven with rich storytelling crossing multiple generations and offers so much hope to all of us on our own healing journeys.Dr. Arielle Schwartz is a clinical psychologist and leading voice in the healing of trauma. She is an internationally sought-out teacher and author of seven books including The Complex PTSD Workbook, The Post-Traumatic Growth Guidebook, EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology, and Applied Polyvagal Theory in Yoga. As the founder of the Center for Resilience Informed Therapy, she offers a mind-body approach to therapy for trauma and informational mental health and wellness updates through her writing, public speaking, social media presence, and blog. She believes that the journey of trauma recovery is an awakening of the spiritual heart.Learn more at www.drarielleschwartz.com. If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. Follow Cath on social media here:Instagram: @cathcounihanSubstack: Nurture.Heal.GrowFacebook: Cath Counihan
  • 157. Ep 157: Generational Clashes and Parenting as Gardening

    49:57||Ep. 157
    In this loving and practical episode Cath responds to a listener question about how to manage generational clashes around the approach to dealing with emotions and how to start conversations around this. She reads the listener's letter and looks at the query from multiple points of view.Cath addresses common contexts in terms of generational patterns/clashes, points out how much new information we have these days, she addresses perfectionism, anxiety and control, different approaches we might take to addressing this, and she makes some practical suggestions to support intergenerational relationships.Cath speaks about parenting as gardening and uses this analogy to provide comfort and a useful framework to hold in mind as we work on shifting/breaking cycles in our families.The book Cath reads from is called 'The Gardener and the Carpenter' by Alison Gopnik.The 'Brene Brown' TED talk can be found here: https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerabilityIf you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. Follow Cath on social media here:Instagram: @cathcounihanSubstack: Nurture.Heal.GrowFacebook: Cath Counihan
  • 156. Ep 156: Earned Secure Attachment

    30:28||Ep. 156
    In this episode Cath speaks more about earned secure attachment, infant attachment and its relationship to adult attachment and how we can shift our patterns. There is always hope to shift our attachment patterns and internal working models is relating and Cath speaks about therapy and important ideas to keep in mind when hoping to shift to a more secure way of operating.If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. Follow Cath on social media here:Instagram: @cathcounihanSubstack: Nurture.Heal.GrowFacebook: Cath Counihan
  • 155. Ep 155: Attachment Theory, Reparenting and Earned Secure Attachment

    42:20||Ep. 155
    In this episode Cath starts to speak about some of the key points of attachment theory, why this is important for us as adults and starting to cultivate a sense of being fully self supporting of ourselves. With Reparenting we are working to cultivate a relationship with all our selves and to tend gently to these parts. She uses an example of a boundary from her own life to demonstrate self protection (even if others disagree).If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. Follow Cath on social media here:Instagram: @cathcounihanSubstack: Nurture.Heal.GrowFacebook: Cath Counihan
  • 154. Ep 154: Fantasy, Family Nervous Systems, Stress Responses and Success

    36:15||Ep. 154
    In this episode Cath talks about how many of us go into peak fantasy at this time of year and set ourselves up to have a tricky time. She talks about getting clear about what your fantasy is and to notice that and stop comparing to it.Cath talks about planning ahead to set your family up for success in the holiday time and what that might look like. She also talks about stress responses, recognising these and how you might support the various stress responses. We will be back on Tuesday 6th Jan 2026.The workshop mentioned in the podcast both last week and this week, can be found here: www.cathcounihan.com/triggers-workshopIf you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. Follow Cath on social media here:Instagram: @cathcounihanSubstack: Nurture.Heal.GrowFacebook: Cath Counihan
  • 153. Ep 153: Rage, Shame, Terror and Making Space for your Inner Baby

    33:51||Ep. 153
    In this episode Cath reflects on how rage may be one of the most common experiences in motherhood (particularly if we have had childhood trauma). She speaks about getting to know our own rage, the shame we might feel and how that might derail us and trying to understand what our rage might be protecting us from. She uses one of the books she talked about last week to springboard into this conversation and highlights psychological patterns by telling a couple of anecdotes.The workshop mentioned in the podcast, can be found here: www.cathcounihan.com/triggers-workshopIf you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. Follow Cath on social media here:Instagram: @cathcounihanSubstack: Nurture.Heal.GrowFacebook: Cath Counihan