The Curious Empath (Formerly: Who We Are & What We Need)

On this shorter episode of The Curious Empath, Catherine welcomes healer, poet, artist, ritualist and mother Katia Wallace. Katia has more than ten years of experience reading tarot and lives in the UK, though she's originally from France.Katia shares how her Italian grandmother's tarot reading and her other grandmother's visits to healers shaped her path. She also describes how becoming a mother led her into womb healing and ancestral healing. She explains why she tells clients she isn't a fortune teller and walks through her nine-card pyramid spread. She also explains how flower therapy (communicating with the spirit of plants) differs from flower essences.In this episode:Katia's family roots in tarot and energy healingWomb healing and ancestral healing after her daughter's birthTarot as a mirror: what's leaving, what's ongoing, what's coming inThe nine-card pyramid spreadDestiny as co-creation rather than fateFlower therapy vs. flower essences, and noticing the plants that keep showing up for youResources mentionedThe Rebel Heart Tarot by Alice GristLinda Howe (books on the Akashic Records)Juliet Bryant (Juliet's Kitchen, ships to the US)My favorite Tarot & Oracle Decks (aff links)The Good Karma TarotThe Neoteric TarotThe Wild & Sacred Feminine Oracle DeckThe Medicine Woman Oracle DeckConnect with Katia - Website - InstagramConnect with Catherine - ⁠Website⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠Substack - Sacred Wild

In this episode, Catherine sits down with Teda Kokoneshi, a licensed mental health counselor and self-published memoirist, to trace her winding path from immigrating to the United States at 18 through a green card lottery, to studying continental philosophy in Boston, chasing a publishing career in New York City, and ultimately finding her calling in clinical mental health counseling. Teda opens up about the disorientation of adapting to a radically different culture, the burnout that brought her back to Florida, and how discovering Carl Jung's analytical psychology became a turning point in understanding her own mind. She walks through how she uses active imagination, dreamwork, and art therapy with clients, and shares why she believes true social justice work has to be rooted in personal healing. Teda also talks about her memoir, Living to Tell the Story: A Memoir and a Map of Reconstruction After the Dark Night of the Soul, and the writing projects — poetry, short stories, essays — she has percolating next.Connect with Teda - Website - Instagram - SubstackConnect with Catherine - ⁠Website⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠SubstackPrentiss Hemphill Podcast

"You can't change your voice without your life coming along for the ride." — Barbara McAfeeWhat if your voice already knows what part of you needs attention — you just have to make the sound and listen? In this episode of The Curious Empath, I sit down with Barbara McAfee: singer, songwriter, voice teacher, author of two books on voice work, and the leader of a "comfort choir" of volunteers who sing for people who are dying, sick, or grieving.We start at the threshold — literally. Barbara talks about the retreats she leads on music, death, and dying, how she stumbled into death doula work at her father's bedside at 31, and why she believes grief and joy have always lived in the same room. We talk about a grief ritual she helped hold for hundreds of people at a singing camp in Iowa, and the collective grief so many of us are carrying right now.From there we go into Barbara's Five Elements Framework — a way of understanding the voice through Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, and Air, each with its own archetype, gift, and shadow side. We talk about the parts of our voices that go "offline" under trauma, culture, and gender norms; how reclaiming a silenced part of your voice is really a form of soul retrieval; and how Barbara can often hear someone's deepest gift — calm under pressure, seeing the future, cutting insight — just by the way they talk.This is a conversation about sound, grief, gender, gifts, and what it means to let your whole voice — and your whole self — come home.Connect with Barbara -  Website - Ted Talks - Instagram - Patreon - "Oh For Crying Out Loud" SongConnect with Catherine - ⁠Website⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠Substack - Soul RetrievalI'm Catherine — counselor, mystic, and neurodiverse adventurer living on the Emerald Coast of Florida. I help people define their neurodiversity, trust themselves, and live fully connected to Self and Source. I’d love to hear from you and walk alongside you on your journey.With a full heart, Catherine

Catherine sits down with Cristine Hull, PhD — founder of the Zero Point Meridian Technique and creator of Frequency Formulas — for a wide-ranging conversation about the road from living entirely "in her head" to becoming a practitioner of energy psychology and quantum healing. She and Catherine dig into brain integration and heart rate coherence, the neuroscience of different neurodivergent minds, Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies, and Cristine's Love Solve method for processing the four core negative emotions — anger, fear, sadness, and guilt — including some delightfully practical ways to actually get anger out of the body.Join Cristine for a free webinar 8/26/26!Contact Cristine - Website - Instagram - LinkedIn - YouTubeContact Catherine - Website⁠ - ⁠Substack

What is divination really for — predicting the future, or understanding the energy you're working with right now? In this episode, investigative metaphysician and certified Monroe Institute trainer Demi Pietchell joins me to unpack her eclectic toolkit (tarot, runes, shufflemancy, sound medicine) and the throughline beneath all of it: intention. We talk about how she tunes into collective energy from a distance, the discernment required to hold that kind of sensitivity, and how ancient sites like Malta's Oracle Chamber may have been built to resonate at frequencies that shift consciousness. A conversation about using insight to empower choice — not to hand over your agency to fate.Contact Demi: Website Sign up for her Manifestation Training Aug 7-9 (use code 20ce20 for a 20% discount)Contact Catherine: Website - SubstackEditing and Logo by Catherine Quiring

In this conversation, Katherine Spearing discusses her new book, 'A Thousand Tiny Papercuts,' which explores the complexities of spiritual abuse and the journey to reclaim autonomy after leaving high-control religious environments. The discussion delves into the insidious nature of spiritual abuse, the confusion experienced by individuals trying to navigate their faith, and the emotional turmoil that often follows leaving such systems. The conversation also highlights the importance of understanding the BITE model of control and the potential for thriving after leaving these environments, emphasizing the need for healing and self-acceptance.

Join Catherine Quiring in conversation with Megan Griffith, autistic and ADHD life coach, content creator, and author of Welcome to AuDHD: How to Survive and Thrive as an Adult with Autism and ADHD. This wide-ranging discussion explores what it means to live at the intersection of autism and ADHD, from communication differences and alexithymia to masking, self-trust, and disability identity.Megan shares her diagnostic journey through misdiagnosis, the research behind her book (including lived experience from her community), and practical tools like EFT tapping for emotional processing. Catherine and Megan discuss monotropic vs. polytropic thinking, the building blocks metaphor for masking, and how childhood emotional neglect affects neurodivergent people—even in loving homes where authentic selves weren't fully mirrored.This episode offers validation, clarity, and hope for anyone navigating neurodivergence, whether self-diagnosed or formally assessed.Resources:Neuroclastic DirectoryEFT (Emotion Freedom Technique) Tapping (with Sophia Graniela, another podcast guest)“HSP or Autism?”Neurodivergence Lived Experience Summit: 1/23-25/2026Connect with Megan Website - BookConnect with Catherine: Website - Substack - YouTube - Neurodivergent Self-Diagnosis ConsultationKey Topics:The History of AuDHD: Why autism and ADHD couldn't be diagnosed together until 2013 (DSM-5)Alexithymia Explained: Difficulty identifying emotions in the moment, but processing them later through "back doors" like journaling or intellectual processingEFT Tapping: A practical tool for accessing difficult emotions through meridian points and parasympathetic nervous system activationCommunication Differences: How neurotypical people give 70% of information expecting you to fill in gaps, while autistic people typically give 100%Monotropic vs. Polytropic Thinking: Flashlight (deep focus) vs. lantern (broad attention) approaches to thinking and workMasking as Building Blocks: A trauma response metaphor—not a removable mask, but borrowed blocks that became part of your towerSelf-Trust and Validation: How diagnosis (formal or self) can affirm "I was right about me all along"Disability Identity: Community perspectives on whether AuDHD is a disability, difference, or "it's complicated"Childhood Emotional Neglect: How unmirrored enthusiasm and unmet attachment needs affect neurodivergent childrenIntersectionality: Research findings on disability, police violence, and the "ugly laws" that prohibited visible disability in public until the 1970sPractical Tools:EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Techniques)Three-step process: Acknowledgment → Validation → Gentle ReframeTaps meridian points while processing difficult emotionsHelps access emotions through the "back door" for those with alexithymiaThe 24-Hour Rule for Self-TrustWhen trusted people disagree with your reality perceptionPut a pin in it for 24 hoursRevisit to see if your perspective has shifted or held steadyNeither perspective is necessarily "wrong"Meta ConversationsPausing during disagreements to discuss how the conversation is happeningAddressing tone, communication style, and assumptionsCreating clarity about different communication preferencesHi,⁠ I’m Catherine⁠. I’m grateful to share this time and space with you.I’m a counselor living on the Emerald Coast of Florida, on the unceded land of the Muscogee. I am a creative, mystic, and neurodiverse adventurer. I love writing, creating, and connecting.I love helping folx⁠ Befriend Your Inner Critic⁠,⁠ Become Your Own Best Friend⁠, and ⁠reclaim your untamed soul⁠.Thank you for being here in this sacred space we get to co-create, as we come home to ourselves and enjoy the fruit of that self-belonging. I love hearing from you and⁠ walking alongside you⁠ on your journey.My free gift to you: ⁠⁠3 steps to trust yourself⁠⁠.With a full heart,Catherine

Have you ever caught yourself in cycles of self-sabotage, then felt like this proved you were fundamentally flawed? For years, many of us were told this was evidence of our “sinful nature.” But what if that explanation isn’t just wrong—what if it’s creating the very problems it claims to solve?This episode explores religious trauma through Internal Family Systems therapy, revealing how “dying to self” theology creates internal oppression, and offering a revolutionary alternative based on self-compassion rather than self-control.What you’ll learn:✓ How religious environments create the “Inner Controller”—an internal slave master✓ Why “dying to self” doctrine is psychologically harmful, especially for sensitive minds✓ The neuroscience showing self-compassion works better than self-control for growth✓ Internal Family Systems alternative: parts with good intentions vs “sinful nature”✓ Why your “self-sabotage” might actually be self-protection needing updates✓ How to rebuild spirituality from wholeness rather than brokennessPerfect for:Religious trauma survivors questioning harmful theologyPeople deconstructing faith while wanting to maintain spiritual connectionAnyone taught their emotions, body, or instincts can’t be trustedThose struggling with shame-based identity from religious conditioningIndividuals healing from spiritual abuse or authoritarian religious environmentsKey theological reframes:Human behavior stems from need-meeting, not cosmic battle between good/evilYour core Self already embodies “fruits of the spirit”—they’re not borrowed from outsideParts of you labeled “sinful” may actually be authentic aspects needing integrationSelf-compassion isn’t self-indulgence—it’s neurologically necessary for growthImportant notes:This episode respects diverse spiritual beliefs while addressing harmful applicationsFocuses on psychological healing, not theological debateIncludes resources for religious trauma recoveryContent may be triggering for those with severe religious traumaIf you’re struggling with:Depression or anxiety related to religious experiencesThoughts of self-harm connected to religious shameSevere religious trauma symptomsPlease reach out to mental health professionals trained in religious trauma recovery.Part of the Befriending Your Inner Critics series: This penultimate episode addresses the Inner Controller—the critic formed in religious environments that taught you to distrust your own heart, mind, and instincts. Recovery involves updating these parts with compassionate truth.Next steps: Befriend Your Inner Critic CourseYour worth is not contingent on your performance. You are loved exactly as you are.Connect with Catherine: Website - Substack - Pinterest - YouTubeHi, I’m Catherine. I’m grateful to share this time and space with you.I’m a counselor living on the Emerald Coast of Florida, on the unceded land of the Muscogee. I am a creative, mystic, and neurodiverse adventurer. I love writing, creating, and connecting.I love helping folx Befriend Your Inner Critic, Become Your Own Best Friend, and reclaim your untamed soul.Thank you for being here in this sacred space we get to co-create, as we come home to ourselves and enjoy the fruit of that self-belonging. I love hearing from you and walking alongside you on your journey.My free gift to you: ⁠3 steps to trust yourself⁠.With a full heart,Catherine

Description: ⚠️ Content Warning: This episode discusses psychological abuse and trauma. Please prioritize your safety. Crisis resources in description.If you’ve escaped a narcissistic or abusive relationship but still hear your abuser’s voice saying “you’re worthless,” “you’re stupid,” or “you’ll never amount to anything”—you’re not going crazy. That voice has a name: the Inner Destroyer. Understanding why this happens is the first step to reclaiming your worth.This episode provides trauma-informed approaches to healing from internalized abuse, breaking trauma bonds with your own self-attack patterns, and developing the tools to finally silence the voice that followed you home.What you’ll learn: ✓ How the Inner Destroyer differs from regular self-criticism (it attacks core worth, not behavior) ✓ Why you may have developed a trauma bond with your own self-attack patterns ✓ The exact tactics abusers use that become internalized (gaslighting, character attacks, future threats) ✓ How to develop “observer consciousness” to separate from destructive thoughts ✓ 6 practical steps for dismantling the Inner Destroyer’s power ✓ Specialized healing approaches for narcissistic abuse recoveryThis episode is essential for:Survivors of narcissistic, emotional, or psychological abuseAnyone whose inner critic sounds exactly like their abuserPeople who’ve left toxic relationships but the abuse continues internallyThose struggling with self-worth after gaslighting and manipulationAnyone experiencing the “trauma bond” with their own self-criticismKey insights:The Inner Destroyer uses your abuser’s exact voice, words, and timingSelf-criticism can feel “safer” than self-compassion for abuse survivorsYour adult self has resources your traumatized younger self didn’t haveRecovery means learning to handle difficult thoughts without being controlled by themSpecialized trauma therapy is often necessary for narcissistic abuse recoveryCRISIS RESOURCES:National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233Crisis Text Line: HOME to 741741National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988Additional resources for narcissistic abuse recovery linked belowImportant note: This episode is educational and not a substitute for professional help. If you’re struggling with trauma from abuse, please consider working with a therapist trained in narcissistic abuse and trauma recovery.Part of the Befriending Your Inner Critics series: This episode addresses trauma-specific inner critics that develop from external abuse. Unlike other critics that developed as protection, the Inner Destroyer requires specialized trauma-informed approaches.Next week: From Religious Control to Self-Compassion - healing the Inner Controller when spiritual environments taught you not to trust your own heart, mind, and instincts.Next steps: Befriend Your Inner Critic CourseYour worth was never up for debate. The voice telling you otherwise was wrong then and is wrong now. Recovery is possible, and thousands have walked this path to reclaim their lives.Connect with Catherine: Website - Substack - YouTubeHi, I’m Catherine. I’m grateful to share this time and space with you.I’m a counselor living on the Emerald Coast of Florida, on the unceded land of the Muscogee. I am a creative, mystic, and neurodiverse adventurer. I love writing, creating, and connecting.I love helping folx Befriend Your Inner Critic, Become Your Own Best Friend, and reclaim your untamed soul.Thank you for being here in this sacred space we get to co-create, as we come home to ourselves and enjoy the fruit of that self-belonging. I love hearing from you and walking alongside you on your journey.My free gift to you: ⁠3 steps to trust yourself⁠.With a full heart,Catherine

If you’re neurodivergent, highly sensitive, or creative, your inner critic probably attacks who you are, not just what you do. It whispers “you’re too much,” “you’re too weird,” or “you’ll never fit in.” This isn’t random self-doubt—it’s the Inner Underminer, carrying years of messages about being “different.”This episode explores why sensitive, creative, and neurodivergent individuals develop particularly harsh internal voices, how masking trauma creates identity attacks, and practical steps to reclaim your authentic self-expression.What you’ll learn: ✓ Why the Inner Underminer targets identity, not just behavior ✓ How “masking trauma” creates systematic self-attack patterns ✓ The 4 faces of the Underminer: Masking Perfectionist, Sensitivity Shamer, Creativity Crusher, Neurodivergent Comparer ✓ Why your “weaknesses” in traditional environments become strengths in the right contexts ✓ 5 practical steps for neurodivergent-affirming self-acceptance ✓ How to create environments that support rather than suppress your authentic traitsPerfect for:Neurodivergent individuals tired of hiding their natural traitsHighly sensitive people told they’re “too emotional” or “too much”Creative minds whose ideas are dismissed as “weird” or “impractical”Anyone whose inner critic specifically attacks their identity and way of beingPeople recovering from a lifetime of masking and conformity pressureKey insights:Your Inner Underminer developed to protect you from rejection for being differentMasking trauma is real psychological damage from suppressing authentic self-expressionYour adult self has resources your criticized inner child never hadAuthenticity attracts authentic connection—the right people celebrate your differencesYour sensitivity, creativity, and different processing are features, not bugsAddresses different neurotypes:ADHD: Transforming “distractible” into “notice what others miss”Autism: Honoring attention to detail while managing perfectionist anxietyHigh Sensitivity: Using emotional intensity as strength for deep connectionCreative minds: Celebrating unconventional thinking and multipassionate interestsThis episode is part of our Befriending Your Inner Critics series: Episodes 1-2 covered foundational concepts and common critics Episode 4 focuses specifically on critics that develop around neurodivergent/sensitive identity Episodes 5-6 will cover trauma-based critics (abuse recovery, religious trauma)Resources mentioned:Masking trauma research and recovery approachesNeurodivergent-affirming therapy resourcesOnline communities for authentic neurodivergent expressionNext week: The Inner Destroyer - healing from internalized abuse when you’ve escaped toxic relationships but the abuser’s voice followed you home.Next steps: Befriend Your Inner Critic CourseRemember: Your sensitivity, creativity, and different way of processing the world aren’t problems to fix—they’re gifts that make you uniquely valuable. Authenticity is a practice, not a destination.Connect with Catherine: Website - Substack - YouTubeHi, I’m Catherine. I’m grateful to share this time and space with you.I’m a counselor living on the Emerald Coast of Florida, on the unceded land of the Muscogee. I am a creative, mystic, and neurodiverse adventurer. I love writing, creating, and connecting.I love helping folx Befriend Your Inner Critic, Become Your Own Best Friend, and reclaim your untamed soul.Thank you for being here in this sacred space we get to co-create, as we come home to ourselves and enjoy the fruit of that self-belonging. I love hearing from you and walking alongside you on your journey.My free gift to you: ⁠3 steps to trust yourself⁠.With a full heart,Catherine