Soul Therapy, with Chelle

In this episode of Soul Therapy with Chelle, we sit with a truth most of us avoid: one day our time here will end. With gentleness, clarity, and a surprising amount of humour, Toni Corbett joins Chelle to talk about how grief can become a doorway to preparation, presence, and deeper love. Toni's story begins with a sudden loss of a dear friend that left no room for last conversations. Rather than be consumed by that absence, she turned her grief into service: writing long love letters to her children and building a practical system to help families manage the things that matter when someone's gone. That work became My Affairs Organised and her course, Just in Case - a step-by-step way to organise practical affairs (from bank details and wills to the often-overlooked - like pets and phone access) so the people we love aren't left picking up the pieces. In our conversation we explore: • How losing someone without closure reshapes the heart. • Ways grief can open us to living more truthfully and intentionally. • The "Just In Case" folder - not born of fear but of love and dignity. • Practical actions that protect and clarify for those we leave behind (letters, a legacy entry in phones, estate basics, pet care plans). • Why planning ahead is an act of kindness, not morbidness - it frees those we love to grieve without chaos. This episode isn't about giving up - it's about the opposite. Preparing your affairs is an expression of love, a way to hold your people steady. Toni reminds us that legacy is more than belongings; it's the gift of direction, protection, and feeling known - even after we're gone. If you're navigating loss, thinking about the future, or simply curious about how to live more intentionally today, this conversation will meet you with compassion and useful steps.   Connect with Toni Corbett:Instagram: my_affairsorganized Website: My Affairs Organized Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide

In this episode, we explore what it means to face the one certainty in life with clarity, compassion, and courage: that one day, our time in this lifetime will come to an end. My guest, Toni Corbett, shares the deeply personal story that led her to this work. After losing her dear friend Mari—suddenly, swiftly, and without the chance for final conversations - Toni was left holding both grief and a profound realization: Most of us assume we'll have tomorrow. But not everyone gets the luxury of time to say what matters. Instead of being swallowed by loss, Toni transformed her grief into service. She began writing letters to her children, documenting everything they may one day need - wisdom, guidance, information, truths - and eventually created what is now My Affairs Organized, a structured and compassionate way to help individuals and families prepare for the practical side of loss. In this episode, we explore: ✨ The emotional and spiritual impact of losing someone without closure ✨ How grief can deepen our awareness of life rather than shut us down ✨ Organizing the "Just In Case" folder – not out of fear, but out of love ✨ Why preparation provides dignity, clarity, and protection for those we leave behind ✨ How facing death can help us live more truthfully, intentionally, and awake This conversation isn't morbid - it's profoundly human. Because when we plan ahead, we're not preparing for death… We're easing the burden for the people who love us most. Toni reminds us that legacy isn't only what we leave behind - it's how we empower others to continue with strength, direction, and a sense of being held rather than abandoned. To anyone navigating loss, preparing for the future, or facing the reality of time: You are not alone. Grief is not a sign of weakness - it is evidence of love. And putting affairs in order is not giving up on life… It's honoring the people who will continue living after us.   Connect with Toni Corbett: Instagram: my_affairsorganized Website: My Affairs Organized Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide  

In this final part of my book reflection on Motherless Daughters by Hope Edelman, I explore what it means to reclaim the mother within - the inner source of care, grounding, and tenderness many of us spent years longing for. Edelman describes this as a second birth: the moment a daughter realizes that while the mother she lost can never be replaced, the mother she needs now can begin to grow inside her. At first, this idea feels startling - even unfair. But in time, it becomes liberating. It expands the lineage of care rather than erasing it. Through Gestalt therapy, I reflect on how this shift shows up in the body: in the softening where we once braced, in the breath that returns after years of vigilance, in the quiet ritual of placing a hand on the heart and whispering, I will not leave myself. In this episode, I explore: ✨ Reclaiming the "mother within" as an act of healing ✨ How mother loss shapes the way we love - fiercely, yet fearfully ✨ The protective patterns born from bracing for loss ✨ Gestalt therapy's invitation to meet fear with awareness instead of avoidance ✨ How awareness loosens old patterns and makes room for safer love Healing from mother loss is not about becoming invulnerable - it's about learning to risk connection again. To say, "I am afraid, and I'm still here." Over time, the people who can meet that honesty begin to appear, and new constellations of care form around us. Edelman reminds us that absence doesn't disappear; our relationship to it transforms. We stop orbiting the loss and begin walking with it. The grief becomes companion rather than cage. To every daughter carrying an invisible story of loss: Your grief is not a flaw - it is the language of love enduring. You are not broken for feeling it. You are living proof that love remains.   Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide

In this episode of Soul Therapy, with Chelle, we continue exploring Motherless Daughters by Hope Edelman - a conversation that began as a book review and has deepened into a kind of masterclass on grief, healing, and self-awareness. We unpack two profound themes: the myth of "getting over it" and mother hunger - that lifelong ache for unconditional safety and belonging. Edelman reminds us that grief isn't something we leave behind; it's a landscape we learn to live within. Through the lens of Gestalt therapy, Chelle explores how unfinished grief lives in the body - as tension, fatigue, or restlessness - quietly asking to be felt. And how awareness itself becomes an act of love: the first step in transforming pain into presence. This reflection invites you to meet your grief with gentleness, to listen to what your body remembers, and to tend to the longing within you - not by forcing closure, but by allowing connection. ✨ In this episode, we reflect on: The myth of "moving on" and what healing truly means Mother hunger - the longing for a nurturing presence that feels like home How Gestalt therapy helps complete the "cycle of experience" so emotions can rest The body as a bridge between awareness and the unconscious Finding integration - where grief softens into wisdom and wholeness Grief doesn't end. But as we grow around it, it begins to guide us - back to ourselves, and back to love.   Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide

In this episode of Soul Therapy, with Chelle, I explore a quiet kind of grief - the one that lives in the shadows. The grief of being a daughter without the presence of a mother. Sometimes it's because she has died. Other times, because she has gone missing in other ways - through silence, estrangement, addiction, or the slow erosion of love. Drawing from Hope Edelman's Motherless Daughters and through the lens of Gestalt therapy, I reflect on how a mother's gaze is our first mirror - the way we learn we exist, that we are seen, that we are loved. When that mirror disappears, we learn to piece ourselves together through perfection, caretaking, and performance. But beneath all that strength lives a tender question: Who am I when no one is watching? Gestalt work reminds us that identity isn't fixed - it's something we create in every moment of awareness. When the strong one meets the fragile one, when the caretaker meets the child, when the silence meets the scream - something softens. We begin to feel whole again. Not perfect, but whole. In this episode, I reflect on: ✨ The quiet grief of losing a mother through death, distance, or disconnection ✨ How mother loss shapes our identity and sense of belonging ✨ The ways we perform strength when what we really need is rest ✨ Gestalt therapy's invitation to integrate the parts we've split to survive ✨ The truth that longing isn't weakness - it's proof that love still lives within us For every daughter whose mother is alive but unreachable - your grief is valid. You are not broken for missing what you never had. You are human for wanting it still.   Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide

In this episode of Soul Therapy, with Chelle, I share a deeply personal journey of rediscovery - one that unfolded during my travels through Italy and Greece. It was a time when I began responding not to who I used to be, but to who I am now. As I wandered through sunlit streets, tasted lemon trees in the air, and ran laughing through the Tuscan rain, I felt something awaken - a sense of aliveness I'd forgotten. Travel, for me, became more than a change of scenery; it became a mirror. It reflected back the parts of myself I'd hidden, the ones craving softness, freedom, and joy. Through the lens of Gestalt therapy, I explore what it means to reconnect with the body, to soften perfectionism, and to trust life as it unfolds. Each moment - from choosing a bright dress to speaking imperfect Italian - became an invitation to meet myself with curiosity instead of control. In this episode, I reflect on: ✨ How travel awakens presence and sensory awareness ✨ The beauty of letting go of perfection and leading with curiosity ✨ The deep emotional bond we form with places and moments ✨ How spontaneity builds self-trust and resilience ✨ Ways to bring your "travel self" - the one who says yes to life - home with you You don't need another plane ticket to rediscover yourself. She's already within you, waiting to be invited home.   Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide

In this episode of Soul Therapy, with Chelle, we continue our heartfelt conversation with mindset coach Belinda Stark, diving deeper into what it really means to rediscover yourself beyond the drink. Belinda shares the powerful stories of women she's supported - many in their 50s and beyond - who've realized they want more from life than the same daily cycle. Together, Chelle and Belinda unpack how change truly begins with compassion, not perfection, and how the smallest, most realistic goals can create the biggest transformation. They explore: The stages women go through when re-evaluating their relationship with alcohol How "sober curiosity" opens space for mindfulness, confidence, and joy Why slip-ups aren't failures but valuable feedback for self-awareness The emotional roots of craving, numbing, and habit The identity shift and "sparkle" that comes from choosing clarity and self-love This conversation is lighthearted yet deeply honest - a reminder that freedom doesn't come from deprivation, but from presence, curiosity, and genuine self-kindness.   Connect with Belinda Stark:Instagram: @belindastark_ Facebook: Belinda Stark Midlife Coach LinkedIn: Belinda Stark Website: Belinda Stark Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide

In this episode of Soul Therapy, with Chelle, I sit down with the inspiring Belinda Stark - an alcohol mindset coach who helps women redefine their relationship with drinking and reconnect with themselves. Belinda opens up about her own turning point - the morning she woke up with shaking hands and a heavy heart, realizing that something had to change. Her story is not about labels or shame, but about courage, compassion, and the slow, beautiful process of coming home to yourself. Together, we explore: The hidden emotional toll of "holding it all together" as women, mothers, and professionals How alcohol often becomes a coping mechanism for unprocessed emotions The power of self-compassionate change instead of self-criticism The link between perimenopause, emotional regulation, and drinking habits How our generation is breaking cycles of suppression and learning to model emotional awareness for our children This conversation is a gentle yet powerful invitation to pause, reflect, and ask - what am I really trying to numb? Belinda's journey reminds us that healing doesn't come from punishment or perfection, but from meeting ourselves - and our emotions - with kindness. Stay tuned for Part Two, where we continue this heartfelt conversation on growth, healing, and rediscovering freedom in self-awareness.   Connect with Belinda Stark:Instagram: @belindastark_ Facebook: Belinda Stark Midlife Coach LinkedIn: Belinda Stark Website: Belinda Stark Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide

In this episode of Soul Therapy, with Chelle, I sit down with Hana Assafiri - a beloved social activist, radical entrepreneur, and author of The Audacity to be Free. From her iconic Moroccan Soup Bar in Melbourne to the pages of her memoir, Hannah has devoted her life to women's empowerment, social justice, and reimagining what freedom and defiance can look like. Together, we explore Hannah's journey of resilience - how adversity and trauma shaped her, yet never defined her. She speaks about creating safe spaces for dialogue beyond soundbites, challenging the cultural and gender expectations that confine us, and the courage it takes to disrupt harmful systems while centering compassion and community. In this conversation, Hannah shares: Why she refuses to be defined by trauma and instead focuses on defiance and healing The urgency of addressing gender-based violence with accountability and collective responsibility How women and men alike can disrupt harmful attitudes and step into allyship The importance of humor, humanity, and courage in reimagining a kinder, fairer world This episode is an invitation to reflect on our own roles in shaping change — to question the stories we've inherited, to speak up where silence has allowed harm, and to imagine together what a more just society could look like. Because, as Hannah reminds us, we are the change we dare to lead.   Connect with Hana Assafiri:Instagram: @hanaassafiri   Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide

In this episode of Soul Therapy, with Chelle, I share a tender reflection on humanity - the ways we care for one another, and the times we fall short. While traveling through Europe, I was struck by two contrasting images on the same day: animals in Ephesus being welcomed, fed, and protected as part of the community, and later that night, a dinghy of refugees - families crying for help in the dark sea. That contrast deeply moved me, highlighting the disparities in how we extend care and belonging. This experience opened space for me to reflect on immigration, privilege, heritage, and the silence many of us hold in the face of racism, cruelty, or exclusion. Silence, I realized, is complicity too. In this conversation, I explore: How kindness and compassion can shift the energy in any space Why listening with empathy - without rushing to respond - can dissolve walls between us The importance of speaking up against cruelty, even in small, everyday moments How humor can connect us - or harm us - depending on how it's used The daily choices we each have to embody care, courage, and humanity This episode is an invitation to reflect: Where in your life could you listen with more compassion or act with more kindness? Because while we may not control global politics, we can shape the way we treat the people in front of us. And if enough of us choose care, courage, and connection - we may just begin to shift the tide.   Connect with Me: Instagram: @_chellegriffin_ Facebook: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide TikTok: @‌soultherapy.with LinkedIn: michelle-griffin-325075127 Website: Michelle Griffin Psychotherapist & Intuitive Guide