Mind Your Self - Four Swans

Accredited psychotherapists Tina Leonard and Laura Mc Hugh Harrington from Lighthouse Wellness Events explore the often misunderstood reality of narcissistic abuse. 
 
Drawing on both professional expertise and lived experience, they discuss how manipulation, gaslighting, coercive control, and emotional abuse can profoundly impact a person's mental health and sense of identity. 
 
Together, we unpack the warning signs of narcissistic relationships, challenge common misconceptions, and examine why survivors often struggle to leave or even recognise the abuse they are experiencing. 
 
The discussion highlights the importance of trauma-informed support, healthy boundaries, self-compassion, and the possibility of healing and recovery.
 
Whether you are a survivor, supporting a loved one, a helping professional, or simply seeking a deeper understanding of trauma and recovery, this episode offers insight, validation, and hope. Above all, it reminds listeners that they are not alone and that healing is possible. 

In this deeply honest and compassionate episode, psychotherapist and breathwork practitioner Krystle Phelan shares her lived experience of grief, parental loss, estrangement, and navigating motherhood without family support.  Drawing from both personal experience and her work with clients, Krystle explores the hidden layers of grief including living loss, fractured family relationships, and the long shadow of COVID bereavement. Together, we discuss how grief evolves over time, the loneliness many people quietly carry, and the unexpected clarity, resilience, and growth that can emerge through loss. This conversation offers validation, hope, and a reminder that grief and joy can coexist, and that healing doesn’t mean forgetting.

In this powerful and reflective conversation, we meet with Darren Reilly, founder of Brotherhood, to explore modern masculinity, emotional intelligence, purpose, and the growing need for deeper connection among men.  Darren shares his personal journey through healing, leadership, psychotherapy training, and transformational work, offering insight into what healthy masculinity truly looks like in today’s world.  Together, we discuss brotherhood, nervous system regulation, accountability, identity, and why so many young men are searching for meaning beyond surface-level success.  This episode is an honest conversation about growth, community, and becoming the man you are meant to be.

We welcome former heroin addict turned neuroscientist Dr. Brian Pennie and his sister Anne Pennie, a trainee psychotherapist, for a deeply honest conversation about addiction, recovery, resilience, and the impact of addiction on families.
 
Together, they reflect on their shared journey, the challenges they faced as siblings, and the lessons they've learned about healing, hope, and personal growth. 
 
Drawing on both lived experience and professional insight, they explore why recovery is possible and how even the darkest chapters can lead to transformation.
 
A powerful episode for anyone affected by addiction whether personally or through someone they love.

In this episode, we sit down with outdoor business owner and digital creator Max Cody to explore the healing power of the outdoors, the rise of adventure culture in Ireland, and why more young people are stepping away from traditional nightlife. 
 
Max shares his personal journey from long nights working in Dublin’s bar scene to building a life centred around sea swimming, hiking, connection, and wellbeing. 
 
Together, we discuss adventures, finding meaning in everyday life, and how nature can support both mental and emotional health

What happens when the version of you that’s been holding it all together starts to fall apart?
 
In this powerful conversation, Myles McKenna shares his journey through burnout, hidden work addiction, and the quiet pressure many men carry to stay strong at all costs. 
 
Together, we explore how emotional suppression shapes our lives, why vulnerability still feels out of reach for so many, and what it really means to come back to yourself.
 
From breathwork and body awareness to the subtle ways trauma lives within us, this episode is a reminder that healing doesn’t have to be complicated. It starts with small, honest shifts.
 
If you have ever felt overwhelmed, disconnected, or like you’re running on empty, this conversation will meet you exactly where you are

We sit down with Lisa Browne, founder of My Mind and Me Kids, to explore children’s emotional wellbeing, modern parenting pressures, and the courage it takes to reconnect with yourself.
 
Drawing from her experience as a primary school teacher, mother of three, and now wellbeing entrepreneur, Lisa shares why so many children are struggling with anxiety, overwhelm, and emotional dysregulation and how simple tools rooted in connection, creativity, mindfulness, and emotional safety can make a powerful difference.
 
Lisa also opens up about the deeply personal journey that led her to walk away from a permanent teaching career to follow a path that felt truly aligned with her purpose. 
 
Together, we discuss burnout, perfectionism, identity, self-worth, and the importance of slowing down long enough to ask: Who am I outside of the roles I play for everyone else?
 
This episode is for parents, teachers, caregivers, and anyone navigating change, seeking balance, or longing to live more authentically.

Mum to triplets and a teen, Emma Lennon shares her journey through survival mode, motherhood, therapy, neurodivergence, and healing. From navigating a high-risk pregnancy during Covid lockdown to raising neurodivergent children while learning to understand herself, Emma speaks openly about chaos, resilience, and the courage it takes to keep going when life feels overwhelming. Together, we explore emotional exhaustion, ADHD, single motherhood, and the transformative role that therapy can play in helping us reconnect with ourselves.  This episode is a reminder that even in the middle of the storm, brighter moments can still exist. A powerful conversation for mothers, women carrying invisible loads, and anyone trying to find themselves again after difficult seasons of life.

In this honest and deeply human conversation, Tracy Martin, author of So Not Me, shares her lived experience of trauma, chronic pain, and life-changing disability. 
 
Becoming a wheelchair user at 18, Tracy reflects on loss, identity, and the long journey of finding her voice after years of staying small.
 
This episode explores the realities behind disability, the weight of layered trauma, and what it means to rebuild a life with truth, resilience, and compassion, while still reaching for light.
 

<span;>In this episode, we are joined by Veronica Martinez, a psychotherapist specialising in perinatal mental health, to explore the often unspoken realities of becoming a mother. <span;>Veronica shares both her professional insight and personal experience of postpartum anxiety, shedding light on the pressures, expectations, and emotional challenges many new mothers face. She explores topics like intrusive thoughts, identity shifts, and the myth that mothers should be able to do it all. <span;>A must-listen for new and expecting parents, therapists, and anyone navigating the challenges of parenting, this episode offers reassurance, understanding, and a powerful reminder that you are not alone