On today’s episode, I’m joined by mindfulness mentor, meditation teacher, and host of the Mindful Mama Podcast, Hunter Clarke-Fields. Hunter is the author of Raising Good Humans and Raising Good Humans Every Day, and for years she’s been supporting parents in moving out of reactivity and into more present, connected relationships with their kids.

As a therapist and parent, I know how easy it is to feel like we’re “messing it all up,” especially in the early years when we’re exhausted, triggered, and trying to break cycles in real time. In this conversation, Hunter reflects on parenting her oldest, now 18, and shares what only time can teach: repair matters more than perfection, and it’s never too late to shift a relationship.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why parenting is a long game, and why you don’t always get immediate feedback that it’s “working”
• How repair builds safety and connection, even after reactivity
• The power of delighting in your child, and practicing real listening
• Why boundaries and self-care are essential, not selfish
• Hunter’s message for parents in the thick of the toddler years

My hope is that this episode offers you a deep exhale: you don’t have to be perfect to be a safe, steady parent. What matters is your willingness to keep coming back.

Connect with Hunter

• Listen to her podcast: Mindful Mama Podcast
• Get her books: Raising Good Humans and Raising Good Humans Every Day
• Find her online: mindfulmamamentor.com

If you loved this episode

• Share it with a parent who’s in the thick of it right now
• Support the podcast with a rating or review
• Subscribe to my Substack, A Little Space, Please, for the post that goes with this episode
• Learn more about Dr. Cassidy and Co's therapy practice at www.drcassidymft.com

In this episode of Holding Space, Dr. Cassidy is joined by Dr. Sumi Raghavan for a grounded, human conversation about parenting during a moment of real fear and moral injury.

ICE violence in Minnesota and across the country has left many parents feeling dysregulated, overwhelmed, and unsure how to show up for their kids while their own nervous systems are on high alert. This conversation isn’t happening from a distance. We're two moms, two therapists, sitting inside the same world you are, trying to figure out how to keep showing up without collapsing.

Together, we explore what’s happening in parents’ nervous systems right now, why overwhelm is a reasonable response to real threat, and how regulation is not disengagement, but the foundation for sustained action and care.

We aim to offer concrete guidance for how to talk to kids across different ages, from young children to teens, while protecting their sense of safety without pretending nothing is happening.

This episode is meant to be a place of containment, not more flooding.

Resources & Next Steps

A written companion to this episode, with key takeaways and language you can return to, is available on Substack here.

Links to grounding tools, community resources, and organizations supporting immigrant families are included there as well.

To connect with Dr. Sumi Raghavan and learn more about her New York-based private practice, you can find her on instagram @drsumiphd and her private practice website here!

On today’s episode I’m joined by holistic decluttering expert and host of the top-rated podcast The Maximized Minimalist, Katy Joy Wells.

As a therapist and parent, I know how often our homes can feel like one more place we’re “falling behind.” In this conversation, we explore how clutter impacts our nervous systems, our relationships, and our sense of enoughness. Katy offers a shame-free, deeply human approach that looks at the emotions, beliefs, and habits under the piles.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why clutter isn’t neutral...how visual chaos pulls on our time, energy, and attention
• The difference between clutter and expected mess...and why that distinction can instantly lower your shame
• Katy’s idea of a “good enough home” and how it connects to good enough parenting
• Why traditional decluttering methods (bins, labels, marathon purges, “spark joy”) often backfire for busy, emotionally-connected humans
• How we can model softening, self-compassion, and boundaries with stuff for our kids

My hope is that this episode offers you something Katy and I kept coming back to: hope for a lighter, calmer home that supports presence with the people you love...without having to become a different person or maintain a Pinterest-perfect house.

Connect with Katy

• Listen to Katy’s podcast: The Maximized Minimalist
• Get her book: Making Home Your Happy Place: A Real-Life Guide to Decluttering Without the Overwhelm
• Find her on Instagram: @katyjoywells

• Share it with a friend whose home feels “loud” right now
• Support the podcast and leave a rating or review!
• Subscribe to my Substack, A Little Space, Please, and check out the post that goes with this episode!