In this episode, I’m joined by David Russell.

David is my supervisor. Decades in the field. Academic, therapist, teacher. More lived experience than most and not hiding behind it.

This conversation sits inside something deeper than most people want to go.

We go straight into the question that was left.

What does it mean when something is done out of love beyond good and evil.

And it doesn’t stay philosophical for long.

David breaks it down in a way that strips the bullshit out of it. Good and evil as ideas don’t hold much. They don’t carry imagination. They don’t carry depth. They are labels. Morality. Surface level.

We move into something else.

Soul.

Not as a word people throw around. As something that actually happens. In the moment. In connection. In presence.

Not something you learn.
Not something you perform.
Something you allow.

We also go into the danger in this work.

How easy it is to hide behind the identity of therapist, coach, psychologist. To use training as armour. To sit above instead of with.

And how quickly that kills any real connection.

This one hits on something I care about a lot.

Dropping the vertical relationship. Therapist above client. Parent above child. One person holding the power.

And moving it into something more honest. More equal. More human.

Not losing boundaries.
Not losing responsibility.

But actually meeting someone where they are instead of trying to manage them.

There’s also honesty in this.

The pull of ego.
The inflation that comes when someone tells you how good you are.
How easy it is to believe your own bullshit if you don’t check it.

No one is above that.

Not me.
Not him.
Not anyone.

This one slows things down.

Less talking.
More presence.

The question David leaves for the next guest is this.

When have you felt completely helpless and it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to you?

It’s You. Oh Fuck. It’s ME. In Session with a Psychotherapist
Hosted by Chad Taylor. Author of It’s You. Oh Fuck. It’s ME

No tips.
No fixing.
Just real conversations.

Book- https://cxv22j-gy.myshopify.com/ Discount Code: PODCAST20

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/chadtaylor.itsyou/?hl=en

Tiktok- https://www.tiktok.com/@chadtaylor.itsyou?lang=en

Email- chadtaylorpsychotherapy@gmail.com

In this episode, I’m joined by Josh Shay.

Josh is a coach who works with pornography addiction and the fallout that comes with it. Before that, he was what most people would call high functioning. Successful, visible, respected. All while hiding alcoholism and a porn addiction that was running his life underneath it.

This conversation sits inside illusion, validation, and what it costs to hold everything together.

Josh speaks about being an overachiever who could perform at a high level while everything underneath was falling apart. The energy it took just to maintain the image. To keep people seeing what he wanted them to see while hiding what was actually going on.

What stood out in this one is how much of his identity was built on external validation. Awards, recognition, status. Not because he was arrogant, but because he needed it to feel like he was enough. And how quickly that falls apart when the addiction catches up.

We go into the moment where everything collapsed. Losing his role, being confronted by the people around him, and having to make a decision. Keep going the way he was going or face what was actually there.

From there, the conversation moves into responsibility.

Not just stopping the behaviour.
Understanding how you got there in the first place.

Because putting something down is one thing.
Seeing why you needed it is something else entirely.

We also talk about ego.

How easy it is to chase attention.
How easy it is to build a version of yourself that looks good from the outside.
And how different it feels to step away from that and live a quieter life that is actually aligned.

This one is honest.

Not about perfection.
Not about having it all sorted.

About what it takes to go from performing your life to actually living it.

The question Josh leaves for the next guest is this.

What does it mean when something is done out of love and exists beyond good and evil?

It’s You. Oh Fuck. It’s ME. In Session with a Psychotherapist
Hosted by Chad Taylor. Author of It’s You. Oh Fuck. It’s ME

No tips.
No fixing.
Just real conversations.

Book- https://cxv22j-gy.myshopify.com/ Discount Code: PODCAST20

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/chadtaylor.itsyou/?hl=en

Tiktok- https://www.tiktok.com/@chadtaylor.itsyou?lang=en

Email- chadtaylorpsychotherapy@gmail.com

In this episode, it’s just me.

No guest. No back and forth. Just me marking something that actually matters.

25 years clean and sober.

This one is not about storytelling. It is more of a reflection. Not the polished version. The real one.

I talk about what it actually means to be sober. The difference between being abstinent and actually doing the work. Because putting the drink down is one thing. Changing how you live is something else entirely.

I go back to what drove it in the first place. Feeling different. Not fitting in. Needing something to bridge that gap. And how alcohol did that for a while until it didn’t.

This episode sits inside that shift. What it takes to live in the world without needing something external to make you feel okay. And how that is still a daily practice. Not something that gets ticked off and finished.

I also speak about selfishness. Not pretending it’s gone. Not pretending I’ve fixed it. Just being honest about the fact it’s still there. And that awareness is what keeps me from falling straight back into it.

There is also something deeper in this one. The idea that we are not broken. That the cracks are part of it. That the work is not about becoming perfect, but about being willing to look at yourself without turning away.

This is not a lesson. It is a check in. A reminder of where I came from and what it actually takes to stay on this path.

No fixing.
No wrapping it up.

Just being honest about the fact that if I forget who I am, I lose everything.

It’s You. Oh Fuck. It’s ME. In Session with a Psychotherapist
Hosted by Chad Taylor

Author or It’s You. Oh Fuck. It’s ME.

No tips.
No fixing.
Just real conversations.

Book- https://cxv22j-gy.myshopify.com/ Discount Code: PODCAST20

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/chadtaylor.itsyou/?hl=en

Tiktok- https://www.tiktok.com/@chadtaylor.itsyou?lang=en

Email- chadtaylorpsychotherapy@gmail.com