To schedule a session visit catiaholm.com or call 956-249-7930.

We explore self-led parenting through IFS with Marisa Garcia, moving from control to attunement and from managing behavior to meeting needs. We share real stories, the U-turn practice, and how repair after blowups builds trust and capacity in the family.

• why fixing and managing often miss the child’s need
• IFS basics in parenting: managers, firefighters, exiles
• the U-turn: turn inward before responding
• curiosity over the “spoiled kid” narrative
• parts party dynamics during homework battles
• repair steps after yelling or withdrawing
• fear of belonging driving control at home
• accepting our child’s uniqueness without panic
• how kids mirror our exiled parts
• practical language for boundaries and pacing
• contact details for Marisa and ways to connect

Show Guest:

Marisa Garcia is a Certified Conscious Parenting Coach, Neurodiversity-Informed Mentor, a Level 3 IFS Practitioner and a systems and industrial engineer.

Her personal healing journey has led her to explore and integrate a range of therapeutic modalities, all rooted in compassion and clarity. Today, she supports individuals and families in deepening their connection to themselves and each other through a heart-centered, trauma-informed lens.

Marisa is also a lifelong learner, a mother navigating neurodiversity, a wife, an athlete, and an artist—all of which inform her rich and relatable approach to healing.

Connect with Marisa at marisagmtz@gmail.com
or follow her on Instagram at @cons.cious.ly

Support the show

Couch Time with Cat isn’t therapy—it’s real conversation designed to support your journey alongside any personal or professional help you're receiving. If you're in emotional crisis or need immediate support, please get in touch with a professional or reach out to a 24/7 helpline like:

• US: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• UK: Samaritans at 116 123
• Australia: Lifeline at 13 11 14
• Or find local resources through findahelpline.com

You’re not alone. Let’s take this one honest conversation at a time.

Follow the show and share it with someone who’s ready for healing, hope, and a more empowered way forward.

Show hosted by:

Catia Hernandez Holm, LMFT-A

Supervised by Susan Gonzales, LMFT-S, LPC-S

You can connect with Catia at couchtimewithcat.com

and

To become a client visit- catiaholm.com

To become a client, visit catiaholm.com or call 956-249-7930.

We explore why holiday gatherings often trigger anxiety and old roles, then map out small, practical ways to find steadiness. We offer grounding breath, values-based choices, clear exit strategies, and a permission slip to choose peace over perfection.

• Why family systems pull us into old roles
• how the nervous system responds to holiday stress
• the gap between glossy images and real families
• grounding breath and body reset techniques
• boundaries as doors that keep you whole
• exit strategies that restore agency
• picking one guiding value for the season
• creating a three-part peace plan
• recommended books and podcasts for deeper support

Support the show

Couch Time with Cat isn’t therapy—it’s real conversation designed to support your journey alongside any personal or professional help you're receiving. If you're in emotional crisis or need immediate support, please get in touch with a professional or reach out to a 24/7 helpline like:

• US: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• UK: Samaritans at 116 123
• Australia: Lifeline at 13 11 14
• Or find local resources through findahelpline.com

You’re not alone. Let’s take this one honest conversation at a time.

Follow the show and share it with someone who’s ready for healing, hope, and a more empowered way forward.

Show hosted by:

Catia Hernandez Holm, LMFT-A

Supervised by Susan Gonzales, LMFT-S, LPC-S

You can connect with Catia at couchtimewithcat.com

and

To become a client visit- catiaholm.com

Welcome! To become a client, visit catiaholm.com or call 956-249-7930.

We explore Internal Family Systems with Marisa Garcia, mapping managers, firefighters, and exiles while centering the calm of Self. A real-life partner moment shows two paths: reactivity or repair, with a one-minute practice to meet parts with compassion.

• IFS as a compassionate map of the inner world
• Origins in Dr Richard Schwartz’s work and trauma-informed care
• Parts 101: managers, firefighters, and exiles
• Self versus self-like parts and why agenda matters
• Perfectionism as a once-helpful strategy that needs new roles
• Partner conflict slowed down with parts awareness
• A one-minute daily practice to meet parts
• How to connect with Marisa and begin sessions

Show Guest:

Marisa Garcia is a Certified Conscious Parenting Coach, Neurodiversity-Informed Mentor, a Level 3 IFS Practitioner and a systems and industrial engineer.

Her personal healing journey has led her to explore and integrate a range of therapeutic modalities, all rooted in compassion and clarity. Today, she supports individuals and families in deepening their connection to themselves and each other through a heart-centered, trauma-informed lens.

Marisa is also a lifelong learner, a mother navigating neurodiversity, a wife, an athlete, and an artist—all of which inform her rich and relatable approach to healing.

Connect with Marisa at marisagmtz@gmail.com
or follow her on Instagram at @cons.cious.ly

Support the show

Couch Time with Cat isn’t therapy—it’s real conversation designed to support your journey alongside any personal or professional help you're receiving. If you're in emotional crisis or need immediate support, please get in touch with a professional or reach out to a 24/7 helpline like:

• US: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• UK: Samaritans at 116 123
• Australia: Lifeline at 13 11 14
• Or find local resources through findahelpline.com

You’re not alone. Let’s take this one honest conversation at a time.

Follow the show and share it with someone who’s ready for healing, hope, and a more empowered way forward.

Show hosted by:

Catia Hernandez Holm, LMFT-A

Supervised by Susan Gonzales, LMFT-S, LPC-S

You can connect with Catia at couchtimewithcat.com

and

To become a client visit- catiaholm.com

Welcome! For support, reach out at catiaholm.com or call/text 956-249-7930.

In today's episode, we explore how conscious breathing calms the nervous system, opens access to the luminous mind, and widens the space between trigger and response. Liya James shares her journey from high‑achieving designer to breathwork guide, with practical ways to practice when the stakes are low.

• breath as a direct line to safety and presence
• luminous mind explained through Zen and IFS
• shifting from doing for worth to acting from worth
• training the gap between stimulus and response
• simple breath patterns that quiet rumination
• how online sessions and creative integration work
• using language to ask for time and space in conflict
• motherhood, lineage and breaking inherited patterns
• resources to continue: Liya’s site and Cat’s support

Show Guest:

Liya James is a certified breathwork facilitator, Zen practitioner, best-selling author, and artist. As the founder of Luminous Breathwork, she guides people through transformational journeys that blend conscious breath, creative expression, and contemplative practice—opening pathways for healing, clarity, and inner freedom.

After two decades leading global design and innovation teams, Liya turned her focus inward and discovered that creativity, when rooted in awareness, can be a profound source of transformation and insight. An immigrant, mother, and lifelong seeker, she brings presence, artistry, and compassion to her work—helping others untangle inherited patterns through trauma-informed, lineage-sensitive somatic practices.

You can connect with her at: https://www.luminousbreathwork.com/

Support the show

Couch Time with Cat isn’t therapy—it’s real conversation designed to support your journey alongside any personal or professional help you're receiving. If you're in emotional crisis or need immediate support, please get in touch with a professional or reach out to a 24/7 helpline like:

• US: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• UK: Samaritans at 116 123
• Australia: Lifeline at 13 11 14
• Or find local resources through findahelpline.com

You’re not alone. Let’s take this one honest conversation at a time.

Follow the show and share it with someone who’s ready for healing, hope, and a more empowered way forward.

Show hosted by:

Catia Hernandez Holm, LMFT-A

Supervised by Susan Gonzales, LMFT-S, LPC-S

You can connect with Catia at couchtimewithcat.com

and

To become a client visit- catiaholm.com

Welcome! To become a client visit catiaholm.com or call/text 956-249-7930

In this episode, we explore endurance sport as a path to healing, not just performance, and how long efforts rewire our response to fear, shame, and overwhelm. Marisa Garcia shares tools from triathlon and trauma-informed coaching to help us find control inside chaos and know when to pause.

• Endurance movement as moving meditation and trauma repair
• Open-water swim strategies for panic, boundaries, and control
• Rewriting old shame through steady, present miles
• Hydration and fueling as mental health tools on course
• Evolving from finishing to racing and back to joy
• Burnout, identity, and healthy retirement from goals
• How grit in sport transfers to family, conflict, and work
• Practical first steps for choosing an achievable race

*In the show we touch on Ironman distances. We were a little off! Here are the accurate ones:

Swim

• Distance: 1.2 miles (1.9 km)
• Usually in open water: lake, river, or ocean

Bike

• Distance: 56 miles (90 km)
• On paved roads or highway loops

Run

• Distance: 13.1 miles (21.1 km)
• That’s a half marathon to finish

Total Distance: 70.3 miles (113 km)

Participants usually have 8.5 hours to complete the race, with individual cut-off times for each segment.

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If Couch Time with Cat has been meaningful to you, it would mean so much if you'd subscribe, rate, and leave a review. It helps others find us and it grows this community of care. And if you know someone who needs a little light right now, send them this episode. Remind them they're not alone.
--

Show Guest:

Marisa Garcia is a Certified Conscious Parenting Coach, Neurodiversity-Informed Mentor, a Level 3 IFS Practitioner and a systems and industrial engineer.

Her personal healing journey has led her to explore and integrate a range of therapeutic modalities, all rooted in compassion and clarity. Today, she supports individuals and families in deepening their connection to themselves and each other through a heart-centered, trauma-informed lens.

Marisa is also a lifelong learner, a mother navigating neurodiversity, a wife, an athlete, and an artist—all of which inform her rich and relatable approach to healing.

Connect with Marisa at marisagmtz@gmail.com
or follow her on Instagram at @cons.cious.ly

Support the show

Couch Time with Cat isn’t therapy—it’s real conversation designed to support your journey alongside any personal or professional help you're receiving. If you're in emotional crisis or need immediate support, please get in touch with a professional or reach out to a 24/7 helpline like:

• US: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• UK: Samaritans at 116 123
• Australia: Lifeline at 13 11 14
• Or find local resources through findahelpline.com

You’re not alone. Let’s take this one honest conversation at a time.

Follow the show and share it with someone who’s ready for healing, hope, and a more empowered way forward.

Show hosted by:

Catia Hernandez Holm, LMFT-A

Supervised by Susan Gonzales, LMFT-S, LPC-S

You can connect with Catia at couchtimewithcat.com

and

To become a client visit- catiaholm.com

To become a client visit catiaholm.com or call 956-249-7930.

Show guest:

Dr. Paulina S. Flasch is an Associate Professor of Professional Counseling at Texas State University, where she teaches in the Marriage, Couple, and Family track and co-leads the Trauma and Interpersonal Violence Research Lab. Her work centers on trauma, intimate partner violence, and interpersonal violence, with a growing focus on Jewish identity and the lived experiences of antisemitism.

Dr. Flasch is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and the founder of Flasch Counseling and Consulting, where she offers consulting and speaking engagements rooted in compassion, research, and real-world insight.

Learn more or connect with Dr. Flasch:

🔗 TXST Faculty Profile

🔗 LinkedIn

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Resources:

• Texas State Masters Program’s Community Counseling and Wellness Center
• Hope Alliance (Williamson County)
• SAFE Austin (Travis County)
• Hays Caldwell Women’s Center (Hays & Caldwell Counties)
• Legal Support:
• •Travis County Law Library & Self-Help Center
• •Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid -Austin
• •The Travis County Attorney's Office
• University of Texas Domestic Violence Law Clinic
• https://law.utexas.edu/clinics/domestic-violence/
• https://law.utexas.edu/clinics/information-for-the-public/
• •Austin Police Department - Victim Services Division
• •Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas
• TexasLawHelp.org
• Lawyer Referral Service of Central Texas
• State Bar of Texas Lawyer Referral Service

Support the show

Couch Time with Cat isn’t therapy—it’s real conversation designed to support your journey alongside any personal or professional help you're receiving. If you're in emotional crisis or need immediate support, please get in touch with a professional or reach out to a 24/7 helpline like:

• US: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• UK: Samaritans at 116 123
• Australia: Lifeline at 13 11 14
• Or find local resources through findahelpline.com

You’re not alone. Let’s take this one honest conversation at a time.

Follow the show and share it with someone who’s ready for healing, hope, and a more empowered way forward.

Show hosted by:

Catia Hernandez Holm, LMFT-A

Supervised by Susan Gonzales, LMFT-S, LPC-S

You can connect with Catia at couchtimewithcat.com

and

To become a client visit- catiaholm.com

• To become a client visit catiaholm.com or call 956-249-7930.

We explore Relational Life Therapy with Jess Johnson and show how conflict, when repaired with care, builds deeper trust. We share the harmony-disharmony-repair cycle, the “whoosh” of reactivity, and practical steps to shift from the adaptive child to the wise adult.

• why harmony without repair stays shallow
• how the nervous system shapes connection and conflict
• adaptive child, wounded child, and wise adult explained
• noticing the “whoosh” as a cue to pause
• relational mindfulness as a daily practice
• what real repair looks like in words and actions
• balancing independence and interdependence
• moving beyond skills to true transformation
• healthy self-esteem as I’m no better and no less
• one simple weekly practice to track self-esteem swings

Show Guest:

Jess is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate, Licensed Professional Counselor Associate and Certified Relational Life Therapy Couple's Coach. Working out of New Braunfels, TX she helps individuals and couples struggling in their relationships access healing through connection with an invitation to explore relational patterns and learn real repair. Her lived experience as a woman, wife, mother, daughter in a military family and sister to a special needs loved one, has ingrained in her a deep knowing that: every human has worth; mistakes are opportunities to grow; we're all just doing our best, and sometimes we need help. In a space where no topic is off the table and everyone is given grace to be messy and imperfect, her clients learn to love in a radical way and dare to connect deeply.

You can connect with Jess at:

Knowing Connection Therapy, or on Instagram - Jess Talks Relationships

Support the show

Couch Time with Cat isn’t therapy—it’s real conversation designed to support your journey alongside any personal or professional help you're receiving. If you're in emotional crisis or need immediate support, please get in touch with a professional or reach out to a 24/7 helpline like:

• US: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• UK: Samaritans at 116 123
• Australia: Lifeline at 13 11 14
• Or find local resources through findahelpline.com

You’re not alone. Let’s take this one honest conversation at a time.

Follow the show and share it with someone who’s ready for healing, hope, and a more empowered way forward.

Show hosted by:

Catia Hernandez Holm, LMFT-A

Supervised by Susan Gonzales, LMFT-S, LPC-S

You can connect with Catia at couchtimewithcat.com

and

To become a client visit- catiaholm.com

To become a client visit catiaholm.com or call 956-249-7930

We question the belief that value equals output and explore how rest—scientific, emotional, creative, and social—restores the mind, body, and spirit. We share stories, micro‑practices, and rituals that make slowing down feel possible without guilt.

• culture of productivity and the cost of pushing through
• personal burnout story as a turning point
• brain science of sleep, memory and creativity
• nervous system basics and why rest heals
• expanding rest beyond sleep: emotional, creative, social
• how family messages shape rest guilt
• signs of soul‑tired and early warning cues
• micro‑rests and simple daily rituals that stick
• community support that makes rest safer
• visualization, resources and a gentle weekly prompt

Write down one way you can invite more rest into your life. Not as a reward, but as a piece of nourishment for yourself.

If you’re struggling with this, feel free to reach out to me at 956-249-7930. You can leave an anonymous question by calling, voicemail, or voice memo, and I’ll answer it on the show.

If Couch Time with Cat has been meaningful to you, it would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and leave a review. It helps others find us and it grows this community of care.

And if you know someone who needs a little light right now, send them this episode. Remind them they’re not alone.

Support the show

Couch Time with Cat isn’t therapy—it’s real conversation designed to support your journey alongside any personal or professional help you're receiving. If you're in emotional crisis or need immediate support, please get in touch with a professional or reach out to a 24/7 helpline like:

• US: 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• UK: Samaritans at 116 123
• Australia: Lifeline at 13 11 14
• Or find local resources through findahelpline.com

You’re not alone. Let’s take this one honest conversation at a time.

Follow the show and share it with someone who’s ready for healing, hope, and a more empowered way forward.

Show hosted by:

Catia Hernandez Holm, LMFT-A

Supervised by Susan Gonzales, LMFT-S, LPC-S

You can connect with Catia at couchtimewithcat.com

and

To become a client visit- catiaholm.com