In this conversation, Brian Sacks shares what it was like to grow up as the only child of parents who had him late in life—parents he would eventually care for emotionally, physically, and financially while still trying to become an adult himself. Brian opens up about the pressure of stepping into adulthood far too early, running his father’s business as a teenager, and learning to navigate life without the safety net most young people rely on. Brian also reflects on how those early hardships shaped him as a husband, father, and professional—and why breaking generational patterns became a non-negotiable part of raising his own children. Now, decades into a successful marriage and career, Brian has turned his lived experience into service, creating the Stuck in the Middle newsletter, podcast, and community for people balancing the simultaneous demands of aging parents, growing children, relationships, and work. This episode is a grounded, heartfelt reminder that success isn’t defined by ease—it’s defined by resilience, compassion, and the willingness to play the hand you’re dealt with integrity and grit.

Brian’s Resources:
Podcast: Stuck in the Middle
Episode: Guiding Young Adults Through Emotional Struggles and Family Transitions with Joanna Lilley
Newsletter: Stuck in the Middle
Facebook: Stuck in the Middle News

Connect with Joanna Lilley
Therapeutic Consulting Association
Lilley Consulting Website
Lilley Consulting on Facebook
Lilley Consulting on YouTube
Email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com

#TherapeuticConsulting #LilleyConsulting #Successful #TherapeuticPrograms #Therapy #MentalHealthMatters #Podcast #PodcastCommunity #TheJourney #SuccessIsSubjectivePodcast #TheUnpavedRoad #PFCAudioVideo #StuckInTheMiddle #StuckInTheMiddlePodcast #BrianSacks #TeenYears #TeenAnxiety #ParentingHelp #LifeTransitions #UpsAndDownsOfLife

In this week’s episode, Joanna sits down with Ann Coleman—attorney turned parent-educator and the host of Speaking of Teens. After years of struggling through her son’s anxiety, ADHD, and eventual placement in treatment, Ann realized that her own fear, misunderstanding, and emotional reactivity were driving the conflict at home. What happened next changed everything. Ann shares how she dove into adolescent neuropsychology, rewired her entire approach to parenting, and ultimately built a framework that has since helped thousands of families break destructive cycles. She talks openly about the grief of letting go of old expectations, the relief that comes from understanding the developing brain, and why “success” must be defined by the young person—not the parent. This conversation is an anchor for any parent navigating adolescence or young adulthood. Ann offers clarity, compassion, and the kind of perspective that can genuinely shift a family’s trajectory.

Ann’s Resources:
Website: https://speakingofteens.com/
Podcast: Speaking of Teens
Instagram: @speakingofteenspodcast
Facebook: Speaking of Teens Podcast

Connect with Joanna Lilley
Therapeutic Consulting Association
Lilley Consulting Website
Lilley Consulting on Facebook
Lilley Consulting on YouTube
Email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com

#TherapeuticConsulting #LilleyConsulting #Successful #TherapeuticPrograms #Therapy #MentalHealthMatters #Podcast #PodcastCommunity #TheJourney #SuccessIsSubjectivePodcast #TheUnpavedRoad #PFCAudioVideo #SpeakingOfTeensPodcast #TeenYears #MomEmotions #TeenAnxiety #ParentingHelp

In this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna sits down with author, advocate, and mother Stacy Ross, whose 28-year journey parenting a child with serious mental illness reshaped everything she thought she knew about success, family, and resilience. Stacy opens up about infertility, adoption, raising three children, navigating years of misdiagnoses, and ultimately learning how to parent through chaos, crisis, and transition.

She shares how writing became her lifeline during the early days of COVID, how her memoir emerged from 200 raw pages written in solitude, and how she rebuilt her sense of self, purpose, and balance along the way. Stacy’s story is honest, grounding, and deeply human — a reminder that success rarely follows the script we imagined, and that acceptance, boundaries, and connection can transform even the hardest chapters.

Stacy’s Resources:

Website: https://stacyrossspeaks.com/

Book: Searching for Slippers

Book: Where Do the Waves Come From?

Connect with Joanna Lilley

Therapeutic Consulting Association

Lilley Consulting Website

Lilley Consulting on Facebook

Lilley Consulting on YouTube
Email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com

#TherapeuticConsulting #LilleyConsulting #Successful #TherapeuticPrograms #Therapy #MentalHealthMatters #Podcast #PodcastCommunity #TheJourney #SuccessIsSubjectivePodcast #TheUnpavedRoad #PFCAudioVideo #StacyRoss #StacyRossSpeaks #AdoptionAwareness #SearchingForSlippers #BPDAwareness #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder

On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna brings you another story from our special former participant series where she extends the opportunity for former participants to share their journey with others. Today’s former participant is Chris Kelley. Chris shares his honest journey from growing up in Cape Cod’s party culture, to court-ordered detox and time in county jail as a teenager, to finally entering long-term recovery at 29. Now 15 years sober and the Executive Director of Berkshire Transition Network, Chris talks with Joanna about the deeper emotional work behind recovery, the moment his “dam broke,” and how community, self-inquiry, and aligned purpose shaped the life he leads today. It’s a grounded, thoughtful conversation about transformation, trauma, and what “the work” really looks like. Chris also reflects on how unlearning old patterns became just as essential as building new ones.

NOTE: The podcasts in this series can include sensitive subjects such as suicide, self-harm, substance abuse, hospitalizations, psychotic episodes, and other traumatic experiences which include parts of the treatment journey. No topic is off limits and not all stories are positive but they are real, raw, and transparent.

**Listener discretion is advised**

Chris’s Resources:
Berkshire Transition Network
Newport Academy

Connect with Joanna Lilley

Therapeutic Consulting Association

Lilley Consulting Website

Lilley Consulting on Facebook

Lilley Consulting on YouTube
Email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com

#TherapeuticConsulting #LilleyConsulting #Successful #TherapeuticPrograms #Therapy #MentalHealthMatters #Podcast #PodcastCommunity #TheJourney #SuccessIsSubjectivePodcast #TheUnpavedRoad #PFCAudioVideo #SoberLiving #SoberMovement #SobrietyJourney #SobrietyIsBeautiful #AddictionTreatment

On this episode of Success is Subjective, Joanna brings you another story from our special former participant series where she extends the opportunity for former participants to share their journey with others. Today’s former participant is Conor Gallagher Gray. Conor grew up on Chicago’s North Shore with every advantage and a clear path laid out for him—until addiction, stigma, and a collapsing sense of identity sent his life on a drastically different trajectory. After multiple treatment stays, arrests, a suicide attempt, and years of relapse and rebuilding, Conor eventually found long-term sobriety and a renewed sense of purpose. His journey took him from high academic and athletic expectations to living in a basement storage room, navigating psych episodes, and surviving several near-fatal moments that forced him to confront the reality of where his life was headed. Today, Conor co-owns men’s sober living homes in Los Angeles, where he channels his experience into community, accountability, and giving others the support he once needed. This conversation is honest, intense, and a powerful reminder that healing is rarely linear and purpose can grow from the most unexpected places.

NOTE: The podcasts in this series can include sensitive subjects such as suicide, self-harm, substance abuse, hospitalizations, psychotic episodes, and other traumatic experiences which include parts of the treatment journey. No topic is off limits and not all stories are positive but they are real, raw, and transparent.

**Listener discretion is advised**

Conor’s Resources:

Eric’s House Recovery
Menninger Clinic

Connect with Joanna Lilley

Therapeutic Consulting Association

Lilley Consulting Website

Lilley Consulting on Facebook

Lilley Consulting on YouTube
Email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com

#TherapeuticConsulting #LilleyConsulting #Successful #TherapeuticPrograms #Therapy #MentalHealthMatters #Podcast #PodcastCommunity #TheJourney #SuccessIsSubjectivePodcast #TheUnpavedRoad #PFCAudioVideo #SoberLiving #SoberMovement #SobrietyJourney #SobrietyIsBeautiful #AddictionTreatment #EricsHouseRecovery

Today’s Success is Subjective guest is Kathy Nauta. Kathy’s path to becoming a therapeutic and educational consultant looks nothing like the straight line she once imagined for herself. Growing up in a family where work was purely about survival, Kathy pursued accounting solely for the promise of financial security—despite feeling out of place every step of the way. After years in corporate finance, multiple relocations, raising three kids, and supporting a child with higher needs, she slowly found her way into advocacy, special education work, and ultimately the consulting practice she runs today. In this conversation, Kathy reflects on how her definition of success shifted from money and titles to emotional well-being, meaningful work, and a balanced life. She talks candidly about the pressure young people feel, how overstimulating our world has become, and why parents must prioritize their child’s social and emotional health over academic timelines. She also shares the personal experiences that shaped her approach with families — and the power of saying yes to new experiences as a way of truly getting to know yourself. This episode is especially resonant for parents of teens and young adults navigating uncertainty, as well as anyone who grew up believing that productivity equaled worth. Kathy’s honesty, warmth, and decades of lived experience make this an episode full of grounded, relatable wisdom.

Kathy’s Resources:

Kathy Nauta Educational Consulting

Facebook: Kathy Nauta Educational Consulting

IECA - Independent Educational Consultants Association

New Jersey Children’s System of Care (CSOC)
NAMI

COPAA - Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (SEAT Training)

Connect with Joanna Lilley

Therapeutic Consulting Association

Lilley Consulting Website

Lilley Consulting on Facebook

Lilley Consulting on YouTube
Email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com

#TherapeuticConsulting #LilleyConsulting #Successful #TherapeuticPrograms #Therapy #MentalHealthMatters #Podcast #PodcastCommunity #TheJourney #SuccessIsSubjectivePodcast #TheUnpavedRoad #PFCAudioVideo #EducationalConsultant #EducationalConsulting #MentalHealthAwareness #AnxiousGeneration

Growing up in Milwaukee, expectations were clear for Bix Firer: go straight to college and stay on a traditional path. He tried — and quickly learned it wasn’t his path at all. After dropping out, Bix spent several years exploring unconventional jobs, traveling, and learning through lived experience rather than a classroom. Those detours became the foundation for discovering who he was and what he valued. In this episode of Success is Subjective, Bix shares how listening to his intuition — even when it meant starting over — eventually led him into outdoor education, meaningful community work, and a values-aligned career in conservation with the Ice Age Trail Alliance. His journey is a grounding reminder that success isn’t measured by speed or status, but by alignment, joy, and how we show up for ourselves and others. If you or a young adult in your life is questioning “the expected path,” Bix’s story offers reassurance that stepping off course may be the most important part of finding your way.

Bix’s Resources:

Website: Ice Age Trail Alliance

Instagram: @iceagetrailorg

Emma’s book: Dead Reckoning

Podcast features: The Dirtbag Diaries

Connect with Joanna Lilley

Therapeutic Consulting Association

Lilley Consulting Website

Lilley Consulting on Facebook

Lilley Consulting on YouTube
Email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com

#TherapeuticConsulting #LilleyConsulting #Successful #TherapeuticPrograms #Therapy #MentalHealthMatters #Podcast #PodcastCommunity #TheJourney #SuccessIsSubjectivePodcast #TheUnpavedRoad #PFCAudioVideo #IceAgeTrail #FindYourTrail #ExploreWisconsin

This week’s Success is Subjective guest, Chrissy Nichols, spent more than two decades teaching before discovering her true calling—helping learners of all ages understand how their brains actually work. As an executive function coach, Chrissy specializes in guiding young adults (often returning from therapeutic or wilderness programs) to find balance, accountability, and self-trust through what she calls “love-hammer coaching”—a blend of compassion and tough honesty that empowers lasting change. In this conversation with Joanna Lilly, Chrissy shares how growing up with an undiagnosed ADHD brain led her to design her own hacks for organization and focus, eventually turning those same strategies into tools for others. She and Joanna explore what it means to un-shame the brain, why traditional “just try harder” messages fail, and how foundational routines—sleep, hydration, movement, fuel, and reflection—create the mental bandwidth needed to thrive.This episode is an encouraging reminder that success isn’t about perfection or productivity—it’s about connection, curiosity, and learning to meet yourself where you are.

Chrissy’s Resources:

Chrissy’s Website
Complementary Consultation
Facebook: The Chrissy Concept

Connect with Joanna Lilley

Therapeutic Consulting Association

Lilley Consulting Website

Lilley Consulting on Facebook

Lilley Consulting on YouTube
Email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com

#TherapeuticConsulting #LilleyConsulting #Successful #TherapeuticPrograms #Therapy #MentalHealthMatters #Podcast #PodcastCommunity #TheJourney #SuccessIsSubjectivePodcast #TheUnpavedRoad #PFCAudioVideo #EmotionalHealing #AimHouse #TraumaRecovery #ExecutiveFunctioningSkills #TheChrissyConcept #BurnoutPrevention #MindBodyBalance