Balance your Brain
Love, dating, and relationships with James Christensen LMFT.
39. Alex Vs A-Rod
Professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez credits Dr. David Schnarch with having saved his life. In this episode, James Christensen and Catherine Roebuck talk about episode 3 of the HBO…
38. Is there ever a good reason to yell at your kids?
James and Catherine discuss why yelling at kids is harmful except in rare moments of immediate danger, and why parents teach more by example.
37. Taking Off the Mask in Your Marriage
Why revealing the messy stuff in your mind builds trust, how apologies turn into control, and the case for telling your partner about an affair.
Healing Trauma with Catherine Roebuck
James Christensen and Catherine Roebuck talk about healing trauma.
Don’t be a Doormat
Catherine Roebuck and James Christensen on the persistent drive for autonomy, and how to avoid being a doormat or a bully.
Loving on Purpose: A Conversation with Catherine Roebuck
Catherine Roebuck and James Christensen on loving on purpose: why loving from the heart, without waiting to feel it, is an adult task.
33. Relational Life Therapy with Audrey Schoen
Audrey Schoen joins James Christensen to compare Terry Real’s Relational Life Therapy with Crucible therapy, and how both differ from Gottman and EFT.
32. How I run my couples therapy practice in Roseville, California.
I recorded this interview at Salem Media in Sacramento. Matt: On today's show, we have James Christensen with Roseville Couples Counseling. He provides therapy for couples—husbands and wives…
31. How to Rebuild Trust after Infidelity
If your partner has cheated, James Christensen explains the three parts of rebuilding trust, which he compares to three legs of a stool.
30. A Therapist’s Escape from Narcissism
James Christensen describes how he came to see himself as narcissistic, what narcissism protects against, and how he escaped it.
29. The Buddhist Approach to Attachment Panic
Catherine Roebuck joins James Christensen to discuss Chapter 2 of Bruce Tift’s Already Free and the Buddhist approach to attachment panic.
28. Why you Don’t Feel Safe
Catherine Roebuck joins James Christensen to discuss Chapter 1 of Bruce Tift’s Already Free: most of us live in the present as if it were the past.
27. Powerful Parenting with Aron and Kristin
James Christensen talks with therapists Aron Carlson and Kristin Areglado Hurley about the parenting workshop they have been developing.
26. Crucible Therapy with Dr. Dave Jenkins.
Dr. Dave Jenkins shares his memories of Dr. David Schnarch and how he came to Crucible therapy, in conversation with James Christensen.
25. Making Moves in your Marriage with Jackie Aston
James Christensen talks with Jackie Aston, a licensed psychotherapist and founder of Clarity and Growth Therapy, about making moves in your marriage.
24. Calm the heck down with Dan Purcell
Calm the heck down: James Christensen talks with Dan Purcell, sex and intimacy coach and co-founder of Get Your Marriage On!
23. Introduction to Crucible Therapy with Catherine Roebuck
Catherine Roebuck explains why it is called Crucible therapy: your marriage is the container, and the pressure of long-term love is the heat.
22. Healthy Male Sexuality with Heather Matthews
Healthy Male Sexuality with and Heather Matthews: I'm really passionate about this idea around men and shame around their sexuality. I work with a lot of men in my practice, which I really enjoy…
21. Regression and Revisualization
Catherine Roebuck and James Christensen explain regression, a temporary drop in brain performance under high anxiety, and revisualization.
20. Parental Blindness
Catherine Roebuck joins James Christensen to talk about parental blindness, why people avoid looking at their parents clearly, and how to fix it.
19. Moving from Anxious Attachment to Secure Attachment
Catherine Roebuck lays out how to move from anxious attachment toward secure attachment, with yourself and with your partner.
18. Getting Clear on your Parents
I had a new client come in last week with his partner, his fiance. He's a very ambitious, very performance-oriented person. And he was super set on fixing this fast. What I told him is, "I share…
17. Improve Your Functioning
Catherine Roebuck and James Christensen on what improved functioning looks like: more peace, more relaxed in your own skin, and less guarded.
16. Infidelity: The Coldplay Affair
Catherine Roebuck and James Christensen on the Coldplay concert affair, and advice for spouses facing the public humiliation of being cheated on.
15: Courageous Love
Catherine Roebuck and James Christensen on courageous love: why mature love takes courage, and why expecting absolute safety in love is childlike.
14: Live your Way to a Better Marriage
Dr. Corey Allan from joins me for real talk about marriage and relationships. James Christensen, LMFT: My guest today is Dr. Corey Allan from Sexy Marriage Radio. My first question for you, Corey, is…
13: The Power of Authenticity
James Christensen talks with Steve Thatcher about the power of authenticity.
12: Narcissism 101
Why Calling Someone a “Narcissist” Misses the Point Most people talk about narcissism only when they want to vent frustration. The speaker points out the irony: judging someone as narcissistic is…
Episode 11: Right Brain Relationship
In this episode, and team up to talk about how your right brain can save your relationship. Have you ever listened to David Foster Wallace's commencement speech "This Is…
Episode 10: Non-Violent Communication for Couples With Daniel Robertson
joins me to talk about nonviolent communication in relationships. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a communication model developed by Marshall Rosenberg in the 1960s. It focuses on fostering…
Episode 9: Left Brain and Right Brain
joins for a discussion of how to balance your brain. Key points: The left brain is a simplistic problem-solver with a narrow focus. It doesn’t understand people, it ignores context, and it…
Episode 8: Becoming More Alive
In this episode, James Christensen and Catherine Roebuck explore what it means to truly come alive. They dive into how you can break free from childhood habits and internal restrictions that once…
Episode 7: Relationship Communication
Ways to improve communication in your relationship: pause before you react, state your intention, make requests instead of complaints, reveal instead of convince, and more.
Episode 6: Parenting
10 parenting tips from James Christensen
Episode 5: Infidelity
Catherine Roebuck and James Christensen on infidelity as a symptom rather than the cause, trusting yourself over your partner, and mind mapping.
Episode 4: How to Heal your Brain with Catherine Roebuck
In this episode I’m talking to relationship coach Catherine Roebuck about Dr David Schnarch’s last book, Living at the Bottom of the Ocean. The book available as a free PDF download: Catherine’s…
Episode 3: Chad Fraga on Relationship Growth
Welcome to episode three of the James Christians podcast. That's me. I'm James, I'm here with my friend Chad Fraga. Say hi, Chad. Hey. Hey. How we doing? Uh, Chad and I are both therapists and we…
Episode 2: Collaborative Conflict in Relationships
In this episode I join to talk Collaborative conflict in relationships So Chad, why don't you read the vignette and then let's talk about what we think about the situation. So yeah. Am I the asshole…
Episode 1: Sadism in Relationships with Chad Fraga LMFT
In this episode I join to talk about sadism in relationships James: So culturally, we think, oh, sadistic behavior is rare. It's like this outlier, like there's a small percentage of the population…