Category: Family & Parenting

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Frozen in Time by Childhood Trauma August 13, 2014

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Ben Starr, Linda Vanella, Ori Amini Morrison
Category: Family & Parenting, Trauma & Healing

Childhood trauma leaves children frozen in place, and the cure often lies in the parent-child relationship, not just the child alone. Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, draws on her work with traumatized veterans and young children to explain how creative tools like xylophone play, power cards, and the hero’s journey restore a child’s sense of agency alongside the caregiver’s.

When the Real Self Breaks Through April 23, 2014

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Family & Parenting

What happens when the pressures of life crack the composed self wide open? Armand DiMele examines how rage, passive aggression, and emotional numbness ripple outward and damage others, while callers share raw stories of unloving mothers, inherited trauma, and the long work of grieving what was never given.

How Birth Order Shapes Your Personality with Stephanie Ross April 15, 2014

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Giullian Gioiello, Stephanie Ross
Category: Family & Parenting, Identity & The Self

Birth order predicts more about your personality and relationships than most people realize. Armand DiMele and researcher Stephanie Ross break down how being an only child, firstborn, or later-born shapes anger triggers, confidence, and compatibility, while noting that adoption, remarriage, and loss can shift everything.

A Nation of Wimps with Hara Estroff Marano May 15, 2013

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Hara Estroff Marano
Category: Family & Parenting, Personal Growth & Change

Overprotective parents are raising psychologically fragile children, and college counseling centers are overwhelmed with the fallout. Hara Estroff Marano, Author and Psychology Today Editor, joins Armand DiMele to argue that well-meaning parents who bubble-wrap their kids’ lives are producing adults who can’t tolerate failure, rejection, or uncertainty.

Technology, Family Bonds and Real Connection June 5, 2012

Host: Armand DiMele
Category: Emotions & Inner Life, Family & Parenting

Are smartphones and social media bringing families closer or hollowing out real intimacy? Armand DiMele and co-host Lisa Arnone examine adult children moving back home, how texting reshaped parent-child bonds, and the painful gap between online connection and genuine closeness. Callers bring it to life.

The Caregiving Wife’s Handbook with Diana Denholm April 17, 2012

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Diana Denholm, John Valerio, Linda Vanella
Category: Aging & Mortality, Family & Parenting

Caring for a seriously ill spouse strips away plans, freedom, and identity. Dr. Diana Denholm, MD, author of “The Caregiving Wife’s Handbook,” joins Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, to examine how caregivers manage resentment and burnout, and what the person being cared for can do to preserve their partner’s dignity and wellbeing.

The Family Constellation March 13, 2012

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: John Valerio, Linda Vanella
Category: Family & Parenting, Identity & The Self

Every family is a web of valences, positive and negative, and Armand DiMele maps the full constellation: single fathers raising daughters, mothers and sons, absent parents, and the toll each pattern takes. Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, adds clinical perspective, and a caller named JT illustrates what happens when a child withdraws from an unaccepting world and how embarrassment, not circumstance, becomes the last barrier to belonging.

The Positive Side of Rebellion September 21, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Alex, Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella, Ramey
Category: Family & Parenting, Personal Growth & Change

Rebellion is not a problem to suppress but a developmental skill to celebrate. Armand DiMele argues that children who push back against parents are building the same muscle they need to resist dominating peers and dangerous strangers. Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, shares how raising four children taught her to read defiance as a bid for independence, and callers add vivid stories of rebellion, loss, and trust.

Parenting Through Schizophrenia with Randy Kay August 23, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Randy Kay
Category: Family & Parenting, Grief & Loss

Randy Kay, author of “Ben Behind His Voices,” joins Armand to trace her five-year journey recognizing her son’s gradual-onset schizophrenia. They examine how parents normalize early warning signs, why diagnosis so often comes only at crisis, and how education, NAMI, and redefining hope made recovery possible.

How Family Secrets Scar Us August 17, 2011

Host: Armand DiMeleGuests: Lauren Sykes, Linda Vanella
Category: Family & Parenting, Identity & The Self

Family secrets don’t just hide the truth, they divide families, freeze emotional development, and corrode trust for generations. Armand DiMele and Linda Vanella, LCSW-R, walk through four ways secrets damage families and offer practical guidance on breaking destructive triangles, with callers sharing their own experiences.