Ep. 2 - Courageous Connection: Healing Inner Child Trauma, Breaking Free from Narcissistic Abuse, and Building Extraordinary Love

Tonight's episode is a gift.Dr. Priti Kothari sits down with two of the most respected clinicians in the Boca Raton mental health community — Jackie DeVito, LCSW, and Tim Andrews, therapist and coach — for a deeply moving conversation about trauma, relationships, and the courage it takes to heal. Together, Jackie and Tim are the founders of Courageous Hearts and co-authors of the newly released book Courageous Connection: How to Transform Limiting Beliefs, Heal Past Wounds, and Build Extraordinary Love That Lasts, available now on Amazon.What makes Jackie and Tim's approach so powerful — and so rare — is that they've lived the work themselves. Both went through their own healing journeys before becoming clinicians, and both continue that work today. Their model brings male and female therapeutic energy into the room together, creating a dynamic that traditional couples therapy simply can't replicate.In this episode, they explore:Why we recreate our childhood wounds in our adult relationships — and how to finally break that cycleThe inner child: what it means, where the damage happens, and how healing beginsThe victim triangle and the three roles we unconsciously play in our relationshipsWhy traditional couples therapy is often insufficient — and what a more effective model looks likeNarcissistic abuse, gaslighting, and how early childhood experiences set the stage for adult entrapmentWhy staying in an unhappy marriage "for the children" may be doing more harm than goodThe courage it takes to choose yourself — and what that models for your kidsTransgenerational trauma and how healing one person can shift an entire family systemDr. Kothari also walks listeners through the chapters of Courageous Connection, covering attachment styles, reparenting, breaking free from powerlessness, boundaries, forgiveness, and the four pillars of intimacy.Whether you are in the thick of a painful relationship, recovering from trauma, or simply trying to understand why you keep ending up in the same cycles, this conversation meets you exactly where you are — with no judgment, and a whole lot of hope.Resources Mentioned:Courageous Connection by Jackie DeVito & Tim Andrews — available on AmazonCourageousArtsCoaching.com — workshops, intensives, and upcoming affordable online modulesThe Crappy Childhood Fairy — social media and podcastThe Holistic Psychologist — social media and resourcesKristen Neff, PhD — self-compassion research and workbook, UT AustinJohn Bradshaw — Homecoming, Healing the Shame That Binds YouJoe Dispenza, Mel Robbins — additional thought leaders referencedOnsite Workshops — four-day intensive program, Nashville, TNStay tuned — Jackie and Tim will return to Untangled when their online modules launch.