PODCAST · health
Project I Am
by Dr. David J Schlosz
Project I Am is a podcast dedicated to personal transformation, self-discovery, and mental well-being. In this series, we explore the power of choosing yourself, revisiting your past with fresh perspectives, and crafting a more empowered narrative for your future. Through thoughtful discussions, reflective exercises, and creative tools, each episode offers listeners a space to reconnect with their inner strength and embrace their true potential. Whether you’re on a journey of healing, growth, or simply seeking deeper self-awareness, this podcast will inspire you to reclaim your story and thrive. Disclaimer: While I am a mental health professional and educator, this podcast and the information shared within it are intended solely for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The content discussed does not constitute therapy, counseling, or any form of professional mental health services. It should not be used as a substitute for therapy
Episodes
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You Are Not a Problem To Solve - On Intersubjectivity, and the Objects We Make of Each Other
There's a moment where someone stops being a person to you and becomes a situation: a difficult client, a high-maintenance friend, a problem your partner needs to solve. And there's a quieter, more common version of that same moment: where you stop being a person to yourself, and become a body to...
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Staying on My Own Side: A 20-Minute Meditation on Not Abandoning Yourself
This episode is a little different. No teaching, no notes to take. Just twenty minutes of guided practice, for you. Most of us learned early how to leave ourselves. How to get smaller, quieter, more acceptable. That wasn't weakness. You were not broken, you were adapting. But what was learned for...
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Two Things Can Be True - A Conversation with Megan Yale, LMFT-S, LPC-S
What if the two things you've been told to choose between: accepting yourself as you are, and changing, were never actually in conflict? In this episode, I sit down with my longtime colleague and friend Megan Yale, LPC-S, LMFT-S, for a conversation about Dialectical Behavior Therapy that goes far...
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The Challenge of the Binary - Beyond All Good and All Bad
We like to believe we see ourselves and others clearly. Yet under stress, uncertainty, shame, or relational threat, the mind often reaches for simpler conclusions: good or bad, safe or dangerous, success or failure, worthy or unworthy. In this episode of Project I Am, Dr. David J. Schlosz…
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When Burnout Is Prolonged Self-Betrayal
Burnout is often described as the consequence of doing too much for too long. But sometimes, exhaustion is also the result of repeatedly leaving ourselves behind. In this episode of Project I Am, Dr. David Schlosz explores the idea that burnout, in many cases, is prolonged self-betrayal. This is...
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The Contraction After Expansion: When a Dream Makes us Visible.
What happens after you do the brave thing? You send the proposal, share the idea, apply for the position, set the boundary, or finally allow yourself to be seen. For a moment, it feels like expansion. Then the adrenaline fades, doubt rushes in, and a familiar voice asks, “Who do you think you…
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Living in the Realm of Possibility: Dreaming at the Size of Your Self
Nobody dreams bigger than their relationship with themselves will allow. In this episode, Dr. David Schlosz explores why the size of our dreams is a measure not of imagination but of self-concept, the quiet, adaptive answer we carry to the question who am I allowed to be? Drawing on NARM's…
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An Interview with Kim Fry: The Therapist's Greatest Tool - Bringing Your Whole Self
What if the most important thing a therapist brings into the room isn't a technique, intervention, or perfectly timed question, but themselves? In this deeply personal conversation, I sit down with licensed marriage and family therapist Kim Fry to explore how our relationship with ourselves…
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The Well (3 of 3): Offering the Cup.
An invitation to stay with yourself. We've spent two episodes digging the well and learning how to draw water. Now it's time to drink. The final episode in The Well series is unlike any previous episode of Project I Am. Rather than another teaching, this is a guided experience, a gentle…
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The Well (2 of 3): Drawing Water. How Your Healing Becomes Someone Else's Hope
How your healing becomes someone else's hope. We've spent years talking about self-awareness. But what actually happens when two nervous systems meet? In Part Two of The Well, Dr. David Schlosz explores the invisible space between people, the place where healing relationships are formed. Why do...
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The Well (1 of 3): Digging. Why Your Healing Begins with You
Why your healing begins with you. Before we can become a safe place for someone else, we have to learn how to become a safe place for ourselves. In Part One of this three-part series, Dr. David Schlosz explores one of the most important and often overlooked truths of healing: the work we avoid in...
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Empathic Witness: The Reaching
There is a particular kind of loneliness that has nothing to do with being alone. You can be loved, married, surrounded, texted-back-within-the-hour, and still feel that no one in the room is meeting the real you. Just the version you sent ahead. The easy one. The capable one. The one who's fine....
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Capacity: The Art of Staying
What determines whether pain breaks us or transforms us? In this episode, David explores one of the most neglected concepts in psychological healing: capacity, the room we have for our own difficult emotions, and for each other's. Through three lenses, our own inner life, the therapy room, and…
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When Healing Changes Your Relationships
We often imagine healing as a journey toward peace, freedom, and deeper connection. But what happens when your growth starts changing the relationships around you? In this episode of Project I AM, Dr. David Schlosz explores one of the most difficult and rarely discussed realities of healing: not...
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Anger as Protest
Anger is one of the most misunderstood emotions we experience. Many of us were taught to fear it, suppress it, spiritualize it away, or turn it inward against ourselves. But what if anger is not the enemy? What if healthy anger is actually a form of protest, agency, dignity, and self-protection?…
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Abandoning Ourselves to Protect Ourselves
There are moments in life when we abandon ourselves in order to protect ourselves. We stay silent instead of speaking honestly. We disconnect from our feelings to avoid conflict, rejection, shame, or discomfort. And afterward, something painful lingers: the feeling that we betrayed ourselves. In...
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I Didn’t Deserve This
In one of the most personal and vulnerable episodes of Project I AM to date, Dr. David Schlosz explores the painful intersection of shame, trauma, grief, and healing. Drawing from his recent experiences in an intensive training, David reflects on a profound realization that moved from…
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Confessions of a Covert Narcissist: Protecting Instead of Connecting
In this follow-up episode, David moves beyond labels and into honest self-reflection with a powerful conversation titled “Confessions of a Covert Narcissist.” This episode is not about diagnosing others. It is about recognizing the subtle ways fear, shame, insecurity, and emotional…
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The Hidden Armor: Understanding Covert Narcissism With Compassion
What if narcissism isn’t always loud? In this compassionate episode of Project I Am, David explores the hidden world of covert narcissism: the quiet, vulnerable, and often misunderstood ways people protect themselves from shame, rejection, and emotional pain. Rather than reducing people to labels...
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Why Healing Trauma Requires More Than Talking About It
There are some wounds that insight alone cannot heal. In this episode of Project I Am, Dr. David J. Schlosz explores why effective trauma therapy must go beyond cognition and include the body and nervous system. While many people understand their trauma intellectually, they often continue to...
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A Conversation about Grief with Elli and Rachel
We think we can prepare for grief. We read about it. We anticipate it. We try to brace ourselves for the moment we know is coming. And then it happens… and nothing prepares us. In this deeply human and unfiltered conversation, David sits with two guests to explore the lived experience of losing a...
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Holding What Remains - A Grief Meditation
Grief has a way of undoing us. It can leave us feeling unanchored… disoriented… like something essential has been taken and nothing quite makes sense anymore. And while the world keeps moving, something inside of us feels like it has come to a standstill. In this episode of Project I Am, I invite...
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The Courage to Be Seen Part 2 - Stories of Truth and Transformation
What does courage really look like? In this second group conversation about Courage, Dr. David Schlosz invites four new guests to share a defining moment in their lives when they chose courage. What unfolds is an honest and deeply moving conversation about truth, returning to self, saying yes,...
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The Courage to Be Seen Part 1 - Stories of Truth and Transformation
What does courage really look like? In this powerful roundtable episode of Project I Am, Dr. David Schlosz invites four guests to share a defining moment in their lives when they chose courage. What unfolds is an honest and deeply moving conversation about truth, grief, leadership, self-trust…
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Relational Identity Integration Part 3: The Relational Field - How Integration Happens in Therapy
If fragmentation forms in relationship, integration must also happen in relationship. In this episode, Dr. David Schlosz enters the therapy room to explore how identity integration unfolds in real time. Drawing from the existential immediacy of Irvin Yalom and the relational conditions described…
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Three Lessons I Learned Growing Up in Apartheid South Africa
What is it like to grow up inside a system you did not create? In this deeply personal episode of the Project I AM Podcast, David shares his experience of growing up in apartheid South Africa and reflects on the historical events that shaped an entire generation. But this episode is not simply...
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Relational Identity Integration Part 2: How Identity Fragments: Attachment, Shame, and Survival Strategies
How does identity become divided in the first place? Building on Episode 1, Dr. David Schlosz explores the developmental origins of fragmentation. Through attachment theory, the identity-based trauma lens of Laurence Heller’s NARM, and contemporary neuroscience, he examines how survival…
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Relational Identity Integration Part 1 - The Problem Beneath the Problem: Fragmentation, Not Failure
The Problem Beneath the Problem: Fragmentation, Not Failure What if symptoms are not signs of disorder… but signs of adaptation? In this opening episode of the Relational Identity Integration series, David reframes anxiety, perfectionism, numbness, and relational patterns through a developmental...
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Coming Home to Yourself — Therapy as Soul Retrieval
What if therapy is not about fixing what’s broken… but about retrieving what was lost? In this deeply reflective episode of the Project I AM Podcast, David explores the idea that therapy is a modern form of soul retrieval, the gentle, relational process of helping clients come back into…
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I–Thou: The Power of Connection
Most of us move through life solving, fixing, performing, and managing. We answer emails. We check boxes. We handle problems. We get things done. But somewhere along the way… we forget how to truly meet each other. In this reflective and deeply human episode of the Project I AM Podcast, David...
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The Here and Now: Where Healing Actually Happens
In this Project I AM episode, David slows everything down and brings you back to one of the most life-changing practices you can learn: living and healing in the here and now. So much of our suffering comes from getting stuck in the past or bracing for the future. In this conversation, you’ll…
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The Quiet War: When Your Inner Critic Sounds Like “Wisdom”
The inner critic often disguises itself as responsibility and “honesty,” but it runs on threat. This episode helps you spot the disguise, understand what the critic is protecting you from, and practice nonviolent truth — the kind that leads to change without humiliation. In this episode: How to...
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The Year Is Turning: A Blessing for Your Becoming
In this special end-of-year episode, David steps away from teaching and enters the realm of blessing, offering an extended inspirational poem instead of a traditional talk. “The Year Is Turning: A Blessing for Your Becoming” is a gentle, hope-filled reflection for anyone standing at the edge of...
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Living From a New Story: Rewriting Your Shame Narrative
In this episode of the Project I Am Podcast, David invites you into a compassionate conversation about the stories you tell yourself, especially the ones shaped by shame. Together, you’ll explore the difference between what happened to you and what you made it mean about you, and how those old...
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The #1 Secret to Freedom: Radical Self-Forgiveness
What if the biggest barrier to your self-acceptance isn’t your past…but your refusal to forgive yourself for it? In this episode of Project I Am, David explores why unforgiveness toward self is the #1 block to genuine freedom, confidence, and wholeness. Together, you’ll unpack: · Why shame and...
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Grief for What Couldn’t Be: Honoring the Unlived Life
In this episode, we name a kind of grief that rarely gets spoken aloud: not grief for what happened, but for what couldn’t happen. The unlived life. The version of you that never got to thrive. The dreams that never had safe ground. The tenderness that had to go quiet just to survive. This is…
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The Cost of Hiding: Healing the Wounds of Self-Betrayal
In this soulful and meditative episode of Project I Am, Dr. David J. Schlosz gently guides you through the often-unseen experience of self-betrayal—the subtle ways we abandon parts of ourselves to fit in, be accepted, or feel safe. Drawing on wisdom from psychology, mystics, philosophers, and...
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Rooms Where We Belong
In this slow, contemplative episode of Project I Am, Dr. David J. Schlosz lingers with the luminous theme of belonging—guided by the Celtic hospitality of John O’Donohue and the tender wisdom of Henri Nouwen. What if belonging isn’t something we win, but a home we remember? Pour some tea. Let…
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About Belonging
What if belonging isn’t a place you find, but a home you remember? In this sweeping, soul-level lecture, Dr. David J. Schlosz traces the long arc from exile to homecoming—guided by the luminous insights of Toko-pa Turner and echoed by voices like Maya Angelou, bell hooks, James Baldwin, John...
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Echo Chamber of One
In this deeply relevant and encouraging episode of Project I Am, Dr. David J. Schlosz explores the modern, secular wisdom behind the age-old phrase, "Forsake not the gathering together of the brethren lest you be deceived." Drawing from current psychological research, real-world stories, and…
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Resilience - Guided Meditation
In this deeply grounding and inspirational episode, Dr. David J Schlosz guides you through a 20-minute meditation focused on resilience — the quiet, powerful strength that allows us to bend without breaking, to keep going even when life feels overwhelming. Whether you're walking through a season…
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Affirmations for Counselors
A calm, grounding practice for counselors. In this episode, I guide you through “I” statements designed to help you arrive in the room, hold spacious, compassionate presence, and loosen the grip of impostor thoughts. Use this as a pre-session centering, a between-clients reset, or an evening...
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The Five Good Things - Signs of Relational Health
Loneliness and isolation are spiking worldwide—but connection is medicine. In this episode, Dr. David explores Relational-Cultural Theory’s Five Good Things—zest, clarity, worth, empowered action, and a desire for more connection—and shows how they function as vital signs of relational health....
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Limerence - An Interview with Phoebe Cocetti and Julia Berg
In this episode of Project I Am, I have a conversation with Phoebe Cocetti and Julia Berg about Limerence. These two Austin based therapists provide group therapy to people experiencing Limerence. Limerence is often described as an intense, involuntary state of romantic infatuation. It goes…
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Authentic Living In A Career in Education - An Interview with Dr. Charles Heaton
In this episode of Project I Am, I interview Dr. Charle Heaton, a career educator and married gay man. From navigating deeply conservative spaces to fully embracing his authentic self, Dr. Charles Heaton’s journey is a powerful testament to resilience, identity, and pride. In this inspiring...
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The Hidden Curriculum: How Transference and Countertransference Teach Us to Heal
In this reflective and educational episode of Project I Am, Dr. David Schlosz explores the profound role of transference and countertransference in the therapeutic relationship—unpacking how these often misunderstood dynamics can become powerful tools for growth, insight, and healing. Through the...
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The Smile That Hides the Ache: Waking Up from Autopilot
In this vulnerable and powerful episode of Project I Am, Dr. David Schlosz peels back the mask many of us wear—the smile that hides the ache. Centered around his original spoken word poem, David explores how we often live on autopilot, clinging to humor, charm, and control as coping strategies...
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Healing Complex Trauma Through Authentic Relationship - A Discussion with Whitney Sutherland, LPC
In this heartfelt and deeply insightful episode of Project I Am, Dr. David Schlosz sits down with somatically-oriented psychotherapist Whitney Sutherland to explore what it truly means to heal from complex trauma. Drawing from both clinical expertise and personal experience, Whitney shares how...
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The Courage to Connect: Why the Therapeutic Relationship Matters Most
In this episode, we explore one of the most powerful — and often overlooked — truths in therapy: the healing lies not in the techniques we use, but in the authentic relationships we build. Drawing from Carl Rogers’ person-centered approach, Relational-Cultural Theory, and current research, we’ll...
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The Transformative Power of Sitting in Your Feelings
In this deeply reflective and empowering episode, Dr. David Schlosz explores the transformative power of sitting in your feelings—fully allowing yourself to feel, process, and move through emotional discomfort rather than escaping it. Drawing on cutting-edge research in psychology, counseling...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Project I Am is a podcast dedicated to personal transformation, self-discovery, and mental well-being. In this series, we explore the power of choosing yourself, revisiting your past with fresh perspectives, and crafting a more empowered narrative for your future. Through thoughtful discussions, reflective exercises, and creative tools, each episode offers listeners a space to reconnect with their inner strength and embrace their true potential. Whether you’re on a journey of healing, growth, or simply seeking deeper self-awareness, this podcast will inspire you to reclaim your story and thrive.
Disclaimer: While I am a mental health professional and educator, this podcast and the information shared within it are intended solely for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The content discussed does not constitute therapy, counseling, or any form of professional mental health services. It should not be used as a substitute for therapy
HOSTED BY
Dr. David J Schlosz
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Project I Am have?
Project I Am currently has 107 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Project I Am about?
Project I Am is a podcast dedicated to personal transformation, self-discovery, and mental well-being. In this series, we explore the power of choosing yourself, revisiting your past with fresh perspectives, and crafting a more empowered narrative for your future. Through thoughtful discussions,...
How often does Project I Am release new episodes?
Project I Am publishes regularly with 107 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Project I Am?
You can listen to Project I Am on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Project I Am?
Project I Am is created and hosted by Dr. David J Schlosz.
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