What We Wish We'd Known: Navigating Step-Parenting (Part 2)

Yurtism #4: The Expectation Trap — Why Asking for What You Need Is an Act of Love, Not Weakness

If he really loved me, he would just know. It's one of the most common — and most quietly damaging — beliefs Amy encounters in relationship therapy. The rom-com fantasy that a truly loving partner should be able to read your mind, anticipate your needs, and show up exactly right without being told. It sounds romantic. In practice, it sets your partner up to fail and you up to feel perpetually disappointed. In this episode, Amy challenges the "if he loved me he would know" myth and offers a reframe that actually works: when you clearly ask for what you want, need, or prefer — and your partner shows up for you — that is love. That is respect. The ask doesn't cancel the gesture. It makes the gesture possible. In this Yurtism, you'll explore: * How unspoken expectations become invisible traps in relationships * Why the rom-com fantasy of mind-reading does real damage to real partnerships * How clearly communicating your needs sets your partner up for success — and brings you closer Your partner isn't a mind reader. But they might just be someone who loves you enough to show up — if you let them know how.   amyprieb.com [http://amyprieb.com/] insta: @amypriebtherapy facebook: amy prieb lmft

What Youth Sports Can Teach Us About Relationships (With Guest Tessa Mcilraith of Beyond the Grind)

What if the sideline is actually a relationship battlefield — and nobody gave you the playbook? This week, Amy sits down with Tessa Mcilraith, Youth Sports Mindset & Culture Coach and founder of Beyond the Grind, to talk about something that hits way closer to home than you might expect: the relationships hiding inside youth sports. We're talking about the ones between athletes and their self-belief, coaches and their teams, parents and the kids they're cheering (and occasionally yelling) for — and how all of it is really just... relationships. Which means it's our territory. Tessa brings a wildly unique mix of backgrounds to this conversation — school nurse, UW affiliate instructor, community coalition president — and she has seen what happens when the humans in a young athlete's life get the relational pieces right. And what happens when they don't. Spoiler: it goes well beyond wins and losses. In this episode, we get into: * Why the parent-coach relationship is often the most fractured one in youth sports — and how to fix it * What coaches and parents get wrong in the conversations they have with kids after a tough game * How to build a team culture where athletes actually feel like they belong * The connection between mental health, community, and what it means to truly support a young person * What it looks like when a whole community gets youth sports right Whether you've got kids in sports, work with young people, or you're just here because you know that every relationship dynamic you've ever navigated shows up on the field too — this one's for you.   amyprieb.com [http://amyprieb.com/] insta: @amypriebtherapy facebook: amy prieb lmft

What We Wish We'd Known: Navigating Step-Parenting (Part 2)

In Part 1, Amy and Josh got honest — painfully honest — about the mistakes they made trying to blend their families. The culture clashes, the unrealistic expectations, the slow and humbling process of learning that combining families doesn't work the way you think it will. If you haven't listened to that episode yet, start there. This time, they're turning the corner. Part 2 is about what actually helps. Amy brings her lens as a therapist, and Josh brings his experience as a stepparent in the trenches, as they dig into the questions blended families wrestle with every day: What can you realistically expect from children in a stepfamily — and what expectations will quietly destroy the relationship? How do stepparents build genuine connection without forcing it? How does a couple protect their relationship when they're both exhausted from parenting each other's kids? Amy and Josh also explore the "insider/outsider" dynamic that researcher Patricia Papernow has written about so compellingly — and what couples can actually do to soften it before it quietly erodes the marriage. This conversation is honest, specific, and full of hard-won wisdom from two people who failed their way into knowing better. Whether you're in the early chaos of a new blended family or years in and still searching for solid ground, this episode is for you. * step-parenting advice * blended family tips * stepfamily help * how to blend families * step parent struggles Secondary (specific topics covered in the episode): * insider outsider dynamic stepfamily * Patricia Papernow stepfamily * stepparent bonding with stepchild * blended family expectations * stepfamily relationship advice * co-parenting in a blended family * stepparent role in family * building a new family culture * stepfamily communication * protecting your marriage in a blended family Long-tail (what people actually type when they're hurting and searching): * how to be a good stepparent * what to expect from kids in a blended family * why blending families is so hard * stepparent feeling like an outsider * how to make a blended family work * stepfamily advice from a therapist * mistakes stepparents make * blended family podcast amyprieb.com [http://amyprieb.com/] insta: @amypriebtherapy facebook: amy prieb lmft

Raising Daughters After Deconstruction: Healing, Patriarchy & Conscious Parenting | Nikki & Aric

What does it really look like to break generational cycles when you're still healing from them yourself? Nikki and Aric sit down for an honest conversation about raising daughters after leaving high-control religion — and what it takes to parent intentionally when the old scripts are still running in the background. They talk about unpacking patriarchy in the small, everyday moments (not just the big philosophical conversations), what it means to let their girls feel the full range of emotions when they were raised to dismiss or suppress their own, and how they navigate real-time parenting disagreements as a couple — especially when their daughters are watching. This episode goes deep on: what repair actually looks like after losing it as a parent, how they're building community and belonging outside of religion, the beliefs that have been surprisingly hard to let go of even when they know they want something different, and the moments that have stopped them in their tracks and reminded them that something is working. If you're deconstructing, healing generational trauma, or trying to raise kids differently than you were raised — this one is for you. Topics covered: * Conscious parenting after religious deconstruction * Healing from high-control religion and patriarchy * Raising emotionally healthy daughters * Breaking generational cycles * Parenting triggers and self-awareness * Emotional validation and co-regulation * Building community outside of church * Repair and rupture in parenting * Navigating differences as a parenting team amyprieb.com [http://amyprieb.com/] insta: @amypriebtherapy facebook: amy prieb lmft

Yurtism #3: The Power of Rituals — Why Intentional Habits Are the Quiet Foundation of Strong Relationships

It's the little things — done consistently — that hold relationships together. Rituals and traditions might sound like holidays and big gestures, but in healthy relationships they're often much simpler than that. A morning check-in. A weekly date night. The way you always say goodbye before leaving the house. These small, repeated moments create something relationships and families deeply need: predictability, security, and the feeling that we do this together. In this episode, Amy explores why intentional rituals are one of the most underrated tools in a healthy relationship — and why our busy, overscheduled lives make them so easy to let slip. When we stop being deliberate about the habits that connect us, we often don't notice the drift until it's been a while. In this Yurtism, you'll explore: * Why rituals create the sense of safety and assurance that relationships thrive on * How busy lives quietly erode the habits that keep couples and families connected * Simple ways to be more intentional about building traditions that you can count on You don't have to do something grand. You just have to do something — reliably.   amyprieb.com [http://amyprieb.com/] insta: @amypriebtherapy facebook: amy prieb lmft