Best 16 Dysfunctional Family Podcasts in the US

Adult Child dives deep into the lasting effects of growing up in dysfunctional families—unpacking complex and relational trauma, codependency, toxic shame, and addiction patterns with raw vulnerability and unapologetic authenticity. Hosted by Andrea Ashley, a recovering shitshow with 17 years sober, each episode shares unfiltered insights, expert conversations, and practical tools to heal your nervous system and break free from the cycles that hold you back. Whether you're an adult child of alcoholics or from a dysfunctional family, navigating toxic relationships, or healing your inner child, this is your no-BS space for healing. New episodes every Wednesday & Saturday. And damn the join T he Shitshow Healing Community for live support groups and connection with fellow cycle breakers. more

Stories of recovery from the effects of growing up in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional home. Recorded at the ACA Tuesday Toolbox meeting of ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics) in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Email us at TuesdayToolboxACA(at)Gmail.com. more

Whitney Goodman is a licensed marriage and family therapist and author on a mission to help adult family members have better relationships. Each week, Whitney has conversations with influential guests and real people to help listeners find new ways of looking at old family problems.Calling Home is available every Tuesday and Thursday wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. more

There comes a moment when loving harder, explaining better, or trying one more time simply isn't enough. A moment when you realize that healing may not look like reconciliation — it may look like reclaiming yourself. Welcome to Sherapy Sessions: The How's of Healing Family Trauma — a powerful evolution of the show that has supported thousands of listeners navigating painful family dynamics. While the heart of this work remains the same, the focus is expanding. This isn't just about cutting ties. It's about understanding the 'hows of healing' — the practical, emotional, and psychological steps that help you rebuild your life from the inside out. If you've ever felt invisible in your family… Blamed for speaking the truth… Exhausted from chasing repair with people who refuse to grow… This space was created for you. In each episode, Dr. Sherrie Campbell — Licensed Psychologist, survivor, and fierce advocate for emotional freedom — shares honest conversations about setting boundaries without guilt, releasing the fantasy of who you hoped your family would be, and building a life that finally feels safe, grounded, and authentically yours. This is not a show about labels. It's a show about liberation. It's about healing hidden family trauma, understanding why certain relationships cannot function in healthy ways, and learning how to stop sacrificing yourself in the name of 'family.' Whether you've gone no-contact, are considering it, or are simply trying to make sense of painful dynamics, Sherapy Sessions offers insight, validation, and real tools for lasting change. You are not too sensitive. You are not too demanding. You are not wrong for wanting peace. Subscribe now and join the next session — because healing doesn't begin when they change. It begins when you do. more

I'm Anna Runkle, also known as the Crappy Childhood Fairy, and I teach people to recognize and heal the symptoms of Childhood Trauma. Welcome to my podcast!I'm not a doctor or therapist; I know about childhood trauma because I lived it, and I discovered a radical approach to healing that focuses first on calming neurological dysregulation, which is common in people who grew up with abuse and neglect. In my podcasts, I teach about dysregulation how to know if you have it, what it can do to your body, your thinking and your relationships, and what to do to master re-regulation. When I learned this, everything in my life got suddenly easier. I'll also be teaching you to heal the life problems that so often develop after years of living dysregulated feeling tired, isolated and unfocused, finding yourself always drawn to unavailable and inappropriate partners, and falling WAY short of your professional potential, for example. The thing about me is, traditional therapies never seemed to help me. When I found techniques that did work, my whole life changed. Only in the past few years has the trauma research caught up to explain why why the techniques I use worked, why therapy didn't, and why my healing journey was so unnecessarily long. I've been teaching what I learned for more than 20 years now. It started with friends who had noticed the quick and dramatic change in me, and gradually grew by word of mouth. In 2016, I had so many people seeking instruction that I made my first online video, and then an online course, and this is how Crappy Childhood Fairy was born. My techniques and principles are practical yet powerful an approach anyone can use, whether or not you have access to professional help. In this podcast, I'll be talking about the master of self-regulation, and teach the tough-love life-lessons that you may not have learned at home like how to date so that stable love finds you, how to get ahead at work, and how to calm the negative hamster-wheel thoughts that block your ability to connect with other people. Today, almost half a million people follow my work and participate in my training and coaching programs. My mission is to change the paradigm of what's possible for people like us, and to help you free yourself from the oppression of trauma wounds, and to become your full, happy and real self. I'm glad you're here! Watch new videos on my YouTube channel every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and access my videos, courses and free tools at crappychildhoodfairy.com. more

Fellow Travelers of ACAD (Adult-Children of Alcoholics and other Dysfunctional Families) share what it was like growing up, what led them to ACAD recovery, and how they use the ACAD 12 Steps and tools of the ACAD program to guide their life today. more

Torie Wiksell, is no stranger to talking about toxic parents and dysfunctional family dynamics. As a therapist, Torie focuses on supporting the adult children of parents with borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. She also grew up with a narcissistic mother and understands the uniquely complicated aspects of these relationships. Torie brings a refreshingly relatable perspective to navigating a complicated relationship with a parent who has BPD or narcissistic traits while instilling hope that things can get better and ensuring her listeners they are not alone. Follow Torie on TikTok: tiktok.com/@cyclebreakertherapist Follow Torie on Instagram: instagram.com/cyclebreakertherapist Learn more about navigating complicated parent relationships and find resources that can help at www.confidentboundaries.com Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy, nor is it a substitute for therapy. If you are in a mental health crisis, please contact the Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. You're Not Crazy is a podcast owned and produced by Torie Wiksell and Confident Boundaries, LLC. more

A podcast on a mission to normalize going (and staying) no contact with toxic family. You have read the books, set boundaries, cried for change, and had no choice but to preserve your peace and the peace of your children by going no contact with your toxic family. Going no contact is not a trend, it does not mean you gave up and it does not mean you are a villain. It is a brave decision to realize your worth and stop emotional abuse, even though they are family. This podcast is for anyone who has felt like a villain but refuses to return to more shit because you know, 'It's your family!!' more

Jerry Wise, MA, MS, CLC is a relationship expert, self-specialist, life coach. He as been helping people for 40 years. He was a marriage and family therapist, pastoral counselor, pastor, speaker, chemical dependency counselor, executive coach, and organization ****@gmail.com |jerrywiserelationshipsystems.com | (317) 919-6264 | Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jerry-wise/support more

Stories of recovery from the effects of growing up in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional home. Recorded at the online ACA Tuesday Zoombox meeting and based on the ACA Tuesday Toolbox meeting in Brooklyn, NY. Adult Children of Alcoholics & Dysfunctional Families (ACA) is a Twelve Step, Twelve Tradition program of people who meet to share our experience of growing up in an environment where abuse, neglect, and trauma infected us. This affects us today and influences how we deal with all aspects of our lives. We'd love to hear from you - write to us at ****@gmail.com more

When life gives you a toxic mother, what do you do? You listen, learn, and changeyour direction! I'm Phylis Mantelli, author of the book 'UnMothered: Life With A MomWho Couldn't Love Me.' This podcast is a place for mentoring and encouragement aswe navigate the complexities of toxic parent relationships. Join me as I share myjourney and invite God-filled guests to discuss emotional healing, overcomingchildhood trauma, and personal growth. Together, we'll explore new thoughts andpatterns to transform our lives. Hear stories from women who have walked similarpaths and gain wisdom and support on your journey. Let's find our way to becomingwho we are meant to be, no matter where we started. Tune in for stories ofempowerment, mental health support, and lots of love as we heal and growtogether. more

This Podcast is for anyone who grew up up in a dysfunctional or narcissistic family system and now finds themselves stuck in patterns of people-pleasing, anxiety or unhealthy relationships.Each episode offers real-world insight into trauma recovery, relationships, boundaries, nervous system healing and reconnecting to your true self. Whether your just starting your healing journey or looking to deepen it, you're welcome here - just as you are  more

Welcome to Canaries in the Coal Mine — a podcast for people who notice deeply, tell the truth, and are breaking patterns they didn't choose. I'm Shannon — a former party girl turned cycle-breaker, trauma survivor, boundary-setter, and fellow feel-everything human. I know what it's like to grow up reading the room, managing emotions that weren't yours, and learning to doubt your own instincts just to stay connected. This podcast is for anyone who was raised around addiction, emotional immaturity, narcissism, codependency, or emotional neglect — and grew up feeling 'too much,' too sensitive, or somehow wrong. But here's the truth: You're not broken. You're not crazy. You're just the canary. Through thoughtful conversations, grounded tools, and clear language, we talk about emotional patterns, family systems, boundaries that protect, nervous system overload, and what it actually takes to come back to yourself. Just honest conversation. If you've always noticed what others missed, you'll feel at home here. 🎙️ New episodes every other Tuesday at 1 PM ET. more

Wondering how to be a terrible daughter? Listen as Elizabeth Malamed and Megan Caper, mental health professionals who also happen to be cousins, discuss growing up in toxic families, surviving narcissistic abuse, and moving forward after trauma. The How To Be a Terrible Daughter podcast is a place to find community, put words to your experience, and laugh at the dark stuff. We'll share our stories from our own childhoods, make mental health concepts easy to understand, and interview intriguing guests along the way. Oh, and you can also let Megan and Elizabeth hate your parents for you if you're having mixed feelings. We don't mind, we've got plenty of pent up anger for everyone. If your parents have ever called you terrible, horrible or something even worse, come join us! more

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, and to help them mend their own sibling relationships. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie. Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond. more

On the ADHD Scapegoat podcast, we talk about everything ADHD and scapegoating. I'm Angie, an Advanced Certified ADHD Life Coach (ACALC), late diagnosis ADHDer, & trauma survivor of Family Scapegoating Abuse. Let's keep seeking truth and creating a brighter future together! more