What do you do when you’re staring down a new year and your life looks nothing like what you imagined? When you’re navigating post-separation abuse, family court chaos, or the long tail of coercive control, the idea of setting goals or creating a “new year plan” can feel impossible — or irrelevant.

In this episode, Sybil talks about how to begin again when you’re stuck in the thought “this is not the life I signed up for”. Instead of pretending everything is fine or forcing resolutions you don’t have the energy for, Sybil offers a grounded, compassionate way to approach the start of a new year.

You’ll hear about:

• Why it’s normal to feel stuck or resentful heading into a new year
  • — especially when you’re still in a battle you didn’t choose.
• How to shift from overwhelm to clarity
  • by identifying what you want now, not what you thought your life would be.
• Understanding what’s in your control — and what’s not
  • so you can stop pouring energy into dead ends.
• How to identify small wins
  • and why these matter so much more than big goals when you’re carrying a heavy load.
• Creating momentum through micro-actions
  • that fit your season of life, your capacity, and the reality you're living in.
• A gentle way to start the year
  • without bypassing the grief or frustration of where you are.

This episode is for anyone who is beginning a new year in survival mode, in a hard chapter, or while parenting in the midst of ongoing post-separation abuse. You don’t have to rebuild your entire life right now — but you can start with one clear step that’s within your control.

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Take a listen to this episode that listeners come back to frequently.

If you are a survivor in the battle ground of family court, would you say that your attorney is representing you well?

Do you feel heard?

Or maybe you do not have the financial means to even hire an attorney.

And so you find yourself going pro se. Representing yourself in family court. This can be extremely scary and it is possible that you will be able to do an even better job going pro se than with an attorney. On this episode of I have a conversation with Casey Brinkman on how she was able to turn her case around to finally be able to protect herself and her children when she got rid of her attorneys and became pro se.

Casey shares her best tips for representing yourself well as well as what a family court coach/consultant can do to help you on this journey. We discuss the importance of documentation, knowing your rights, doing the right research, how to get evidence in as evidence, and more.

Casey is a dedicated protective mother who spent nearly five years navigating the complexities of the family court system. For just under three years, she worked with an attorney, but it wasn’t until she took on her case pro se in the last two years that she was able to truly have her voice, and her children’s voices, heard. Through her persistence and determination, Casey successfully turned her case around to protect her children, a journey that sparked her passion for helping other protective moms facing similar challenges.

Today, Casey channels her experience and expertise into helping other mothers become strong and effective litigants, whether working with an attorney or representing themselves pro se. Her mission is to inspire and equip protective moms to navigate the legal system with confidence, ensuring their children’s best interests remain the top priority.

Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.

If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc

If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.

If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/

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I'm sharing this episode again as it's one that many of you listen to frequently.

If your parenting plan is not working or there has been a change in yours or your child’s lives to where the parenting plan no longer reflects the actual needed arrangements for the child, what do you do?

If you are coparenting with a narcissist, broaching a change in the parenting plan can feel extremely scary. You know that it will be a catalyst for increased engagement and conflict. So, what steps can you follow that will help minimize the conflict and increase the likelihood of a change?

A change in circumstance might be (not an exhaustive list):

• A change in address outside of the parenting plan agreement
• A change in school
• A change in the child’s medical or mental health providers
• A change in the child’s needs that the current parenting plan does not address
• A loss of job that will have an impact on the current parenting plan
• Abuse or Neglect
• Co-parent is not following the orders AND it is causing harm to the child

If you feel like you need to broach a change in the parenting plan, there are some steps that you can take that will protect you and will increase the likelihood that the plan will be modified.

• Send the initial message to “put the concern on your co-parent’s radar”
• Start to accrue data and evidence that the concern is negatively impacting your child and what needs to happen to remedy this
• Send a second email stating that the problem is still present, share some of the data, and then write a clear ask of what needs to be done to remedy the situation.
• Be prepared for your ex to fight back and be an A-hole
• Be prepared for the next possible steps in a worst case scenario

Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.

If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc

If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.

If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/

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Enjoy this fan-favorite rerun episode with my guest, Kate Amber. What the heck is coercive control anyway? If you have experienced domestic violence or narcissistic abuse, you have experienced coercive control. And it’s likely that you have experienced it in ways and by people and systems that are outside of your romantic relationship.

In this episode, I have an expert on coercive control, Kate Amber, MS that is going to break it all down for you. We look at the most common challenges that survivors face as they work through the larger systems and she shares her BioPsychoSocial Quicksand Model as a framework for how professionals in the system can identify coercive control in these cases.

In this model we look at the D's:

• Double Standards
• Double Binds
• Double Team
• DARVO

The E's:

• Ensnare
• Entrap
• Exploit
• Preventing Escape

And the F's:

• Force
• Fraud
• Fear

These are all used to maintain control over the target.

Kate Amber, MSc, is the founder of End Coercive Control USA (ECCUSA) and an international speaker, consultant, trainer, writer, and expert witness on domestic abuse, coercive control, and extremist groups. She holds advanced certifications in psychology, leadership, human rights, and advocacy, and her award-winning master’s research introduced the BioPsychoSocial Quicksand Model™ of Coercive Control, synthesizing decades of research on abuse, trafficking, cults, gangs, and torture. Kate and ECCUSA have been recognized with multiple Purple Ribbon Awards for survivor leadership and outstanding community education.

Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.

If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc

If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.

If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/

Where to find more from Rising Beyond:
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Do you ever feel like you “should” be grateful, especially around the holidays — but underneath, you’re still angry, grieving, or exhausted?

You’re not doing anything wrong. You’re being human.

This episode explores how gratitude and anger can coexist, why both are valid, and how making room for all of your emotions can actually support your healing after abuse and during post-separation parenting.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Why this season can intensify conflicting emotions
• How anger can point to your deepest values
• How to use curiosity and a non-judgemental stance to allow the difficult feelings to coexist with gratitude and peace
• Grounding practices and reflections that allow you to connect with yourself
• How to create holiday traditions that reflect your current reality
• The power of emotional honesty
• Ways to hold space for hope without dismissing your pain

Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.

If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc

If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.

If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/

Where to find more from Rising Beyond:
Rising Beyond Facebook
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If you're interested in guesting on the show please fill out this form - https://forms.gle/CSvLWWyZxmJ8GGQu7

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What happens when you have every intention of showing up as the best mom possible and then things go awry and you show up as someone that you do not want to be?

Do you beat yourself up for days?

We all have bad mom moments no matter how intentional we are in our parenting. I even share some of my bad mom moments so that you do not feel alone in this.

When those bad mom moments strike, there are things you can do to repair. And the repair is extremely important because it is one more thing that your child will not experience at their other parent’s home. In this episode I share some of my greatest tips on how you can repair your relationship with your child to help them grow up connected and resilient.

I’d love to hear your bad mom moments if you need a safe place to share them. Email me at info@risingbeyondpc.com.

Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.

If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc

If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.

If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/

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How long do you think it takes for someone to heal after leaving a cult?

Coercive control is the underlying tactic of narcissistic abuse relationships, often known as a cult of one.

Does it give you more self compassion as you work towards healing when you realize that your healing mimics the healing of someone healing from a cult?

In this episode of The Rising Beyond Podcast I do a deep dive into the similarities between domestic violence and narcissistic abuse relationships and those of cults with Brooke Deanne. She uses her personal experience of leaving a high control religion which then led to an abusive romantic relationship to help survivors heal.

We discuss the similarities of tactics used post separation or when leaving a cult, how cult experiences may lead to future abusive relationships, and the first steps to healing.

Brooke Deanne is a Trauma Healing Mentor, Rapid Transformational Therapist (RTT), and NLP Practitioner empowering female survivors of abuse and trauma to reclaim their lives by rewriting their stories via a holistic approach to access new levels of mind, body, and spirit integration.

After overcoming her history of abuse as an ex-Jehovah’s Witness, and toxic relationships, Brooke brings profound insight to her work and as an advocate against religious abuse and domestic violence. She is the author of The Grief Monster, a trusted resource in therapy offices and hospitals to help children process loss, and Shattered, Broken, & Beautiful - Losing My Religion and Finding Faith, a transformative memoir exploring her healing journey from a religious cult and abusive relationships.

Brooke also hosts The Cult Diaries podcast. Discover more at https://www.lifecoachinggoddess.com/shattered-broken-beautiful

Connect with Brooke:
Instagram: @lifecoachinggoddess
YouTube: @Lifecoachinggoddess
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-kekos-253905231/
Website: https://www.lifecoachinggoddess.com/

Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.

If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc

If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.

If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/

Where to find more from Rising Beyond:
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In this final Friday Coaching Corner of 2025, Sybil follows up on a previous episode after hearing from a listener whose story echoes so many others navigating malicious interference in the parent–child relationship.

This mom has been enduring post-separation abuse for over two years, including weaponized court orders, ignored therapeutic directives, and a teen who has been heavily influenced by the abusive parent.

She asks Sybil to address three painful and important questions:

1. How can a mom who has been partially separated from her teen due to manipulation and lies maintain connection outside of the legal and family court systems?
2. Why do teens so often side with the abusive parent, even when that parent is violating orders or causing harm?
3. What steps can a protective parent take to begin radically accepting the situation, especially when their child seems brainwashed, fearful, or aligned with the harmful parent?

Listen to episode 2 of the Friday Coaching Corner "When Unconditional Love Looks Like “Being Walked Over”": https://www.buzzsprout.com/1991648/episodes/17927785

Want your question featured in a future Friday Coaching Corner? Send a short paragraph explaining your situation and 2–3 specific questions to info@risingbeyondpc.com.

Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.

If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc

If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.

If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/

Where to find more from Rising Beyond:
Rising Beyond Facebook
Rising Beyond LinkedIn
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If you're interested in guesting on the show please fill out this form - https://forms.gle/CSvLWWyZxmJ8GGQu7

Enjoy some of our freebies!

• Choosing Your Battles Freebie
• Canned Responses Freebie
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• ...