<![CDATA[F* Them Coping Skills]]>The world is on fire and your therapist told you to take a deep breath. We get it — we are the therapist.

F* Them Coping Skills is a podcast where two licensed therapists rethink mental health advice out loud, together. We love the work. We also think a lot of the conventional wisdom we were trained to hand out isn't built for the world we're actually living in — and pretending otherwise isn't helping anyone.

Hosted by Varayna and Anne, two Atlanta-based LPCs and private-practice owners, each episode digs into the topics we're all navigating: parenting, relationships, work, money, bodies, grief, being single, being tired, being human. We bring what we know as clinicians, we admit what we don't, and we make room for the honest, complicated conversations that don't usually get to happen on the therapy couch.

Not a substitute for therapy. Not against therapy. Just two therapists thinking out loud — and hoping you'll think along with us.

]]>https://fthemcopingskills.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Wed, 14 Oct 2026 16:34:06 GMTWed, 09 Sep 2026 14:30:21 GMT60F* Them Coping Skills<p>The world is on fire and your therapist told you to take a deep breath. We get it — we <i>are</i> the therapist.</p><p>F* Them Coping Skills is a podcast where two licensed therapists rethink mental health advice out loud, together. We love the work. We also think a lot of the conventional wisdom we were trained to hand out isn't built for the world we're actually living in — and pretending otherwise isn't helping anyone.</p><p>Hosted by Varayna and Anne, two Atlanta-based LPCs and private-practice owners, each episode digs into the topics we're all navigating: parenting, relationships, work, money, bodies, grief, being single, being tired, being human. We bring what we know as clinicians, we admit what we don't, and we make room for the honest, complicated conversations that don't usually get to happen on the therapy couch.</p><p>Not a substitute for therapy. Not against therapy. Just two therapists thinking out loud — and hoping you'll think along with us.</p>episodicF* Them Coping Skillsanne.rice@bluehousewellness.comyes<![CDATA[Cancel Culture, No Contact, and the Case for Nuance]]>Does canceling someone actually change anything? Varayna and Anne start with the backlash to Taylor Swift’s wedding and end up much closer to home: what do you do when the person you want to cancel is your parent, your sibling, or your oldest friend?

They get into who pays the price for getting canceled, why public shaming rarely leaves room for repair, and why “just go no contact” is almost never as simple as the internet makes it sound.

In this episode:

  • Why women seem to get canceled harder than men, and who gets to come back
  • The pros and cons of call-out culture: accountability and a voice for people who wouldn’t otherwise have one, versus shaming that changes nothing
  • The sarcastic tweet that cost a woman her job before her plane landed, and what the person who made it go viral came to regret
  • Why most people don’t feel 100% clear about cutting off family, and what that means for holidays and birthdays
  • Boundaries vs. rules: a boundary doesn’t change the other person, it decides what you do
  • “Lizard brain,” and why it applies to grown adults as much as toddlers
  • A question to ask when you love someone and can’t stand their behavior: what honors both parts of you?
  • When no contact is the right call, and why you don’t need anyone’s permission to make it
  • What Ms. Rachel can teach us about being clear on your values and not backing down
  • Your homework: get clear on your values, and stand on them

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab
  • The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
  • Ms. Rachel

Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code: JVIEVGF3DCUVL1RJ

]]>3d049718-b660-4323-9a00-f6bac32344d2Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT<p>Does canceling someone actually change anything? Varayna and Anne start with the backlash to Taylor Swift’s wedding and end up much closer to home: what do you do when the person you want to cancel is your parent, your sibling, or your oldest friend?</p><p>They get into who pays the price for getting canceled, why public shaming rarely leaves room for repair, and why “just go no contact” is almost never as simple as the internet makes it sound.</p><p>In this episode:</p><ul><li>Why women seem to get canceled harder than men, and who gets to come back</li><li>The pros and cons of call-out culture: accountability and a voice for people who wouldn’t otherwise have one, versus shaming that changes nothing</li><li>The sarcastic tweet that cost a woman her job before her plane landed, and what the person who made it go viral came to regret</li><li>Why most people don’t feel 100% clear about cutting off family, and what that means for holidays and birthdays</li><li>Boundaries vs. rules: a boundary doesn’t change the other person, it decides what you do</li><li>“Lizard brain,” and why it applies to grown adults as much as toddlers</li><li>A question to ask when you love someone and can’t stand their behavior: what honors both parts of you?</li><li>When no contact is the right call, and why you don’t need anyone’s permission to make it</li><li>What Ms. Rachel can teach us about being clear on your values and not backing down</li><li>Your homework: get clear on your values, and stand on them</li></ul><p>Mentioned in this episode:</p><ul><li><i><em>Set Boundaries, Find Peace</em></i> by Nedra Glover Tawwab</li><li><i><em>The Let Them Theory</em></i> by Mel Robbins</li><li>Ms. Rachel</li></ul><p>Music licensed through Soundstripe.<br />Code: JVIEVGF3DCUVL1RJ</p>no00:48:0315Cancel Culture, No Contact, and the Case for Nuancefull<![CDATA[Living with ADHD: Is It Me or Is It Society?]]>Is ADHD a disorder, or is it a different kind of brain trying to survive in a world that wasn't built for it? In this episode, Anne and Varayna sit down with Jessie, Anne's friend since sixth grade and the Chief Operations Officer of Blue House, to talk about her ADHD diagnosis at 32 and what life with it really looks like.

Varayna brings the tough questions: Are we pathologizing people who just don't fit a narrow mold? Is this a diagnosis, or a society problem? Jessie pushes back with honesty about the everyday struggles, from missed deadlines and forgotten tasks to a pile of unreturned jeans that sat in her closet for a year. Together they explore medication, coping skills, the role of community, why ADHD isn't a "superpower," and what it would look like if we simply understood how different brains work.

It's a real, loving debate, and nobody had to say "banana."

This episode contains explicit language.

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code: JVIEVGF3DCUVL1RJ

]]>692033c0-e6c6-4079-95fc-1904a4a987a2Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:45:41 GMT<p>Is ADHD a disorder, or is it a different kind of brain trying to survive in a world that wasn't built for it? In this episode, Anne and Varayna sit down with Jessie, Anne's friend since sixth grade and the Chief Operations Officer of Blue House, to talk about her ADHD diagnosis at 32 and what life with it really looks like.</p><p>Varayna brings the tough questions: Are we pathologizing people who just don't fit a narrow mold? Is this a diagnosis, or a society problem? Jessie pushes back with honesty about the everyday struggles, from missed deadlines and forgotten tasks to a pile of unreturned jeans that sat in her closet for a year. Together they explore medication, coping skills, the role of community, why ADHD isn't a "superpower," and what it would look like if we simply understood how different brains work.</p><p>It's a real, loving debate, and nobody had to say "banana."</p><p><i><em>This episode contains explicit language.</em></i></p><p><i><em>This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care.</em></i></p><p>Music licensed through Soundstripe.<br />Code: JVIEVGF3DCUVL1RJ</p>no01:01:1314Living with ADHD: Is It Me or Is It Society?full<![CDATA[Dating and Relationships as a Therapist]]>What happens when the person across the table knows a little too much about attachment styles and red flags? On this episode of F* Them Coping Skills, Anne turns the questions on her co-host Varayna to find out what it's really like to be single and dating as a therapist. Varayna opens up about why telling a date what she does for a living changes the energy of the conversation, why being "genuinely curious" gets mistaken for "therapist mode," and how seeing the long-term outcome of unhealthy dynamics in session shapes what she will and won't accept in her own relationships.

Anne also asks about the vulnerability of being a searchable professional while trying to stay private on dating apps, why capacity and reciprocity matter so much when you hold space for others all day, and whether Varayna feels optimistic about dating (spoiler: over the long haul, yes, just maybe not in the near future). Plus, a house-building analogy that captures the heartbreak of two people wanting the same thing but bringing different tools, and Anne's story of a surprisingly effective New York City pickup line from back in the day.

Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code: JVIEVGF3DCUVL1RJ

]]>199cf0a2-1af2-4403-bc04-16b5bd53c25fWed, 23 Sep 2026 13:15:45 GMT<p>What happens when the person across the table knows a little too much about attachment styles and red flags? On this episode of F* Them Coping Skills, Anne turns the questions on her co-host Varayna to find out what it's really like to be single and dating as a therapist. Varayna opens up about why telling a date what she does for a living changes the energy of the conversation, why being "genuinely curious" gets mistaken for "therapist mode," and how seeing the long-term outcome of unhealthy dynamics in session shapes what she will and won't accept in her own relationships.</p><p>Anne also asks about the vulnerability of being a searchable professional while trying to stay private on dating apps, why capacity and reciprocity matter so much when you hold space for others all day, and whether Varayna feels optimistic about dating (spoiler: over the long haul, yes, just maybe not in the near future). Plus, a house-building analogy that captures the heartbreak of two people wanting the same thing but bringing different tools, and Anne's story of a surprisingly effective New York City pickup line from back in the day.</p><p></p><p><i>Music licensed through Soundstripe.</i><br /><i>Code: JVIEVGF3DCUVL1RJ</i></p>yes00:41:3513Dating and Relationships as a Therapistfull<![CDATA[Episode 2: On Being a Therapist Mom — Firecrackers, Gentle Parenting, and Letting Go of Control]]>This week Varayna interviews Anne, a mom of two (ages 7 and 4) who also runs a private therapy practice and a coworking space for therapists. They dig into what it really looks like to raise kids who stay true to themselves in a world that's constantly trying to socialize that out of them — especially when it comes to gender, sleep, screen time, and food.

They talk through the difference between gentle parenting and permissive parenting (spoiler: they're not the same thing), why co-sleeping worked for one kid and not the other, the guilt of not packing lunches, and why letting a four-year-old mix split pea soup with chips and water might actually be a parenting win. Along the way: the anxiety of raising a son inside the patriarchy, why kids deserve more respect in public than they usually get, and the "worst parenting advice" both hosts have ever received.

]]>0f5b49f8-dbeb-426e-8f75-782b6e96ba1fWed, 16 Sep 2026 13:34:49 GMT<p>This week Varayna interviews Anne, a mom of two (ages 7 and 4) who also runs a private therapy practice and a coworking space for therapists. They dig into what it really looks like to raise kids who stay true to themselves in a world that's constantly trying to socialize that out of them — especially when it comes to gender, sleep, screen time, and food.</p><p>They talk through the difference between gentle parenting and permissive parenting (spoiler: they're not the same thing), why co-sleeping worked for one kid and not the other, the guilt of not packing lunches, and why letting a four-year-old mix split pea soup with chips and water might actually be a parenting win. Along the way: the anxiety of raising a son inside the patriarchy, why kids deserve more respect in public than they usually get, and the "worst parenting advice" both hosts have ever received.</p>no01:00:3212Episode 2: On Being a Therapist Mom — Firecrackers, Gentle Parenting, and Letting Go of Controlfull<![CDATA[Episode 1: Who We Are and Why We're Here]]>Welcome to F* Them Coping Skills. In our very first episode, we throw out the outline we prepared and figure out what this podcast is actually going to be — in real time.

Varayna and Anne introduce themselves, walk through the winding professional paths that brought them to private practice in Atlanta, and get into the why behind starting this show: a shared conviction that a lot of the conventional wisdom therapists are trained to hand out isn't built for the world we're actually living in.

Consider this the pilot. The mission statement. The permission slip.

]]>ec825724-325a-41fc-8e99-c840ce4c59caSun, 13 Sep 2026 16:16:19 GMT<p>Welcome to F* Them Coping Skills. In our very first episode, we throw out the outline we prepared and figure out what this podcast is actually going to be — in real time.</p><p>Varayna and Anne introduce themselves, walk through the winding professional paths that brought them to private practice in Atlanta, and get into the <i>why</i> behind starting this show: a shared conviction that a lot of the conventional wisdom therapists are trained to hand out isn't built for the world we're actually living in.</p><p>Consider this the pilot. The mission statement. The permission slip.</p>no00:25:5811Episode 1: Who We Are and Why We're Heretrailer