Once Upon a Session
Once Upon a Session is a podcast where two therapists bring their love for books, storytelling, and emotional insight together. Each session explores a theme — attachment, grief, love, trauma, healing — through the lens of fictional characters and real-life growth. It’s cozy, funny, heartfelt, and deeply human.
Episodes
25 episodes
Session 25: Haunting Adeline & The Ritual— When Dark Romance Gets Real
What happens when love stops respecting boundaries?In the season finale of Once Upon a Session, we’re stepping into the world of dark romance to explore boundaries, obsession, control, and the complicated line between intensity ...
Session 22: Fourth Wing & Harry Potter — The Life LIFE Stole From Us
What happens when the life you planned is no longer the life you get?In this episode of Once Upon a Session, we explore the grief of imagined futures—the careers, relationships, identities, and versions of ourselves that never h...
Session 21: ACOTAR & The House in the Cerulean Sea— Found Families
Family isn’t always the people we’re born to.Sometimes it’s the people who choose us, protect us, and remind us that we belong.In this episode, we explore the psychology of found family through Feyre Archeron from A Court of T...
Session 20: Where’s Molly & It Ends With Us— Losing You, Losing Me
Fear of abandonment isn’t just about being afraid of someone leaving.Sometimes it becomes the reason we lose ourselves trying to make them stay.In this episode, we explore fear of abandonment and codependency through Lily from
Session 19: Verity & The Midnight Library—Lit in Lit
What if one book leaves you questioning what’s real… while the other asks you to question the life you’re living?In this Lit in Lit episode, Vanessa dives into Verity by Colleen Hoover, exploring unreliable narration...
Session 18: Kiss of the Basilisk & Fabric of Our Souls— The Red Flags We Romanticize
Love triangles aren’t always about choosing between two people.Sometimes they’re about choosing between the relationship you have… and the one you deserve.In this episode, we explore the psychology behind toxic relationships throu...
Session 17: Elide Lochan & Anthony Bridgerton— Why We Sabotage What We Want Most
Why do we push away the things we want most?In this episode, we explore the psychology of self-sabotage through Elide Lochan from Throne of Glass and Anthony Bridgerton from The Viscount Who Loved Me. One believes she’s...
Session 16: Dorian Havilliard & Klaus Mikaelson— Daddy Issues
Some of our earliest lessons about love, safety, and self-worth come from the people who raise us.In this episode, we explore the psychology of the father wound through Klaus Mikaelson from The Vampire Diaries and Dorian Havilli...
Session 15: Daenerys Targaryen & Dianna Martinez— The People We Become After Loss
Grief changes us.Sometimes in obvious ways.Sometimes in ways we don’t recognize until much later.In this episode, we explore the psychology of grief through Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones and Diana Martinez f...
Session 14: Lehabah & Carrion Swift— The Funny Ones Are Never Okay
Some people make jokes because they’re funny.Others make jokes because they learned early that making people laugh was safer than letting them see the truth.In this episode of Once Upon a Session, we explore the psychology b...
Session 13: Liam Mairi & Gavriel— Why Heroic Sacrifice Breaks Our Hearts
Some characters die in battle.Others become the reason people keep fighting.In this Memorial Day episode of Once Upon a Session, we explore the psychology of sacrifice, loyalty, and what it means to be remembered through two fallen w...
Session 12: Hello Beautiful & Harry Potter— Soulmates, But Platonic
Some friendships feel bigger than the story itself.In this episode of Once Upon a Session, we explore the psychology behind deep friendship, loyalty, and the people who become part of our identity through connection.From Ron and H...
Session 11: The Plated Prisoner & Little Fires Everywhere— Mommy Issues
Why do maternal relationships shape us so deeply—and why are they so hard to untangle?In this episode of Once Upon a Session, we break down the psychology behind “mommy issues”—the ways early maternal dynamics influence identity...
Star Wars Special: The Psychology Behind the Obsession
In this special episode of Once Upon a Session, Vanessa and Nareesa break down the emotional and psychological layers behind some of the most iconic characters in Star Wars. From complicated parent-child dynamics to identity, ...
Session 10: Ruhn Danaan & Manon Blackbeak— Sidekicks in the Spotlight
Why do side characters so often become the ones we love most?This week on Once Upon a Session, Vanessa and Nareesa explore the psychology behind fan-favorite supporting characters and why the people in the background sometimes leave the ...
Session 9: Birthday Girl & Credence— Why We Want What We Can’t Have
Some love stories are easy to root for. Others… make you pause.In this episode of Once Upon a Session, Vanessa and Nareesa explore the psychology behind forbidden love — the pull toward relationships that exist between desire and consequ...
Session 8: The Housemaid & The Perfect Marriage— Plot Twists & Emotional Whiplash
Why do plot twists hit so hard—and why do we kind of love them?In this episode of Once Upon a Session, we break down the psychology behind emotional whiplash—those shocking, unpredictable moments in books and relationships that ...
Session 7: Nesta Archeron & Jaime Lannister— Hard to Love
Some characters are easy to love.Nesta Archeron and Jaime Lannister aren’t.In this episode, we unpack what it really means when someone is labeled “hard to love”—and how trauma, shame, identity, and self-protection can push people...
Session 6: Aelin Galathynius & Bryce Quinlan— Quest For Closure
Closure… we talk about it like it’s something we’re owed. Like if we just get the right conversation, the right apology, the right ending everything will finally make sense.But what if closure isn’t something we receive… What if it’s som...
Session 5: The Book of Azrael & The Hunger Games— Sibling Dynamics
In this episode of Once Upon a Session, Vanessa and Nareesa explore the psychology behind sibling relationships in fantasy and fiction. From fierce loyalty to painful rivalry, siblings often shape the emotional core of the stories we l...
Session 4: Rowan Whitethorn & Hunt Athalar— Fictional Men & Real Standards
Welcome back to Once Upon a Session — where stories meet healing.Let’s be honest: fantasy men have been setting the bar way too high… or maybe exactly where it should be.In this session, Vanessa and Nareesa unpack why we ...
Session 3: Auren & Elspeth Spindle— Why Some Relationships Drain You
Welcome back to Once Upon a Session — where stories meet healing.You know that moment when someone’s energy starts to feel… expensive? That’s the emotional cover charge.In this episode, Vanessa and Nareesa unpack what it ...
Session 2: Darth Vader & Jacks— Villains Who Needed Therapy
Welcome back to Once Upon a Session — where stories meet healing.Some villains just needed a session — or ten.In this episode, Nareesa and Vanessa unpack the psychology of literary and fantasy antagonists: the misunderstood, the m...
Session 1: The Silent Patient & Laces— Psych Wards
Welcome back to Once Upon a Session — where stories meet healing.We’re pulling back the curtain on life inside a psych ward — not the movie version, but the human one.Vanessa and Nareesa talk about the realities of inpati...
Intake: Two Therapists Turn Their TBR Into Treatment Plans
Welcome to Once Upon a Session.In our intake episode, we’re introducing ourselves—two therapists who love a good book, a messy main character, and meaningful conversations about healing, burnout, boundaries, and growth.This...