The Catholic Couch
The Catholic Couch is where the science of the brain meets the wisdom of the Church, and neither one has to lose. Each episode pulls from real counseling ground, the nervous system, attachment, intrusive thoughts, the way fear runs underneath so much of what we carry, and holds it right alongside Scripture, the sacraments, and the saints as people who actually lived this. If you've ever felt like you had to choose between good psychology and your faith, come sit down; there's so much hope here, and we just start taking the small steps together.
Episodes
10 episodes
Mary vs. Martha: Finding Peace Through Secure Attachment and Nervous System Awareness
Mary vs. Martha: Finding Peace Through Secure Attachment and Nervous System AwarenessAmber Ton, a Catholic therapist, uses Luke 10:38–42 to address why many women default to busyness like Martha and how faith and psychology can help the...
Is It Sin, Temptation, or Scrupulosity? How To Tell The Difference
Temptation vs. Sin vs. Scrupulosity: How to Tell the DifferenceThe script introduces the Catholic Counseling Classroom, a free 10-video education series on scrupulosity and intrusive thoughts that integrates Catholic teaching with psych...
Why Scrupulous Thoughts FEEL So Real
In the fourth video of a free 10-part Catholic Counseling Classroom series on scrupulosity and intrusive thoughts, Catholic therapist Amber Pilkington explains why scrupulous thoughts can feel real even when you know they aren’t true. She descr...
What If Your Dishwasher Fights Aren't About The Dishes?
The Dishwasher Fight: What Your Marriage Argument Is Really AboutAmber Pilkington of the Catholic Counseling Institute explains that common “dishwasher fights” in marriage are rarely about chores and instead signal deeper needs for emot...
Groinal Sensations & Scrupulosity
Groinal Sensations in Scrupulous OCD: Why They Happen and What to DoThe script explains groinal sensations in scrupulous OCD as common, involuntary genital sensations that often follow intrusive thoughts and become misread as desire, co...
Dr. Mario Sacasa & Amber Pilkington Talk Catholic Dating Mistakes
Dating Well: Discernment, Skills, and Healthy Boundaries with Dr. Mario SacasaAmber Pilkington hosts Dr. Mario Sacasa on The Catholic Couch to discuss Catholic dating at the intersection of theology and psychology. Dr. Mario shares his ...
Understanding & Healing The Father Wound
Healing the Father Wound: Why Fathers Matter, Why Father’s Day Hurts, and How to HealThe episode, released ahead of Father’s Day, addresses both those who celebrate and those for whom the day triggers grief from a deceased, estranged, a...
Emotional Affairs: The Primacy Trap
Emotional Affairs: Why They’re More Dangerous Than One-Night Stands (and How to Spot Them)The video continues a summer series on preventing and healing from infidelity, focusing on emotional affairs, which Dr. Shirley Glass found are mo...
Doomscrolling, Scrupulosity, and Sacred Trust
Doomscrolling, Conspiracies, and Scrupulosity: Why “I Have to Know” Fuels AnxietyThe host describes repeated client concerns about social media feeds filled with conspiracy, hidden-symbol, and “spiritual danger” videos that feel like a ...
Fr. Alar Talks Scrupulosity, Depression & Suicide
Depression can make prayer feel impossible, confession feel uncertain, and Scripture sound like condemnation. That is not a character flaw. It can be a brain-and-body reality, and it deserves real care. We talk with Father Chris Alar, provincia...