Being Human

At the CatholicPsych Institute, we're doing something new when it comes to therapy. In the Being Human podcast, Dr. Greg Bottaro, Founder and Director of the CatholicPsych Institute, shares with you his vision for Catholic therapy and a revolutionary approach that is focused, finally, on what it means to be human.

Episode 288: Why “Everything Happens for a Reason” Isn’t Working: The Holy Words We Use to Avoid Healing 07/21/2026

Episode 288: Why “Everything Happens for a Reason” Isn’t Working: The Holy Words We Use to Avoid Healing "Offer it up." "I've forgiven them." "Everything happens for a reason." Every one of them is true—and every one can become a way to avoid the healing God is actually offering. In this episode, Dr. Greg names spiritual bypassing: using prayer, devotion, and even good theology to step around grief, anger, and the wounds still waiting underneath. He explains why grace builds on nature, and why God heals only the humanity we're willing to bring into the light. Key Topics: Why the one escape nobody warns you about is the one everyone applauds: prayer, retreats, "offering it up" How "I've already forgiven them" can be completely true and still leave the same wound bleeding for years Why "I'm still discerning" is sometimes just stalling with a halo on it How taking Mary or Joseph as your parent can heal a wound—or quietly become the reason you never grieve the one you actually had Why the anger you keep spiritualizing away might be the exact thing you most need to listen to Why you can pray for years, go to confession after confession, and still land in the same cycle—and what that finally reveals Learn More: Stay connected — Join us at the this October in Dallas : Learn the "secret" Dr. Greg holds back in this episode—that the anxiety itself isn't the problem : Practice the presence of God and trustful surrender : Bring every part of yourself into the light—JP2's meaning of integration : Hear the massive “Year of JP2” news : Dr. Greg's book on John Paul II's philosophy and its role in psychology : St. John Paul II's (Karol Wojtyła's) philosophical work on integration and the acting person, referenced in this episode : St. John Paul II's (Karol Wojtyła's) play about Brother Albert Previous episodes in this series on Avoidance: Ep. #286: Ep. #287: Start of the Being Human series on the Antisocial Defense Patterns: Ep. #281: Start of the Being Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns: Ep. #274: Start of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: Previous episodes on parts work (IFS): Ep. #34: Ep. #35: Need help? Schedule a Want to help? Learn more about our Follow Us on Socials: | | | | /episode/index/show/beinghumancpi/id/42153040

Episode 287: We Are Not Robots: Why Connection Is Not Optional for Human Flourishing 07/14/2026

Episode 287: We Are Not Robots: Why Connection Is Not Optional for Human Flourishing There’s a lot of talk recently about whether AI can be considered a person. But the more serious question might be whether people are becoming too much like AI—learning to live without real connection. To keep our distance. To avoid vulnerability. To convince ourselves that we don’t need anyone. In this episode, Dr. Greg continues the series on avoidance by turning to schizoid personality: the pattern where the wish for connection hasn’t just been buried by fear, but has gone quiet altogether. Drawing on the personalism of St. John Paul II, he shows why we stay made out of relationship, for relationship—even when the desire seems gone. Key Topics: Why “I don’t need anyone” can be a wound dressed up as strength How the desire for connection can go so quiet it reads as no desire at all What that flood of relief when plans fall through is actually telling you How being neglected early teaches you to neglect yourself—and call it your personality Why “self-help” was never going to be enough, and real healing needs another person Why fearing closeness and feeling indifferent to it look identical from the outside but run on opposite engines Learn More: Previous episode in this series on avoidance: Ep. #286: Previous episode on attachment theory: Ep. #63: Previous episodes on parts work (IFS): Ep. #34: Ep. #35: Start of the Being Human series on the Antisocial Defense Patterns: Ep. #281: Start of the Being Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns: Ep. #274: Start of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: Need help? Schedule a Want to help? Learn more about our Follow Us on Socials: | | | | /episode/index/show/beinghumancpi/id/42058200

Episode 286: A Mental Tug of War: Inside the Avoidant Mind and the Burden of Being Known 07/07/2026

Episode 286: A Mental Tug of War: Inside the Avoidant Mind and the Burden of Being Known Avoidance looks like not wanting people. It's almost always the opposite: wanting connection so badly that being seen feels like the biggest risk of all. In this episode, Dr. Greg explores avoidant personality patterns through the lens of Catholic anthropology—where the quiet tug-of-war between longing to be known and fearing rejection comes from, and how the difference between what happens in us and what we choose opens a path toward freedom. Key Topics: Why "I just need my space" can be a wall dressed up as a boundary How a childhood full of real love—not neglect—can still teach you that being seen means being blamed Why avoidant personality isn't the same as avoidant attachment, even though they share a name What the text you rewrite four times before sending is actually protecting you from Why even your anger can be an imitation of Christ, not something to hide How the difference between what "happens" in you and what you choose to do can pull you out of hiding Learn More: Previous episode on attachment theory: Ep. #63: Previous episodes on parts work (IFS): Ep. #34: Ep. #35: : St. John Paul II's (Karol Wojtyła's) philosophical work on the acting person, referenced in this episode Start of the Being Human series on the Antisocial Defense Patterns: Ep. #281: Start of the Being Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns: Ep. #274: Start of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: Got a Question for Dr. Greg? Have a topic suggestion? Want to share your thoughts? Email us at beinghuman@catholicpsych.com—we'd love to hear from you! Need help? Schedule a Want to help? Learn more about our Follow Us on Socials: | | | | /episode/index/show/beinghumancpi/id/41980805

Episode 285: Venting Isn’t Always Healing: The Difference Between Sharing Truth and Feeding Resentment 06/30/2026

Episode 284: Stop Chasing Spiritual Highs: Why Real Healing Happens in the Ordinary 06/23/2026

Episode 283: “I Will Never Be Hurt Again”: How Jesus’ Sacred Heart Breaks the Cycle 06/16/2026

Episode 282: You're (Probably) Not a Serial Killer—But You May Share Some of Their Antisocial Traits 06/09/2026

Episode 281: Control or Be Controlled: The Devastating Wounds Behind Antisocial Behavioral Patterns 06/02/2026

Episode 280: Being Human in the Age of AI: Exploring What Machines Can’t Replace with a World-Class Artist 05/26/2026

Episode 279: Stop Diagnosing Your Kids: Rethinking “Behavior Problems” Through Development and Love 05/19/2026

Episode 279: Stop Diagnosing Your Kids: Rethinking “Behavior Problems” Through Development and Love The meltdown. The defiance. The constant "look at me." It's easy to wonder if something is wrong. But most of the time, these aren't signs of a disorder — they're signs of development still in progress. In this episode, Dr. Greg explores what's really underneath "behavior problems," why children can't be diagnosed with personality disorders, and why the question that changes everything isn't "what's wrong with my child?" — but "what does my child need from me right now?" Key Topics: Why children cannot be diagnosed with personality disorders — and what's actually happening when their behavior looks like one How emotional regulation is learned, not innate — and what co-regulation actually looks like Why a child's dramatic, self-centered, or defiant behavior is often developmentally appropriate What it means when a child borrows a parent's nervous system — and why that steadiness is the foundation Why the patterns we see in our kids so often point back to something in us How a parent's own unhealed wounds shape the environment a child grows up inside Why admitting our own imperfection is one of the most formative things we can give our children Learn More: - Sign up to stay connected and hear the latest developments! Start of the Being Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns: Ep. #274: Start of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: - Learn more about this journey with St. John Paul II - Sign up to learn more about this year’s event! - Learn more about our upcoming retreat experience. - Previous Being Human episode on how the stages of human development are interrelated to the stages of spiritual development. Need help? Schedule a Want to help? Learn more about our Follow Us on Socials: | | | | /episode/index/show/beinghumancpi/id/41335365

Episode 278: Better than 20 Billion Dollars: A Litany For Mental Health 05/12/2026

Episode 277: Boring Is Healing: Embracing Hiddenness and Alleviating Histrionic Patterns 05/05/2026

Episode 277: Boring Is Healing: Embracing Hiddenness and Alleviating Histrionic Patterns Healing isn't about changing your personality. It's about being freed from the compulsions that drive it. In this final episode of the histrionic series, Dr. Greg explores what the path from performance to presence actually looks like — why hiddenness feels terrifying but works like medicine, and why the deepest fear underneath this pattern can only be answered by God. Key Topics: Why healing doesn't mean losing what makes you magnetic — and what actually does need to change How a room falling silent can feel like ceasing to exist — and why that's the wound, not the cure Why hiddenness feels like punishment but acts like medicine What it means when provoking a reaction feels more real than having a real conversation Why no amount of being seen by other people ever quite reaches the thing underneath Why real connection becomes possible only when you stop needing to be the most interesting person in the room Learn More: Need help? Schedule a Being Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns: Ep. #276: Ep. #275: Ep. #274: Previous episode on attachment theory: Ep. #63: Previous episodes on parts work (IFS): Ep. #34: Ep. #35: by Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) — the play Dr. Greg references on the theater of the word and the freedom of love — the book Dr. Greg discovered in college about the Carmelite mystic whose life of radical hiddenness is a model for this healing path — the Carmelite mystic Dr. Greg credits with introducing him to St. Teresa Margaret — Coming to Dallas this October, celebrating the Year of John Paul II Start of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: Want to help? Learn more about our Follow Us on Socials: | | | | /episode/index/show/beinghumancpi/id/41144105