Welcome to “Accidental Experts,” the podcast that empathizes with the chaos of everyday parenting and life. If you find yourself overwhelmed by car pools, friendship challenges, homework, childhood anxiety, neurodiversity, teen drivers and behavior challenges, you’re not alone. I’m your host, Bryce Hamilton, a seasoned licensed clinical social worker who has navigated the intricate challenges of family life firsthand. In each episode, we delve into the complexities of parenting alongside insightful guests, offering practical solutions and fresh perspectives on the daily struggles parents encounter. From the seemingly mundane to the intricately complex, “Accidental Experts” breaks down the challenges of parenting, equipping you with valuable tips and strategies to navigate the labyrinth of family dynamics. Join me as we take a moment to breathe and share stories, expertise, and humor, reassuring you that, indeed, it’s all going to work out. Parenting is an adventure, and “Accidental E
Good Girl, Bad Mom: You’re not Broken, You’re Burdened with Dr.Danielle Dowling
Aug 11, 2026
Show notes
In this episode with Dr. Danielle Dowling, Bryce and Danielle explore the paradigm shift that happens when moms reflect on the conditioning they had as young girls to be “good” and the realization that being a “good” mom actually happens when they are healthy. Being a healthy mom doesn’t mean forgetting who they are as a person outside of being a mom. Danielle explains that girls often learn that they need to be agreeable, impressive, low-maintenance, helpful, and generally, not to be a burden to others. Danielle’s work provides women, and especially moms, the ability to re-write their stories so that worth isn’t tied to productivity, but rather prioritizing their nervous systems so they can be healthy moms without the underlying guilt of being a burden.
Dr. Dowling is a therapy-trained life coach, boy Mom with nearly 12,000 hours of 1:1 coaching. She helps women rewrite old stories, build bold boundaries and stop disappearing into their to-do lists. She believes in raising children without losing ourselves and claiming space for contentment not just survival.
In today’s episode, Bryce Hamilton, LSCSW, sits down with Carol Banens, a grief educator, coach, author, and speaker to discuss the complexities of grief, including in children. Carol shares her personal experience with grief at a young age and how it shaped her grief journey through adulthood. The conversation explores different types of grief, from grieving the death of a loved one, moving to a new place, or losing a friendship. Bryce emphasizes the importance of recognizing different types of grief in children which may be a new concept for parents and caregivers. Carol defines grief as “any significant loss” and explains that recognizing early grief in kids sets them up for a better understanding of grief as they go through more life experiences into adulthood. Carol gives clear instructions on talking with kids about death using age-appropriate language. The conversation also covers the physical aspects of grief and how to recognize how challenging grief really is which leads into spirituality and how, no matter what a person’s belief system is, being open to exploring different types of healing can guide us through grief.
Carol Banens is a grief educator, coach, speaker, and author who supports people navigating life after loss. Widowed in 2018, and shaped by earlier losses, Carol brings both lived experience and professional insight to her work. A former physical therapist of over 36 years, she understands how grief impacts the body as well as the heart. Carol is the author of five grief-focused books, including Kintsugi Your Heart: The Art of Living with Grief, and co-founder of The Grief Gurus community.
Using Self-Leadership to Guide Independence in Kids with Katherine Hood
Jul 28, 2026
Show notes
Bryce Hamilton, LSCSW sits down with Katherine Hood, Self-Leadership Coach, to discuss how to lead life in a way you feel good about from the inside out. Katherine explains that self-leadership is a way to live your life in alignment and therefore modeling your own values, morals and principles to others. The two women relate this concept to parenting and the importance of parenting with patience, staying grounded, and modeling emotional maturity. Whether you’re working with a young child, teenager, or adult, Katherine explains that seeking first to understand is important in leading others without shame or guilt. Bryce asks the important question of “how can we repair our relationships when we’ve created an emotional wound?” Katherine’s advice is to take ownership of our part in the situation and share our mistakes with others as a way to relate and bond, creating trust. It is ok to change, grow, adapt, and show our human side! Self-leadership is also important in using our energy wisely in living a successful, healthy, and balanced life. Katherine closes with the importance of moving through relationships without expectations.
Katherine Hood is a Self-Leadership and Relationship Mentor and Educator helping people build a life they don’t need a vacation from. She is a retired-at-35 entrepreneur with a decades-long habit of doing life at full volume. She spent thirty years in wild Alaska, competed in sprint dog mushing, built custom fly rods as a teenager, survived forty-below winters, appeared on a few reality shows, and somehow became a champion shooter along the way. She has also been a bodybuilder for twelve years, had two back surgeries, and came back stronger both physically and mentally.
Her work today is simpler and deeper. She helps people stop running from themselves and start leading from the inside out. The people who find Katherine are successful on paper but feel disconnected, overwhelmed, or misunderstood. Together they untangle the thought patterns and emotional habits that keep them stuck so they can reconnect with their clarity, their values, and their voice.
Katherine states “I’m not here to fix anyone. I’m here to help them see what’s underneath the noise.” Real change happens when awareness meets steady action, and that’s the heart of the work we do.
Outside of sessions you’ll find her with her Boston Terriers, hiking, fishing, or exploring by ATV, kayak, paddleboard, or snowmachine. Katherine loves a good food tour, a quiet trail, and any excuse to be near water. She’s also writing her first book, which threads through everything she’s lived and everything she teaches.
If you’re ready to feel grounded, clear, and genuinely at home in your own life, this is the work.
Values and Teamwork for Successful Parenting in Coupledom with Sami Packard
Jul 21, 2026
Show notes
Today, Bryce Hamilton, LSCSW, talks to Sami Packard, founder and couples coach at coupledom.me. Sami answers questions related to successfully raising kids in coupledom and where potential conflict comes from and how to navigate it. Bryce and Sami discuss the constant stress of trying to keep up with the demands of the household as well as society’s demands and pressure to be successful in all areas of life. The conversation leads to the necessity for a village or community to make raising kids more manageable in today’s society. They also cover the steps and tools necessary to compromise and stay ahead of conflict in order to parent in harmony. While the conversation surrounds monogamous, male/female partnership, the broader themes can be applied to relationships of all structures.
Sami Packard is a couples coach helping tired parents reclaim their sanity and joy. Drawing from her background in change consulting and design-thinking, she supports couples in creating the life they both crave through self-compassion and more connected rhythms at home.
Child Trafficking Prevention with Erin Williamson, LCSW Love146.org
Jul 07, 2026
Show notes
In today’s episode, Bryce Hamilton, LSCSW, talks with Erin Williamson, LCSW and Chief Programs Officer for Love146, an organization where she is responsible for leading the development, implementation, and operation of Love146’s US Survivor Care and Prevention Education programs.
Bryce and Erin discuss the real, raw facts and the prevention work Love146 does surrounding human trafficking, including child trafficking. Erin explains the important difference between legal and illegal work by recognizing the signs of force, fraud, and coercion. She also covers topics including online safety, having hard but necessary age-appropriate conversations with kids, creating a trusting relationship with our kids, and giving kids the information they need to keep themselves safe online and in their communities.
Erin has over 20 years of direct service, program management, and applied research experience in the fields of social service and criminal justice, with particular expertise in the areas of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. She has a Masters in Public Administration and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Erin also sits on the US Department of Health and Human Services National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children & Youth in the United States.
Therapist Carrie Glover, LCMFT, and Bryce Hamilton, LSCSW, discuss parenting leading up to, and through, young adulthood. Carrie answers the question “How can parents support their young adult children in making big life decisions without taking control or creating tension?” They discuss the dissonance of imagining what parents want for their kids’ lives versus letting their kids choose their own paths. Together they embrace the importance of allowing kids to be individuals and that there is no set template in creating the best outcomes for children.
Carrie describes the different stages of development as kids enter adolescence and together they reflect on their own childhoods and the responsibility parents have to guide kids through decisions and mistakes without causing guilt or shame. They provide listeners with strategies to create lasting relationships as kids grow into young adults.
Carrie Glover gains her expertise in parenting young adults as a parent to young adults herself. Additionally, her therapy practice in mental health as it relates to relationships and parenting lends a unique perspective in raising young adults.
Depression in Adolescent Boys
Jun 09, 2026
Show notes
Men’s mental health advocate and clinician, Ethan Getchell, joins Bryce Hamilton LSCSW in this episode to talk about mental health and depression signs in children and teens, specifically for males. He describes covert depression and how it may manifest and talks about the role societal conditioning for male expression plays a role in depression for boys.
Together they talk about anger as an emotion, what it looks like, why it is so commonly manifested for boys, and how to help teach healthier outlets and emotional expression.
This episode is full of tips and advice for helping you understand your teen, connect them with resources and outlets, and identify signs that they may need stronger interventions.
Ethan Getchell is a clinician, writer, and advocate for men’s mental health. He serves as a Clinical Social Work Fellow at Michigan Medicine’s Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic, where he provides therapy for individuals facing depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges. After losing his younger brother, Austin, to suicide, Ethan turned his grief into purpose by speaking, writing, and building communities that equip young men and their families with tools for resilience. His work has reached millions through his Hey Man newsletter, viral social media content, and keynote speeches. Today, Ethan is here to share his story, his expertise, and practical tools for building hope and connection.
Supporting High Anxiety Children with Dr. Tamara Houssain
Jun 04, 2026
Show notes
Educational and Child Psychologist, Dr. Tamara Houssain, joins Bryce Hamilton LSCSW, to discuss her research and expertise as it pertains to children and anxiety. They dive into the brain science of what’s going on when a child is experiencing anxiety and why. Together they share from a logical perspective how to actually help reduce the “alarm” in the brain that causes an anxiety attack and help ease children.
Dr. Houssain explains why some approaches simply don’t or won’t work for someone experiencing anxiety and what to try instead. They discuss anxiety awareness and how it seems to be more prevalent, why, and what parents can do. This episode is full of helpful information, education, and understanding.
Dr. Tamara Houssain is a HCPC Registered Educational and Child Psychologist with 12 years of experience supporting children and young people with developmental, educational, and mental health needs. Holding a Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology from the University of East London and a background as a secondary-trained teacher, she brings a unique perspective to understanding behaviour, cognition, and social-emotional development. Dr. Tamara is passionate about integrating neuroscience into practice, with her doctoral research focusing on how advancements in neuroscience can enhance our understanding of children’s learning and development. As a published author of Essentials in Neuroscience: Key Directions for Educational Psychologists (Manual for Psychologist Training), she strives to bridge research and practical application.
Dr. Houssain’s approach incorporates evidence-based methodologies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, and personal construct psychology. She is dedicated to delivering tailored interventions, professional training, and compassionate, collaborative support to meet the diverse needs of children, families, and professionals.
Parent Child Relational Balance with Dr. Debbie Raphael MD
Jun 02, 2026
Show notes
Double board-certified Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and UCSF fellowship-trained Child, Alodescene, and Adult Psychiatrist, Dr. Debbie Raphael MD, joins Bryce Hamilton LSCSW in this episode to talk about the relational health between parent and child. They discuss common parenting models authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative, as well as what the research says about these various models.
Dr. Debbie describes and defines the relational health model and how to improve the relational health between parents and children. She talks about common struggles parents face when trying to improve their relationships with their children, helping them cope with struggles, fears, anxieties and behavioral issues. Together, she and Bryce discuss evidence-based ways to help regulate yourself as a parent and show up for your children in the ways you hope to.
As always, they explore avenues and ways to begin implementing healthier parenting techniques and how to recover when we don’t parent in the ways we wish we would.
Debbie Raphael, M.D. is a licensed, double board-certified Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (ABPN) and UCSF fellowship-trained Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist.
A former UCSF Assistant Clinical Professor and Lead Contra Costa County Child Psychiatrist, Dr. Raphael has been a practicing member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) for the last two decades.
She graduated Summa cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa from UC San Diego, where she studied animal physiology and neuroscience with a minor in sociology, was a Regents Scholar, and earned a Howard Hughes Research Scholarship. Dr. Raphael has published several academic articles, has been an expert contributor to Parents magazine, and is a former newspaper advice columnist for the Contra Costa Times (now East Bay Times).
She successfully launched her older son to UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering this fall, and serves on the Board of Directors of Contra Costa Midrasha for Teens.
Building Strong Mother Daughter Relationships with Erica Thomas LCSW, MSSW, Certified Mother-Daughter Coach
May 19, 2026
Show notes
Mother-Daughter Relationship coach and licensed therapist, Erica Thomas LCSW, MSSW, joins Bryce Hamilton LSCSW, to talk about raising daughters and how to build strong relationships with them.
Erica answers the question of, “should my daughter be my friend?”, talks about how to validate our children’s perspectives even when their solutions don’t make sense, and encourage confidence and nurture relationships even when we may not agree with the choices our children are making.
Together they talk about how and why even strong childhood bonds can change during the teenage years and how to react to potential backlash and perceived criticism of your teen. Erica points out some common mistakes parents make in an attempt to be close to them, and gives helpful suggestions and solutions on what to try instead. They also discuss how to approach recovery and rebuilding when relationships feel damaged or broken.
Erica Thomas is a licensed psychotherapist with over 20 years of experience and an expert in mother-daughter relationships. She founded Vita Nova Counseling and Vita Nova Mother-Daughter Coaching to help teen girls and adult women live with authenticity, and to guide mothers and daughters toward healing, hope, and meaningful connection. In addition to her clinical work, Erica serves as a consultant, mentor, and trainer—supporting mental health professionals worldwide in understanding and addressing mother-daughter dynamics in their own practices.
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