CALLING HOME with Whitney Goodman, LMFT

Calling Home

Family Dynamics

Estrangement

Mental Health

Family Relationships

Boundaries

Emotional Immaturity

Family Estrangement

Childhood Trauma

Parenting

Therapy

Emotional Abuse

Parent-Child Relationships

Grief

Parentification

Emotional Neglect

Emotional Maturity

Narcissistic Family Systems

Boundary Setting

Family Cyclebreakers Club

Self-Improvement

Whitney Goodman is a licensed marriage and family therapist and author on a mission to help adult family members have better relationships. Each week, Whitney has conversations with influential guests and real people to help listeners find new ways of looking at old family problems.Calling Home is available every Tuesday and Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/... more

794 ratings

Publishes	Twice weekly	Episodes	252	Founded	3 years ago
Number of Listeners		Categories	RelationshipsEducationSelf-ImprovementSociety & Culture

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Guests Host Reviews Charts Talking Points

Latest Episodes

Enmeshment and Boundaries in Dysfunctional Families With Jordan Pickell

Jordan Pickell is the author of Untangling the Ties That Bind: Heal Enmeshment Trauma and Break Dysfunctional Patterns with Family Members. Jordan joins Whitney to explain why enmeshment can feel endearing from the inside. They discuss how to separat... more

Yesterday • 39 min

Who Gets To Spend The Holidays With You?

Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of physical and emotional abuse by a parent.

This week Whitney answers three questions on spending time with family during the holidays. One listener finally enjoys the holidays since skipping her ... more

29 Oct 2026 • 29 min • Most popular

Holiday Survival Plan For Dysfunctional Families

You have about four weeks until Thanksgiving. Many people spend them dreading it and then repeat last year's holiday all over again. Whitney responds to comments she got on Instagram about the hardest parts of the holidays. A handful of themes emerge... more

27 Oct 2026 • 31 min • Popular

Turns Out My Dad Wasn't The Bad Guy My Mom Made Him Out to Be

Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of childhood emotional neglect, verbal and physical abuse, and parental abduction.

How is it that your grandmother is loving and steady to you, but failed to raise your mother in a way that she can... more

22 Oct 2026 • 25 min

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Recent Guests

Ashley Oerman

Journalist and editor who has covered health, wellness, and mental health for more than a decade

Episode: Dealing with Your Mother’s Drama with Ashley Oerman

Dr. Shefali Tsabary

Author of Raising Conscious Sons and Raising Conscious Daughters

Author/Thought Leader in Conscious Parenting

Episode: Raising Conscious Sons and Daughters with Dr. Shefali Tsabary

Dr. Sherrie Campbell

Clinical psychologist and author

Self-employed / Author

Episode: Low Effort Families with Dr. Sherrie Campbell

Stephanie Jo

Author, writer for The Strong-Willed Child sub-stack; grew up in a modern-day cult within evangelical Christian fundamentalism

The Strong-Willed Child (Substack)

Episode: Abuse and Estrangement in Christian Fundamentalism with Stephanie Warren

Creed Revere

Formerly estranged mother and estranged daughter, host of the Estranged Heart Podcast

Episode: What it’s Like On Both Sides of Estrangment With Kreed Revere

Rin Reczek

Professor of Sociology at Ohio State, family demographer, author of Families We Lose

Ohio State University

Episode: Are We in an Estrangement Epidemic?

Jon Lefrandt

Guest on Leave Then Cleave platform, part of the couple Lefrandt

Leave Then Cleave

Episode: We Tried to Set One Boundary and Lost 40 Family Members with Jon and Ashley Lefrandt

Ashley Lefrandt

Guest on Leave Then Cleave platform, part of the couple Lefrandt

Leave Then Cleave

Episode: We Tried to Set One Boundary and Lost 40 Family Members with Jon and Ashley Lefrandt

Emma Mahony

Therapist focused on family patterns, parentification, and conscious relationships

Self-employed / Therapy practice

Episode: Therapists React to Shameless and What the Show Gets Right About Parentification

Host

Whitney Goodman

Licensed marriage and family therapist; host of CALLING HOME; focuses on estrangement, family dynamics, boundaries, and therapy-informed guidance.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 794 ratings

Helpful and informative
A podcast of useful coping strategies for dealing with estrangement and difficult family relationships. I found respite in knowing that others had similar experiences (as sad as it is to know this is more of an epidemic than we talk about openly). Thanks to Whitney for making me feel less alone.
Apple Podcasts
5
Mayritko
Spaina month ago
Lifesaving
This podcast has been a lifesaver for my estrangement journey. Full stop.
Apple Podcasts
5
Ash12447
United Statesa month ago
Love it! So validating
My therapist recommended this podcast to me and it’s been so helpful. I’ve been low contact/no contact with my family for over a decade and always felt so wrong about it, despite being much happier in other ways. It’s the only therapy podcast I like (and I’ve tried many). One thing I do notice is that is very heteronormative. It doesn’t ruin it for me but I notice it a lot.
Apple Podcasts
4
Cleopatra333
Canada4 months ago
Beautiful and extremely helpful podcast
I discovered this podcast in the last month and wow- it is like a warm soft blanket. As an adult that has been estranged from my mother for over 10 years, I always felt like “is it just me?” It is such a life saver to not feel alone.
Apple Podcasts
5
cwbean22
United States9 months ago
So helpful and informative
Thank you for sharing your work and expertise. The profound impact it has on my quality of life is beyond any grateful words I can write in a review. I never miss an episode, and revisit them when needed. Thank you
Apple Podcasts
5
jihanburger
United States9 months ago

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Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

High-quality guest selection and relatable discussions about family dynamics.

Thoughtful, well-researched episodes with actionable takeaways.

Sincere, validating guidance that helps people feel less alone in tough family situations.

Calming host with practical advice that combines therapy concepts with real-world scenarios.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts	#45	United States/Society & Culture/Relationships
Apple Podcasts	#52	Canada/Society & Culture/Relationships
Apple Podcasts	#122	United Kingdom/Society & Culture/Relationships
Apple Podcasts	#91	Australia/Society & Culture/Relationships
Apple Podcasts	#109	Italy/Society & Culture/Relationships
Apple Podcasts	#152	Ireland/Society & Culture/Relationships

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Who Gets To Spend The Holidays With You?

Q: So I just booked the trip and hope they're in town. Do I give up?

Goodman suggests planning a trip that remains worthwhile independently, staying somewhere separate, and making a clear invitation to see the family without the father. If that is not possible, the listener can consider other ways to maintain contact with the nieces and nephews and decide whether further visits are worth pursuing.

Who Gets To Spend The Holidays With You?

Q: What do I do next year when I don't have an excuse? Am I being unreasonable?

Goodman says the listener can decide about this holiday without committing to a permanent cutoff. She suggests trying a different day, a shorter gathering, or another way to connect, and considering whether the family can sustain the relationship without sharing the holiday.

Turns Out My Dad Wasn't The Bad Guy My Mom Made Him Out to Be

Q: How can I make sense of my mother moving us away from our father and what I learned decades later about his side of the story?

Goodman recognizes the instability and confusion caused by the moves and the conflicting family accounts. She says the listener can have complicated feelings about both parents: the father should acknowledge the pain of his absence, while the mother should take accountability for the childhood disruptions and abuse.

Turns Out My Dad Wasn't The Bad Guy My Mom Made Him Out to Be

Q: How was my grandmother so good to me, but my mom ended up like this?

Goodman says grandparenting can differ from parenting, and that the grandmother may have changed over time or had a difficult relationship with her daughter. Family size, birth order, temperament and the mother's experience as a young parent may also have shaped their relationships. Understanding the context does not require excusing harmful treatment.

Dealing with Your Mother’s Drama with Ashley Oerman

Q: Are there certain things that you've been kind of ruminating on or concerned about happening around the birth of this child?

Oerman is unsure how her family, especially her mother, will respond to the pregnancy. She worries about feeling pressured to increase contact or host her mother after the baby arrives, while grieving the close mother-daughter relationship she had hoped to have.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About CALLING HOME

What is CALLING HOME about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show centers on adult family dynamics, boundaries, estrangement, and practical strategies for navigating complex relationships with compassion and clarity. Hosted by a licensed therapist, it features conversations with guests and real listeners to unpack tough family issues, from boundary-setting and reconciliation to boundary maintenance and safety, often weaving in therapy-informed frameworks like radical acceptance and family systems concepts. Noteworthy are its actionable scripts, emphasis on caregiver teamwork, and a supportive community for ongoing growth, making it useful for listeners seeking healthier family interactions or guidance through painful family situations.

Where can I find podcast stats for CALLING HOME?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for CALLING HOME. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to CALLING HOME and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does CALLING HOME get?

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What are the audience demographics for CALLING HOME?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for CALLING HOME, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does CALLING HOME have?

To see how many followers or subscribers CALLING HOME has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to CALLING HOME?

These podcasts share a similar audience with CALLING HOME:

1. Still Talking About It
2. Adult Child
3. Mother Mayhem: For Daughters of Narcissistic or Emotionally Limited Mothers
4. We Can Do Hard Things
5. Therapy Chat

How many episodes of CALLING HOME are there?

CALLING HOME launched 3 years ago and published 252 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact CALLING HOME?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for CALLING HOME?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for CALLING HOME from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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How do I access podcast episode transcripts for CALLING HOME?

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What guests have appeared on CALLING HOME?

Recent guests on CALLING HOME include:

1. Ashley Oerman
2. Dr. Shefali Tsabary
3. Dr. Sherrie Campbell
4. Stephanie Jo
5. Creed Revere
6. Rin Reczek
7. Jon Lefrandt
8. Ashley Lefrandt

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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