The Luella Jonk Show
From the therapy room of a registered psychotherapist, dating coach and solopreneur who has tirelessly attempted a 'healthy' work-life balance for 25 years, it rarely existed for me and likely does not for most business owners, entrepreneurs and executives. The truth is relationships can really suffer. I will be interviewing expert guests who are doing things right so we can all learn to mix business with pleasure. Topics will range from building better relationships, connection, dating, and how to spread more kindness and compassion towards others while doing so. Listeners, you have the right to have passion surrounding your work while...
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Episode #94: The Defensiveness You Feel in an Argument? Here's What It's Really Telling You.
<p>There's a version of conviction that looks a lot like control. And most of us have been living there without realizing it.</p><p>This week I'm coming to you solo — and honestly, a little vulnerably — because something came up in my own Faith Formation group that I wasn't expecting. I got defensive. I got reactive. And somewhere in the middle of trying to defend the faith I love, I stopped actually living it.</p><p>So let's talk about that.</p><p>I'll walk you through:</p><p>✅ Why defensiveness is one of the most honest signals you'll ever g...
Episode #93: Ester Munt-Brooks on Why Loving Well Is the Hardest — and Only — Thing That Brings You Peace
<p>In this episode, Catholic educator Ester Munt-Brooks returns for a deeply honest conversation about what it really means to love — not as a feeling, but as a decision. From her years as a free-spirited musician in Spain who wanted nothing to do with commitment, to becoming a daily communicant, devoted wife, and mother of three, Ester unpacks what shifted — and why it took so long to look in the right place.</p><p>We'll walk you through: </p><p>✅ Why the women you're comparing yourself to might actually be leading you away from peace </p><p>✅ What St. Thomas Aquinas...
Episode #92: Hannah Spier: Depression Is Your Body Speaking. Are You Listening?
<p>In this eye-opening episode, Norwegian psychiatrist Hannah Spier joins us from Zurich to share what she discovered after years of treating anxious, depressed women in outpatient clinics — and why she ultimately walked away from a high-flying career to become a stay-at-home mother of three. Hannah is the voice behind Psychobabble with Spier, where she analyzes the psychological patterns in our culture that quietly incentivize dysfunction.</p><p>What started as a conversation about her clinical work turned into something far more personal — and far more powerful.</p><p>I'll walk you through:</p><p>✅ Why so many women in their...
Episode #91: Fr. Joseph de Viveiros on Why Lent Should Humble You, Not Make You Proud
<p>In this episode, I sit down with Father Joseph de Viveiros, a priest of the Congregation of the Resurrection and chaplain for the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board. Father brings decades of pastoral experience—from directing liturgy for World Youth Day 2002 with John Paul II to now caring for his 94-year-old mother with dementia—and his insights on Lent cut straight through the surface-level stuff we've been getting wrong for years.</p><p>I'll walk you through:</p><p>✅ Why Lent is about transformation, not willpower—and why the palms that become ashes hold the secret</p><p>✅ The two ty...
Episode #90: Discipline Gave Me Freedom. And It Can Give You Yours Too.
<p>Today it's just me. And I'm angry.</p><p>I wasn't supposed to record a solo episode today. I had two guest interviews scheduled. But ten minutes before we were supposed to go live, one of them canceled. "Not feeling well." At 2 p.m. their time.</p><p>And here's the thing—I have empathy. Life happens. But this isn't just about today. This is about what I see everywhere: a catastrophic lack of discipline. A refusal to honor commitments. An entire generation that wakes up asking, "How do I feel today?" instead of "What did I commit to to...
Episode #89: Fr. John Henry Hanson on The Fire and the Silence—How Prayer, Psychology, and Interior Life Transform Everything
<p>In this episode, I sit down with Father John Henry Hanson, a Norbertine priest, formator, and spiritual writer from St. Michael's Abbey whose work lives at the crossroads of psychology and spirituality. Father holds a degree in psychology from Divine Mercy University, and his upcoming book The Fire and the Silence explores what it truly means to align the mind with God in a world that never stops pulling our attention away. This conversation stopped me in my tracks—and I think it will do the same for you.</p><p>I'll walk you through:</p><p>✅ Why psychological orde...
Episode #88: Dr. James Kinross on Why Your Gut Holds the Secret to Your Mental Health (And Most Doctors Miss It)
<p>In this episode, Dr. James Kinross, consultant surgeon and microbiome scientist at Imperial College London, reveals why the trillions of microbes living inside us hold the key to our physical and mental health—and why we're facing an "internal climate crisis" that's changing everything. From IBS to obesity to mental health struggles, Dr. Kinross explains how our relationship with these invisible organisms determines our wellbeing far more than we realize.</p><p>I'll walk you through:</p><p>✅ Why your microbiome is like an orchestra playing a symphony to your body—and what happens when it goes silent</p><p>✅ Th...
Episode #87: We're Choosing a Machine Over the People Right in Front of Us. And It's Ruining Us.
<p>I'm recording this one without makeup—not because I forgot, but because I need to practice what I'm about to preach: authentic vulnerability over comfortable validation. And what I'm seeing in my therapy practice lately has me genuinely concerned.</p><p>Couples are now bringing printed transcripts of their spouse's ChatGPT conversations to sessions. People are outsourcing their moral compass, their conflict resolution, and even their emotional intimacy to large language models. And here's what terrifies me: these tools are designed to always agree with you, to validate you, to keep you comfortable and coming back for more.</p><p>...
Episode #86: Eric Zeitler (Part 2) on Why Your Husband Won't Lead—And What's Really Stopping Him
<p>In this second conversation with Licensed Professional Counselor Eric Zeitler, we tackle one of the most frustrating dynamics in modern Catholic marriages: leadership. Or more accurately, the lack of it. Women tell me constantly that their husbands won't step up. Men tell Eric they don't know how—or worse, that they've tried and been shut down.</p><p>Eric doesn't sugarcoat it: leadership in marriage requires two things. First, a willingness to sacrifice—to fall on the sword first, to put your comfort second. Second, the ability to make a final decision and commit to it. But here's what most...
Episode #85: Eric Zeitler (Part 1) on Why Trauma Isn't Just "In Your Head" - And How Faith Helps Heal It
<p>In this first part of a two-part conversation, Licensed Professional Counselor Eric Zeitler opens up about his innovative approach to therapy that honors both psychological science and Catholic faith. As founder of the Imago Dei Healing Institute, Eric has dedicated his practice to helping clients heal deep wounds while respecting their deeply held values—a balance many Catholics struggle to find in traditional therapy settings.</p><p>Eric shares the powerful story that launched his mission: watching someone close to him refuse therapy after a counselor dismissed their faith during grief work. This experience shaped his commitment to creating a...
