Other People's Problems

Get lost in someone else’s life. From a mysterious childhood spent on the run, to a courageous escape from domestic violence, each season of Personally invites you to explore the human experience in all its complexity, one story — or season — at a time.In the latest season of Personally: Creation Myth, Helena does not want kids. Her husband believes she’ll change her mind—she has so much love to give, she would be a perfect mother. That will never happen, she tells him. Again. And again. Until one day, he leaves.In the silence, doubt starts rushing in. So she asks her close friends, her mother, her sister, even a perfect stranger—did she make the right decision? What is the purpose of life? Center your pleasure, says one friend. Go for adventure, says another, and isn’t parenthood the biggest adventure of all? Be true to yourself, says a father who regrets his decision. But the voice she needs to hear is her own. More episodes of Creation Myth are available wherever you get your podcasts and here: https://link.mgln.ai/CMxOPP

Rachael has worked for years to heal from her own trauma and is now wanting to learn how to let love and affection in. Rachael practices allowing Hillary to care for her. It sounds simple, but as Rachael says, for her and for many of us, it can feel deeply “cringey.” Hillary sings a lullaby and Rachael relaxes into the feeling of being loved. New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Hillary sings a lullaby she wrote for her own daughter full of affirmations, she dedicates it to all OPP listeners as well.New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

When David began to do therapy using cannabis with Hillary, he had very few childhood memories. So he was surprised to find a really big question about whether he was beaten surface in his consciousness. In this session, we hear David grappling with the truth of what happened to him. Hillary shepherds him through healing the imprint his suffering has left on his body, even as she admits the truth about what happened to him might never be known. New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

In this Other People’s Problems first, Hillary lets us see her as the patient in this deeply personal cannabis session of her own. She feels back into the pain and heartbreak of miscarrying twins and a subsequent freak hemorrhage that nearly killed her. As she screams, “No!” and “It’s mine!,” she confronts the horror of watching first responders struggle to keep her alive and the feeling of losing control of what was happening to her own body. New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Brandi (not her real name) has social anxiety because she grew up in a cult where members gathered regularly around her family’s dinner table to talk about mortality and sin. To cope, Brandi hid at the top of the stairs in silence, afraid to even go get a snack. In this session using cannabis, she imagines herself and Hillary bulldozing into the room, taking a stand on the kitchen table together, and demanding freedom.New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Donovan has lived in fear and anger ever since he told the truth about being abused by his mother’s boyfriend and then felt betrayed by social workers who were supposed to help. Now, after several ketamine therapy sessions, Donovan can finally look back upon his child-self with care and calm and works to become the kind of adult he needed for his own children. Hillary makes a bad move in treating him and faces the mistake. New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

With the growing acceptance of psychedelic therapy, questions arise about the ethics, effectiveness, and experiences it brings. In this episode, Hillary addresses those questions in conversation with Geoff Turner, the host of CBC’s On Drugs podcast. Through historical clips and moments from actual sessions, they explore how substances are reshaping mental health treatment — including Hillary’s own experience as a patient — to talk about how psychedelic psychotherapy works. Using clips of the upcoming episodes, they talk about the big ethical questions, the big scientific questions, and what Hillary sees as the enormous promise of psychedelics to help people with their mental health. New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays. Don't want to wait? Binge the whole season right now via CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Dr. Hillary McBride introduces the new season of Other People Problems, and there's something new: in Season 5 Hillary's clients are experiencing therapy with the assistance of psychedelic drugs.Listen to the new season on May 12, 2025.

On Drugs looks through the lenses of history, pop culture and personal experience to understand how drugs have shaped our world. Because even if it’s just caffeine or ibuprofen, there’s a good chance you’re on drugs right now. More episodes of On Drugs are available at: https://link.mgln.ai/toiuju

A COVID scare in the kids’ group Patti manages wakes up the perfectionist inside her — the part of her that feels she needs to be perfect in order to deserve connection with others. She and Dr. Hillary trace this feeling back to her younger years, and help Patti draw from her personal growth to comfort that version of herself.

As we wind down the season, Dr. Hillary McBride invites you to catch your breath and feel yourself in this particular moment. Imagining as you exhale that this breath could support you in the practice of letting go.

Kristin recognizes she feels isolated and alone, at least in part because she’s kept people at a distance to protect herself from getting hurt. Dr. Hillary uses her own relationship with Kristin to model friendship and the excitement that can come from deep connection.

Dr. Hillary needs to tell her longtime client Vanessa that she’s pregnant and that they'll soon need to take a break, when Hillary goes on maternity leave. This is hard to hear for Vanessa, who has been left, physically and emotionally, by important people in her life when she needed them most. Hillary helps Vanessa navigate the pain of feeling abandoned while also assuring her: although their situation will change, their bond is secure.

Hannah has found a range of ways to earn love and protect herself from getting hurt. In Dr. Hillary McBride’s words, she “has found a way to stay connected to people by figuring out who they want her to be, and then being that.” The two work to help Hannah trust that she can show up as her authentic self, and to believe that she is lovable as she is.

Ethan’s parents have become committed to extreme right wing ideologies, which they keep pushing on Ethan. He has tried and failed to explain to them why their views are harmful. Now, in the midst of helping his wife deal with a health crisis, Ethan has decided to step away from his relationship with his parents, despite how much it hurts. Dr. Hillary helps him navigate his grief.

Kristin’s brother died when she was very young and she blamed herself, the way children sometimes do. She has carried that unresolved shame for decades. As the anniversary of his death stirs up hard feelings, Dr. Hillary helps Kristin begin to heal this deep wound. She also guides adult Kristin, now a parent herself, toward saying the words she needed to hear as a child.

As someone who has struggled with addiction and a bipolar diagnosis, Julia carefully hides away parts of herself. Dr. Hillary McBride helps her embrace her complexity, and reconcile it with her new identity as mom. “Your identity was never in addiction, was never in illness, your identity has always been something much deeper.”

Slow down today and join Dr. Hillary for five minutes of mindfulness. This meditation, which she wrote, is intended to help you feel grounded and more at ease. (If you're too busy today, then you may want to play it twice.)

What does it mean to come out of isolation? In a year where we’ve needed it, this season is all about reconnecting with ourselves and one another. Dr. Hillary McBride helps her clients talk through a range of issues heightened by these uncertain times. An all new season of Other People’s Problems begins May 18, 2021.

A gift to you, our listeners, as we wrap Season 3. We appreciate you so much. Take good care of yourself and each other. (And, hey, if you have feedback or experiences with OPP to share, we’d love to hear from you. Please email producer Jodie Martinson: [email protected])

As we know from the earlier episode with Lacey, she grew up with a mother who neglected her. It has left her with a deep sense she is not good enough. In this episode, Hillary and Lacey travel back to Lacey’s childhood home to witness the situation through the eyes of caring responsible adults who see little Lacey’s suffering and take care of her.

It’s been a few weeks since we released a bonus episode from Louise about being hospitalized for anorexia and contracting COVID-19 in the hospital. Now, she’s home, healing, and determined to take steps toward recovering from her eating disorder and letting her true self shine through.

Vanessa’s daily life is difficult. Between coping with the demands of work and raising a daughter with special needs, Vanessa is falling into old patterns of negative thinking and self-silencing. Can she learn to break old patterns and recognize her own feelings of loneliness?

As a teenager, Andrew was sexually abused by someone he trusted. Even though the perpetrator was an adult, and to an outsider it would be a clear case of child sexual abuse, the experience felt more complex to him at the time.

Louise had to be hospitalized because of anorexia. In the hospital, she contracted COVID-19 and has had to be isolated for weeks. She and Hillary speak compassionately to the eating disorder part of Louise for how it has helped her cope with her suffering, and ask it to move aside so that the real Louise, the parts of her that want to live fully, can begin to take over. Plus, we hear a candid interview with Hillary, who has personal experience with an eating disorder. NOTE: This conversation was recorded over video conferencing software over weak hospital wifi, and the audio quality is hard to understand at times. We’ve done our best to improve it but recommend listening in a quiet space with good headphones.

Emily was taught as a kid to avoid some of her emotions, including sadness. Now as an adult, she is learning how to sit with her feelings without pushing them away. She hopes to resolve past traumas and develop new ways of coping with the ups and downs of life.

Tom connects with Hillary over Zoom during a lunch break at work. He's been working to understand and experience his emotions, connect with his wife and kids, and compassionately factor in his ADHD. Hillary is amazed at how far Tom has come from their first session to where he is today, taking the time to take care of himself, and model for his kids how to express big feelings appropriately when they come up.

Growing up, there was a lot of conflict in Lacey’s family. After her parents divorced, the conflict stopped, but Lacey and her sister were often left alone. By connecting with her younger self, Lacey realises what she was missing: being seen and loved just as she is. Now, Lacey is doing her best to let go of the childhood patterns — the shield — that once protected her, in hopes of creating healthier ways of being for herself and her children.

Dr. Hillary McBride is back with a new season of Other People's Problems. Unlike most therapy podcasts that feature sessions between a therapist and a one-off client, Hillary's clients have been working with her for a long time. This is what people sound like when they talk about difficult childhoods, the stress of day-to-day-life and sudden changes to our lives with someone they trust.

Andrew has been working on connecting with others. Although he is making great strides, Andrew is finding it hard to connect with his wife. As the corona virus forces him to close his restaurant and isolate at home with his family, Andrew must get vulnerable and ask for what he's been longing for — intimacy.

Food, We Need to Talk from WBUR follows one woman's quest to end her war with food. Hosts Juna Gjata and Dr. Eddie Phillips wield solid science, medical knowledge, common sense and an endless supply of dad jokes to teach us how to eat better and feel better about it.

Recorded in front of a live theatre audience at the HotDocs Podcast Festival, Hillary McBride discusses how our families shape us for better and for worse by digging deeper into Sloane's story and her own. Featuring special expert panellists Kwame McKenzie and Tina Malti.

"You don't get rid of shadow, you learn how to use it. There is strength and goodness and power even in the shadow" - Hillary

Shame keeps Dave from connecting with other people. He finds a way to reach toward Hillary.

As Sloane prepares to welcome her first child, she confronts the painful relationship she has with her own mother and her wish the relationship could end.

Franklyn has begun dating again after his divorce. But hurt and fear from the past are making it hard for him to dive in to new love.

*Warning: This episode references suicide and may be triggering for some listeners. When someone you love is suicidal, talking about it is daunting. In this podcast extra, host Hillary McBride, producer Jodie Martinson, and expert guest Lu Ripley get real about how to have candid conversations and ask that terrifying question: "Do you want to kill yourself?"

*Warning: This episode references suicide and may be triggering for some listeners. Belle is feeling suicidal and like a bad parent. Hillary talks with her about the idea of a "good enough" mom.

Hannah's anxiety is out of control and that's making it hard to get through her day at work.

Host Hillary McBride advises her client Hannah to listen to a guided mediation on her commute to help ease her anxiety. Here's one for you to use, with Hillary as your guide.

Hillary works with Ethan to imagine playing and connecting with his new baby. He's worked for years to process the terrifying experience of almost losing his wife during the birth of their first child.

*Warning: This episode details a sexual assault and may be triggering for some listeners. A chance encounter at the pool has triggered Layla to remember a sexual assault. In this session, she begins to heal.

Ellie's decision to leave her abusive relationship has restored her sparkle. But how does she foster a good relationship between him and their daughter without getting hurt again?

If you liked how Other People's Problems let you into the minds and hearts of ordinary people you'll love Mic Drop. Listen in as teenagers share their mood-swinging, dream-chasing, rule-breaking dramas and adventures.

Patti strives to be perfect and does so much for her son and husband. Hillary helps her see that giving even more is not the answer.

Hillary introduces Sloane to the idea of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to help her understand why she feels so overwhelmed at times. But will the diagnosis help Sloane feel more or less empowered to change?

Belle has a voice inside her head that torments her with messages of self-hate. She turns to food to feel better. Hillary tries to help her with a therapy called EMDR.

'Maggie' talks with OPP creator and producer Jodie Martinson about what it was like to be a part of the podcast, and how the microphone in the room affected her.

Franklyn revokes his access to tracking his ex-wife's whereabouts through her phone. It's his last connection to her.