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.

Being Human is a religion podcast hosted by Dr. Gregory Bottaro, with 295 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Dr. Gregory Bottaro hosts Being Human, a religion show with 295 episodes published.

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  Episode #295

  Episode 295: God Threw My Journal into a River: A Conversation on Love and Freedom from the Streets of Zakopane, Poland

  Sep 8, 202648 min

  You can become who you are. Which means you can also become who you're not. Recorded on location in Poland during a pilgrimage through the life of John Paul II, Dr. Greg Bottaro and Dr. Gerard McNicholas trace JP2's line "let yourself be molded by love" — and what happens in the subconscious that blocks our freedom to choose it. Key Topics : Why "become who you are" carries a hidden warning — you can also be molded into who you're not Why virtue never becomes automatic, no matter how many years you practice it How the one freedom no one can take from you is the freedom St. Maximilian Kolbe used to step forward and say "take my place" Why the buried things in your subconscious actually want to be known — and why John Paul II called surfacing them a task of morality How art slips in the back door of the subconscious and unlocks what analysis alone can't reach Learn More: Person and Act and Related Essays by Karol Wojtyła (John Paul II) — his account of conscience and the subconscious Our God's Brother — the Wojtyła play that gives us "let yourself be molded by love" Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk John Paul II's Letter to Artists The Personalist Cure — Dr. Greg's upcoming book, launching this October at the Summit Join us at the Summit of Integration this October in Dallas — launching the Year of St. John Paul II Need help? Schedule a free CatholicPsych consultation Want to help? Learn more about our Certification in Professional Accompaniment Follow Us on Socials : Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter (X) | LinkedIn

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  Episode #294

  Episode 294: When "Figuring It All Out" Is the Problem: A College Senior Speaks About an Uncertain Future

  Sep 1, 20261h 34m

  Not knowing what comes after graduation feels like failing. It's not. The real problem is the pressure to have it all figured out. Dr. Greg sits down with college senior Sandy Napolitano to talk about the anxiety of life after graduation — where the fear of the unknown really comes from, and why discernment starts the moment you stop trying to force certainty. Key Topics: Why "What's your plan?" quietly writes God out of the decision How the need for a plan can be fear wearing the mask of responsibility Why starting at the end — not the next step — makes half your options disappear Why naming a fear out loud drains most of its power How the experience that changed you becomes the one you most need to integrate Learn More: The Personalist Cure — John Paul II's blueprint for a Catholic standard of psychology Join us in Dallas, Oct 20–23: Summit of Integration Need help? Schedule a free CatholicPsych consultation Want to help? Learn more about our Certification in Professional Accompaniment Follow Us on Socials : Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter (X) | LinkedIn

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  Episode #293

  Episode 293: God Is Tired of One Thing (Hint: It's Not Your Sin): Healing the Scrupulous Spirit Through Loving Trust

  Aug 25, 202653 min

  Trust isn't something you manufacture through effort — it's something you receive through relationship. In this episode, Dr. Greg Bottaro concludes the series on OCPD and perfectionism by exploring why control feels so necessary, how our earliest relationships shape our ability to trust God, and why freedom begins not when we become perfect, but when we allow ourselves to be loved. Because holiness isn't built on mastering the perfect spiritual routine — it's built on learning to rest in the love that has always been pursuing you. Key Topics: Why trust can't be built through more effort, more surrender, or the right devotion How "trying harder" to trust God is actually the pattern itself, not the way out of it How the parts of us that need control aren't bad, but are protecting something deeper Why compassion, not correction, is the first step toward healing a controlling part How self-possession exists for the sake of self-gift — and why you can't give what you don't have Why holiness was never meant to end fear of hell, but to end the need to earn love in the first place How real healing only happens in relationship — not in a program, a podcast, or a novena Learn More: Previous episodes in this series on Obsessive Compulsive Personality Patterns: Ep. #290: "I'm Only Loved When I'm Perfect": The Lie Fueling Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Ep. #291: OCPD and Scrupulosity: How the Worship of Rules and Control Leads to the Loneliness of Certainty Ep. #292: Holy Anxiety: The Understandable Underbelly of Scrupulosity Join us at the Summit of Integration this October in Dallas — launching the Year of St. John Paul II Presence Virtual Retreat : Practice the presence of God and trustful surrender Previous episodes on parts work (IFS): Ep. #34: A New Theory! w/ a Catholic Lens Ep. #35: Why Do I Feel Like I Have Conflicting Thoughts? w/ Dr. Peter Malinoski Start of the Being Human series on the Antisocial Defense Patterns: Ep. #281: Control or Be Controlled: The Devastating Wounds Behind Antisocial Behavioral Patterns Start of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: BORDERLINE: The Push-Pull Between a Fear of Abandonment and Annihilation Start of the Being Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns: Ep. #274: To Be Loved Is to Perform: Inside the Histrionic Compulsion for Attention and Validation Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Jerry Maguire, Gollum, and the Fear of Not Existing Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: Narcissism and the Terror of Being Ordinary Need help? Schedule a free CatholicPsych consultation . Want to help? Learn more about our Certification in Professional Accompaniment . Follow Us on Socials : Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter (X) | LinkedIn

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  Episode #292

  Episode 292: Holy Anxiety: The Understandable Underbelly of Scrupulosity

  Aug 18, 202645 min

  Scrupulosity often looks like devotion — but when fear takes over, even our spiritual life can become consumed by doubt, checking, and the search for certainty. In this episode, Dr. Greg Bottaro continues the series on OCPD and perfectionism, exploring the difference between a healthy conscience and a scrupulous one, why mercy can be hard to trust, and how our experiences shape the way we see God. Holiness was never meant to be an endless audit — it was meant to lead us into relationship with the One who loves us. Key Topics: How reciting the truth about mercy in your head does nothing to change what your body still believes Why certainty about being forgiven is the one thing this pattern can never actually get Why confession, meant to bring peace, can quietly become just another form of checking How the voice you call your conscience might actually be a punishing voice in disguise Why the face you're afraid God is making at you was never really His How the saints wrestled with scrupulosity — and what finally brought them peace wasn't more proof Why doing this work alone almost always makes the pattern worse How the way out can feel too easy to trust Learn More: Previous episodes in this series on Obsessive Compulsive Personality Patterns: Ep. #290: "I'm Only Loved When I'm Perfect": The Lie Fueling Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Ep. #291: OCPD and Scrupulosity: How the Worship of Rules and Control Leads to the Loneliness of Certainty Episode referenced on spiritual bypassing: Why "Everything Happens for a Reason" Isn't Working: The Holy Words We Use to Avoid Healing Join us at the Summit of Integration this October in Dallas — launching the Year of St. John Paul II Start of the Being Human series on the Antisocial Defense Patterns: Ep. #281: Control or Be Controlled: The Devastating Wounds Behind Antisocial Behavioral Patterns Start of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: BORDERLINE: The Push-Pull Between a Fear of Abandonment and Annihilation Start of the Being Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns: Ep. #274: To Be Loved Is to Perform: Inside the Histrionic Compulsion for Attention and Validation Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Jerry Maguire, Gollum, and the Fear of Not Existing Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: Narcissism and the Terror of Being Ordinary Need help? Schedule a free CatholicPsych consultation . Want to help? Learn more about our Certification in Professional Accompaniment . Follow Us on Socials: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter (X) | LinkedIn

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #291

  Episode 291: OCPD and Scrupulosity: How the Worship of Rules and Control Leads to the Loneliness of Certainty

  Aug 11, 202645 min

  Certainty feels like safety. But you can only ever be certain alone — and the life you build on control slowly becomes a lonely one. In week two of the series on OCPD, Dr. Greg explores why we reach for control when trust feels dangerous — and how the certainty we build to feel safe ends up costing us the very relationships it was meant to protect. Key Topics: Why the certainty that makes you feel safe is the same thing that leaves you alone How a rule can feel safer than a person — because a rule never changes its face Why the control you use to protect the people you love can drive them straight into the danger you feared How devotion can quietly turn into a contract with God instead of trust in Him Why trying harder to get it perfect is the pattern itself, not the way out of it Learn More: Previous episode in this series — OCPD Part 1: Ep. #290: "I'm Only Loved When I'm Perfect": The Lie Fueling Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Join us at the Summit of Integration this October in Dallas — launching the Year of St. John Paul II Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism by Dr. Paul Vitz — on how wounded trust in a father can shape our capacity for faith Person and Act — St. John Paul II's (Karol Wojtyła's) philosophical work on the acting person, and the personalist heart of this episode Stop Walking on Eggshells by Paul Mason & Randi Kreger — the book on borderline patterns Dr. Greg references Start of the Being Human series on the Antisocial Defense Patterns: Ep. #281: Control or Be Controlled: The Devastating Wounds Behind Antisocial Behavioral Patterns Start of the Being Human series on the Borderline Defense Patterns: Ep. #269: BORDERLINE: The Push-Pull Between a Fear of Abandonment and Annihilation Start of the Being Human series on the Histrionic Defense Patterns: Ep. #274: To Be Loved Is to Perform: Inside the Histrionic Compulsion for Attention and Validation Start of the Being Human series on the Dependent Defense Patterns: Ep. #265: Jerry Maguire, Gollum, and the Fear of Not Existing Start of the Being Human series on the Narcissistic Defense Patterns: Ep. #261: Narcissism and the Terror of Being Ordinary Need help? Schedule a free CatholicPsych consultation . Want to help? Learn more about our Certification in Professional Accompaniment . Follow Us on Socials: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter (X) | LinkedIn

  ListenShow Notes

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