The WHOLEistic Psychology Podcast

Welcome back to The WHOLEistic Psychology Podcast 🤍
Today I'm joined by the wonderful Rosa Power,  the other half of Two Raw Sisters, the New Zealand food and wellbeing brand she co-founded with her sister Margo. Together they've built five bestselling cookbooks, a podcast, cooking workshops around the country, and an app with hundreds of recipes that takes the overwhelm out of whole-food cooking and makes it feel genuinely accessible.
Rosa was an elite athlete for eight years, specialising in the 3000m steeplechase, before her body (and her mental health) started to be challenged under the weight of overtraining and under-fuelling. By 18, she had the bone density of a 70-year-old, didn't get her period until she was twenty-one, and was navigating a diagnosis of RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sport) and an eating disorder, all while still in the thick of competing on the world stage.
This episode is honest, hopeful, and deeply human. Rosa speaks with so much warmth and clarity about her challenges with food, her body and over-training, and her courageous recovery. I know her reflections will resonate well beyond the world of athletics, with all of us able to identify with parts of her inspiring journey.
In this episode, we explore:
✨ How Rosa’s love of running transitioned from a hobby into an obsession
✨ Her RED-S diagnosis, what this meant for her body, and how she began her recovery journey 
✨ The body comparison that's almost unavoidable in elite athletics and the “not good enough” thoughts she navigated
✨ The rock-bottom moment that led to Rosa’s healing journey
✨ Grieving the Olympics that didn't happen, reclaiming an identity outside of "the athlete," and how Two Raw Sisters became the next chapter
✨ How pregnancy, postpartum, and motherhood gave Rosa a whole new appreciation for her body
✨ The mindset shifts around food and movement she lives by now
To see more of the wonderful Rosa Power and everything Two Raw Sisters has to offer, explore their app, cookbooks, and podcast at tworawsisters.com and follow along on Instagram @tworawsisters.
Mentioned in this episode:
Two Raw Sisters app — over 850 recipes, search by ingredients, filter for dietary needs, take the decision fatigue out of cooking
The WHOLEistic Psychology Podcast episode with Margo Flanagan — Rosa's sister Margo on chronic illness, identity, and food as part of her healing (the companion episode to this one)
RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) — an under-recognised but very common condition in female athletes, affecting hormones, bone density, and overall energy availability
The role of a multidisciplinary recovery team — endocrinologist, nutritionist, psychologist, physio, and family — in supporting recovery from RED-S and disordered eating
Want even more WHOLEistic Psychology? Here's where to find more support and resources:
Website & Client Enquiries Learn more about WHOLEistic Psychology and my fantastic team HERE.
Join the Newsletter My monthly(ish!) newsletter curated for you to show you all about mind-body wellness, through psychological tools, recipes, research and more! JOIN HERE
Blog Take a read of my thoughts and learnings I want to share with you. READ HERE.

Welcome back to The WHOLEistic Psychology Podcast 🤍
Today's conversation is one I have been so excited to share with you - and it genuinely did not disappoint. I'm joined by the incredible Margo Flanagan, co-founder of Two Raw Sisters, the New Zealand food and wellbeing brand she built alongside her sister Rosa. Together they've created five bestselling cookbooks, a podcast, cooking workshops around the country, and an app with over 850 recipes designed to make whole-food cooking feel genuinely accessible.
But before all of that, there was a deeply personal health journey. Margo was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome at sixteen, navigated two years largely bedridden, and later faced an endometriosis diagnosis too. Through both of those experiences, food became one of her most powerful tools, which is a big part of the conception of the Two Raw Sisters brand! 
This episode is warm, honest, and deeply human. We go well beyond the brand, and I truly think a lot of Margo’s reflections are going to resonate with you.
In this episode, we explore:
✨ Margo's chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis at sixteen: what her body was telling her, and the seven months of being dismissed before anyone listened
✨ The identity crisis that comes with chronic illness, and how comparison with a high-achieving sibling added another layer 
✨ How chronic illness reshapes your friendships when you're young, and the loneliness that comes alongside it
✨ Margo's endometriosis journey - her path to diagnosis, the guilt she carries for having a smoother ride than many women, and why endo stage does not equal pain level
✨ How food became medicine, and why it's so often the last thing we reach for when it should be the first
✨ The Two Raw Sisters app — how it works, what makes it different, and why I genuinely recommend it to my own clients
✨ The mindset tools Margo uses to manage self-doubt, protect her energy, and turn challenges into something she can grow from
✨ The honest reality of building a business while navigating your own health, and what social media doesn't show you about someone else's success
To see more of the incredible Margo Flanagan and everything Two Raw Sisters has to offer, explore their app, cookbooks, and podcast at tworawsisters.com and follow along on Instagram @tworawsisters.
Mentioned in this episode:
Two Raw Sisters app — search by ingredients, filter for dietary needs, reduce decision fatigue at 5pm
Two Raw Sisters podcast episode with Lara Briden — how to talk to your GP about endometriosis
Lara Briden — author and naturopathic doctor specialising in women's hormonal health
Dr Olivia Smart — Margo's gynaecologist recommendation for those navigating endo in NZ
Want even more WHOLEistic Psychology? Here’s where to find more support and resources:
Website & Client Enquiries
Learn more about WHOLEistic Psychology and my fantastic team HERE.
Join the Newsletter
My monthly(ish!) newsletter curated for you to show you all about mind-body wellness, through psychological tools, recipes, research and more! JOIN HERE
Blog
Take a read of my thoughts and learnings I want to share with you. READ HERE.

Welcome back to The WHOLEistic Psychology Podcast 🤍
Today's episode is a little different for me (and definitely my most candid). It's a solo one, recorded from a place I truly never imagined I'd be speaking from. Very recently, I lost somebody very close to me, unexpectedly and far, far too soon. And in the weeks since, I have been so deeply held by the most incredible, intentional people in my life who have shown up for me in the most beautiful ways, who have inspired today’s podcast.
It has made me realise, both as a senior psychologist and as someone who is currently bereaved myself, how much we as a society really struggle with grief — and how many well-intentioned, beautiful people feel so unequipped to support someone they love through a loss.
So this episode is a practical toolkit for the supporters of those who are grieving. If somebody in your life has lost a parent, partner, sibling, child, or friend, and you want to know how to show up for them in the best way, this one is absolutely for you.
I explore:
Why we as a society struggle so much with grief, and what's really happening underneath all our well-intentioned avoidance
Why supporting the bereaved is, at its heart, a practice in staying (and not in fixing)
My six practical tools: saying their name, jumping in with your clothes on, helping carry the mundane, supporting the continuing bond, showing up long after everyone else stops, and holding space for whatever needs to be spoken
A few things I gently encourage you to be mindful of (including religious assumptions, big life changes, and changing the subject when their person comes up)
What the bereaved themselves want you to know, in their own words - verbatim from my beautiful Instagram community
✨ A gentle note from me: this episode discusses sudden bereavement. Please take care of yourself as you listen, and come back to it whenever you feel ready.
Books I reference throughout (all in the links below):
Resilient Grieving by Dr Lucy Hone
The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller
Bearing the Unbearable by Joanne Cacciatore
With so much gratitude to the Instagram community members who so generously shared their words and lived experience. 
This one is dedicated to the beautiful humans in my own life who have shown up for me. If you are walking alongside someone who is grieving right now, thank you. It is one of the most sacred kinds of love there is. And if you are the one inside the grief yourself - I am walking alongside you. 
Want even more WHOLEistic Psychology? Here's where to find more support and resources:
Website & Client Enquiries Learn more about WHOLEistic Psychology and my fantastic team HERE.
Join the Newsletter My monthly(ish!) newsletter curated for you to show you all about mind-body wellness, through psychological tools, recipes, research and more! JOIN HERE
Blog Take a read of my thoughts and learnings I want to share with you. READ HERE.

Welcome back to The WHOLEistic Psychology Podcast 🤍
Today’s conversation is one that feels both deeply important and incredibly needed, and I feel so excited about sharing with you! 
I’m joined by the incredible Dr Miguel Toribio-Mateas — a clinical neuroscientist, nutrition and mental health researcher, and author of ADHD Body and Mind — whose work brings together neuroscience, nutrition, and lived experience in a way that is both deeply compassionate and profoundly insightful .
Together, we explore what ADHD actually looks like beyond the diagnostic criteria… not just as a condition of attention, but as a whole-body experience that shapes how we think, feel, eat, and move through the world.
We talk about the gut-brain connection, emotional regulation, disordered eating, and Dr Miguel’s PHOCUS framework - a beautifully holistic approach to supporting ADHD through food, flexibility and self-kindness.
In this episode, we explore:
✨ Dr Miguel’s personal journey with ADHD and autism, and how his late diagnosis reshaped his understanding of himself and his work
 ✨ What ADHD actually feels like day-to-day (from hyperfocus and creativity to overwhelm, paralysis, and emotional intensity)
✨ Why ADHD is not just a “brain disorder”, but a whole-body experience involving the nervous system, gut, and inflammation
✨ The often-overlooked emotional landscape of ADHD, including overwhelm, dysregulation, and rejection sensitivity
✨ Why food matters for ADHD
✨ The gut-brain connection and how microbiome health may influence mood, focus, and overall wellbeing
✨ Dr Miguel’s PHOCUS framework: a flexible, ADHD-friendly approach to nourishment that moves away from rigid rules
✨ The role of protein in supporting dopamine, energy, and emotional regulation throughout the day
✨ How healthy fats, herbs, and hydration support brain function, inflammation, and overall health
✨ Why carbohydrates are not the enemy, and how they support gut health and steady energy
✨ The importance of colourful, diverse plant foods for the microbiome and whole-body health
✨ The role of unprocessed, unique, and umami foods in creating satisfaction, pleasure, and sensory engagement with food
✨ Why self-kindness is the foundation of any sustainable approach to health, especially for ADHD
✨ The connection between ADHD and disordered eating, and how food can become both a source of comfort and control
✨ Why perfectionism and rigid food rules can be more harmful than helpful
✨ The importance of a truly holistic approach: food, movement, connection, environment, and psychology all working together
To see more of the incredible Dr Miguel Toribio-Mateas and his work, you can explore his book ADHD Body and Mind and his ongoing research in the field of nutrition and mental health, as well as by following him on Instagram @drmiguelmateas .
Want even more WHOLEistic Psychology? Here’s where to find more support and resources:
Website & Client Enquiries
Learn more about WHOLEistic Psychology and my fantastic team HERE.
Join the Newsletter
My monthly(ish!) newsletter curated for you to show you all about mind-body wellness, through psychological tools, recipes, research and more! JOIN HERE
Blog
Take a read of my thoughts and learnings I want to share with you. READ HERE.

Welcome back to The WHOLEistic Psychology Podcast 🤍
Today’s conversation is one I feel so deeply passionate about, because it speaks to something I see every single day in my clinical work… women feeling confused, overwhelmed, and often disconnected from what is actually happening in their bodies.
I’m joined by the incredible Francesca Lyon, a degree-qualified and registered naturopath and Medical Herbalist specialising in women’s health, hormones, and fertility, and together we explore what it really means to understand your mental health through a hormonal and whole-body lens.
This is a conversation about burnout, about the pressure to “push through,” about the invisible role hormones play in how we feel, and most importantly, how we can begin to support ourselves in a way that is evidenced based, compassionate and practical. 
In this episode, we explore:
✨ Francesca’s journey from burnout in the corporate world to discovering the power of holistic, whole-body healing
 ✨ What hormones actually are
 ✨ The reality of modern life: overworking, under-eating, over-exercising, and how this creates a hormonal “perfect storm”
 ✨ The cortisol curve: from “wired and thriving” stress… to depleted, burnt-out, low cortisol states that can feel like depression
 ✨ Why chronic stress doesn’t always look like high cortisol
 ✨ The complex relationship between hormones and mental health and why testing (not guessing) matters
 ✨ Blood sugar as a foundational pillar of both hormone health and emotional stability, and how stress can destabilise it
✨ The bidirectional relationship between food, stress, and self-talk and how guilt and anxiety around food can impact your physiology
✨ Why “perfect eating” isn’t always the answer
✨ The role of progesterone as a deeply calming, protective hormone for mental health
✨ The nuanced (and often misunderstood) relationship between hormones and conditions like PMS and PMDD
✨ How hormonal shifts across the menstrual cycle can influence mood, focus, anxiety, and energy
✨ The importance of sleep for hormone regulation and overall wellbeing
✨ The power of a truly holistic approach: nutrition, lifestyle, psychology, and medical insight working together, not in isolation
To see more of the fabulous Francesca Lyon, follow her on Instagram @your_hormone_naturopath - there she shares so many wise, insightful posts! 
Want even more WHOLEistic Psychology? Here’s where to find more support and resources:
Website & Client Enquiries
Learn more about WHOLEistic Psychology and my fantastic team HERE.
Join the Newsletter
My monthly(ish!) newsletter curated for you to show you all about mind-body wellness, through psychological tools, recipes, research and more! JOIN HERE
Blog
Take a read of my thoughts and learnings I want to share with you. READ HERE.