The Rising Beyond Podcast
If you're trying to protect your children while navigating an abusive ex, this podcast is for you. Because leaving the relationship didn't end the abuse, and no one prepared you for what came next.
The Rising Beyond Podcast is for protective mothers navigating the overwhelming reality of sharing children with someone who continues patterns of manipulation, coercive control, or emotional abuse after separation. Join Sybil Cummin, licensed professional counselor, who has spent the last decade helping survivors and their children navigate this incredibly difficult chapter. Every week, we share trauma-informed education, nervous system insights, protective parenting strategies, and honest conversations about family court, post-separation abuse, and healing, so you can feel more confident, more grounded, and better equipped to protect both your children and yourself.
Whether you're in the middle of family court, struggling with parenting alongside someone who continues patterns of control, or simply trying to become the parent you want to be after everything you've survived, you'll find validation, practical guidance, and hope here.
The Rising Beyond Podcast
Ep 171: How We Break Generational Cycles of Abuse — Together with Michael Brasher
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What happens when you bring a passionate male advocate for survivors of domestic violence into a space that’s usually led by women? That’s what we're doing in this episode!
I talk with Michael, a rare but powerful male voice in this movement, to talk about the complexities of abuse, how children really experience it, and what it looks like for men to step into prevention and healing work.
Together, we cover:
- An unexpected start: How a “mess around job” at a domestic violence shelter shifted Michael’s path and purpose.
- Kids always know: Why children absorb far more than we think when abuse is happening at home.
- The gender gap: What keeps men out of advocacy spaces—and what could change that.
- Breaking cycles: Michael’s stories from working with boys and men, and how change actually happens.
- Parenting through it: How survivors can support their children in building healthy relationships and identities.
- The role of women: What’s yours to carry, and what isn’t, when it comes to men’s healing.
This conversation is honest, challenging, and full of hope. If you’ve ever wondered how to raise compassionate boys, how to include men in real culture change, or how to support your kids after abuse, this is one you won’t want to miss.
Michael Brasher, PhD, PCIC is a men's coach, researcher, and author working at the intersection of public health, gender, and racial justice. He helps men and boys unlearn toxic conditioning to build safe, equitable relationships with women, and engages them as allies in ending gender-based violence. His work focuses on the socialization of masculinity as a public health issue, with a research emphasis on domestic violence and anti-Blackness.
Connect with Michael:
- Is Your Partner a Robot? Take the free quiz: https://michael-odkf51tb.scoreapp.com/
- Free Healthy Masculinity Men’s Monthly Talking Circle: https://michael-uwrnhoyd.scoreapp.com
- Social Media: @lifeunboundcoaching
- Book some time with Me: https://dot.cards/michaelbrasher
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If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/
Wondering where to start? Check out our top free resources - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/resources.html
If you're interested in guesting on the show, please fill out this form - https://forms.gle/CSvLWWyZxmJ8GGQu7
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