From Crisis to Connection: Attachment as a Lifeline with Dr. Lisa Firestone (292)
Therapist Uncensored Podcast
Sue Marriott LCSW, CGP & Ann Kelley PhD
4.7 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2026
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions around suicide.
Triggers Aren’t the Problem—They’re the Clue
Co-host Sue Marriott and guest Lisa Firestone examine how attachment wounds, emotional dysregulation, and relational disconnection can quietly escalate into crisis. Together they explore the often-overlooked link between attachment patterns and suicidality, and why understanding your relational blueprint may be one of the most important protective factors you have. Blending research, clinical experience, and practical strategies, this episode offers tools for building emotional resilience, increasing self-awareness, and supporting others through vulnerable moments.
“It is a full-time job to cope with alien elements from both interpersonal sources and societal influences.” – Dr. Lisa Firestone
Myths of Attachment Styles: What Real Science Tells Us
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Time Stamps for From Crisis to Connection: Attachment as a Lifeline with Dr. Lisa Firestone (292)
05:23 Understanding suicide and self-regulation
11:09 Therapeutic approaches to suicidality
16:17 Navigating attachment styles
27:11 Understanding attachment and security
29:53 Interactive exercise on attachment
40:22 Recognizing triggers in relationships
About our Guest – Dr. Lisa Firestone
Lisa Firestone, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist and the Director of Research and Education at the Glendon Association and Senior Editor at PsychAlive.org. She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters and coauthor of the books Self Under Siege, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, and Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion. Dr. Firestone is a national and international trainer and presenter on topics including couple relationships, attachment, suicide and violence prevention assessment and treatment Lisa has been involved in clinical training and research in the areas of suicide and violence which resulted in the development of the assessments Firestone Assessment of Self-destructive Thoughts (FAST) and (FASI) and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts (FAVT) for adults and adolescents. Lisa Firestone is a clinical psychologist in private practice and consultant on the management of high-risk clients.
Resources for From Crisis to Connection: Attachment as a Lifeline with Dr. Lisa Firestone (292)
Making Sense of Your Life – eCourse with Dr. Dan Siegel and Dr. Lisa Firestone (4 CEs)
Challenging the Fantasy Bond – book by Dr. Robert Firestone
Developing Secure Attachment – Two-Part Online Course (2 CEs)
Beyond Attachment Styles course is available NOW!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Well, we have a main attachment stance in life, we can get triggered into other states by things |
| 0:09.5 | happening in our relationship. So I think about a couple I knew where both of them were definitely |
| 0:15.2 | avoidant, and they just sort of lived this kind of parallel life thing, but it was working for |
| 0:20.2 | them until one of them got anxious because they felt threatened by something that was happening |
| 0:25.3 | in their partner's life. |
| 0:26.8 | And then they looked very anxious. |
| 0:28.5 | The other partner got more avoided. |
| 0:31.3 | And it wasn't until they both did their, you know, did some therapy that they started |
| 0:36.2 | to both shift. And at one point, the avoidant |
| 0:39.3 | partners said to his wife, something like, you know, you're 99% of what I want in a partner. |
| 0:45.6 | And she was like, I didn't even think you liked me anymore at all. You know, and as they both |
| 0:50.9 | shifted, I would say they have a much more secure relationship now. |
| 0:55.6 | So that's part of why it's worth figuring these things out because we have a certain |
| 0:59.9 | attachment style that we developed, which was an adaptation that made sense to whatever the |
| 1:04.8 | social environment we were born into, which we didn't choose, you know, was. |
| 1:09.6 | And that we carry it out in the world, but it doesn't |
| 1:12.4 | work so well with our adult relationships. Tends to drive people we really want in our life away. |
| 1:19.4 | And, you know, if we can start to identify it, we can also start to shift it. |
| 1:25.4 | Welcome to Therapist Uncensored. |
| 1:36.0 | Building on decades of professional experience, this podcast tackles neurobiology, modern attachment, and more, in an honest way that's helpful in healing humans. |
| 1:49.4 | Your session begins now with Dr. Anne Kelly and Sue Marriott. Hey, everybody. |
| 1:56.4 | For those of you that want to learn the real science of attachment, not the, you know, |
... |
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