Crissle’s Couch — Session 9 (Jan 6, 2026)

Overview

In this episode of Crissle’s Couch, host Crissle welcomes guest Mia Quinn Maddox, a creative with a background in fashion, music, film, and television, and host of the “New and In Between” podcast. This candid, listener-letter-focused session dives deep into family boundaries, trauma, friendship, mental health, and navigating values differences. The tone is honest, supportive, and unfiltered, blending tough love with compassion.

Guest Introduction: Mia Quinn Maddox

[00:01–02:20]

• Mia shares her multifaceted career — from styling high-profile musicians (50 Cent, Keisha Cole, etc.) to working with film industry icons (Regina King, Forest Whitaker, Spike Lee).
• Recently, after the industry strike left her unemployed for a year, Mia pivoted to relaunching her styling services (“Let me show you how to like your arms.”) and pouring energy into her podcast.
  • Quote [02:00]: “Navigating being a podcast host and creating new lanes for myself… means budgeting and being broke. That’s where I’m at right now.”

Listener Letters & Advice

Each letter is read, discussed, and followed up with real-world advice and personal anecdotes.

1. Family Burnout & Boundaries

Letter from “Georgia”
[02:31–15:57]

Summary:

Georgia is caring for her disabled brother after their mother’s death. Her sister constantly seeks financial and practical help, acting entitled and resentful despite Georgia’s own struggles.

Key Points:

• Burnout & Caregiving: Both hosts note Georgia is likely suffering burnout.
  • Crissle [05:13]: “Who is helping you take care of your disabled brother? Sounds like Georgia is probably experiencing burnout from a few different directions.”
• The Importance of Asking for Help
  • Mia [05:51]: “People also don’t know that you need help unless you ask.”
  • Crissle [06:16]: “Your sister has no problem opening her mouth and asking… closed mouths don’t get fed.”
• Setting Boundaries
  • Crissle [08:41]: “You might need to be a little bit clearer about what you can do and what you are willing to do since this isn't a relationship where you want to cut ties.”
• Reframing Choices
  • Crissle [09:33]: “Even though something may not be much of a choice, it still is a choice… It can really help you to kind of alleviate some of this stress… I’m not stuck doing this. I’m choosing to do this.”
• Entitlement and Taking Back Your “Title”
  • Mia [08:41]: “In order to be entitled, you have to give them the title. Take the title back. Learn how to say no.”
  • Crissle [14:06]: “Take your title back. People feeling entitled because you have allowed them to feel entitled.”
• Delegation & Leadership
  • Mia [13:42]: “Start delegating. Start being the boss that you are… There’s something about yourself that makes you a leader.”
• Self-Care
  • Mia [15:29]: “You can’t pour from an empty cup… You gotta tell people no so you can replenish, fill yourself back up. And then you give them from what is overflowing.”
  • Crissle [15:57]: “Who’s pouring into you, Georgia? That’s what we’re saying.”

Memorable Moment:
Crissle adopts Mia’s phrase “Take your title back” for future use [14:48]

2. Friendship & Trauma Triggers

Letter from “Capri”
[16:13–28:49]

Summary:

Capri is invited to her longtime best friend’s baby shower in a hometown that triggers anxiety due to past trauma. She wishes to support her friend but is considering canceling out of self-preservation.

Key Points:

• Acknowledging the Conflict
  • Crissle [18:30]: “You can have empathy for your friend and the struggles that she has while also being like, and at the same time, I too am on a fixed income…”
• Therapy is a Journey
  • Mia [21:52]: “Bitterness is like me drinking the poison and thinking that you’re going to die. So now when I get around you, the poison in me starts to react throughout my body.”
• Communicate Openly
  • Crissle [20:06]: “You might have to get vulnerable… Give details about what you’ve experienced growing up for her to really understand.”
• Not a Failure, But a Process
  • Crissle [23:27]: “You’re not a failure because you thought you were in this one place and then you’re now presented with this scenario… That’s not failure.”
• Protecting Your Peace
  • Crissle [24:51]: “Block is the best thing iPhone ever made… Block my mother sometimes. You better use that good old blessing of the block.”
• Alternate Ways to Show Support
  • Crissle [26:14]: “Maybe you can have a baby shower in your city… or do something special, just the two of you.”
• Prepare for All Outcomes
  • Mia [27:43]: “Have the conversation. Maybe she may not be understanding, but you have to be ready for that too.”

3. Therapy, Vulnerability & Self-Masking

Letter from “Angie. Stone Cold Steve Harvey”
[29:00–42:45]

Summary:

Angie struggles to be honest about her depression in therapy, fearing judgment. She masks her true feelings, even with therapists and friends, and asks how to become more vulnerable.

Key Points:

• Therapists Expect Imperfection
  • Crissle [31:18]: “Therapists are trained to help you with the ups and downs. You will not be disappointing your therapist by not being perfect— they are not expecting that of you.”
• Healing is Not Linear
  • Crissle [33:25]: “I have been seeing my therapist for almost nine years because healing is not linear. It takes time.”
• Redefining Friendship
  • Mia [34:59]: “If you give more branches to friend, maybe she wouldn’t feel so bad. Because if someone is telling you that you’re regressing… that’s part of friendship.”
• Honesty with Your Therapist
  • Crissle [37:05]: “If it’s that much of a struggle for you, just try spitting it out: ‘It’s hard for me to tell you how I’m really feeling because I’m scared of being judged.’”
  • Mia [37:09]: “That’s being honest. And then they could take that and help you to unpack that.”
• The Value of Switching Therapists if Needed
  • Mia [38:05]: “There’s nothing wrong with switching out your therapist… but you gotta be honest with them.”
• Grace for Yourself
  • Mia [39:49]: “When I revert back… I give myself grace. I’m able to recognize it and now when I come across that again, I can move differently.”

Memorable Quote:
Crissle [42:40]: “You said, this is a 30 plus year-old guard you’re trying to let down… That’s half the battle. Take what I said verbatim next session: ‘I haven’t been completely honest with you because I’m scared of feeling judged.’ The therapist should immediately pick up on that.”

4. Repairing Friendships After Personal Growth

Letter from “A Recovering Burden”
[42:49–51:16]

Summary:

The writer, after coming to terms with being neurodivergent and going through therapy, realizes some friendships burned out from their unintentional emotional overburdening. Should they try to repair these or accept them as past?

Key Points:

• Friendships Are Fluid
  • Mia [45:31]: “Friends are like trees: leaves, branches and roots. Leaves—you get lots, they fall off each season. Sometimes friendships are for you to leave there.”
• Offer Sincere Apologies
  • Crissle [47:56]: “If you look back at these situations and think, ‘Damn, I did you wrong…’ people deserve to be treated well, even when we’re not in the place to treat them well.”
• Template for Reaching Out
  • Crissle [49:24]:
    “‘Hey, I just wanted to reach out to talk about the way I acted… I was diagnosed with X, I have Y symptoms, I didn’t know it at the time, but I was putting my shit onto you… I’m sorry for that. I’ve been in therapy for Z, have been working hard… I’d love to get together if you’re open, but I understand if we can’t be friends anymore.’”
  • Mia [49:28]: “That’s a good one. Copy and paste that because that was so good.”
• Acceptance If There’s No Reconnection
  • Crissle [50:08]: “Make sure you’re clear when you communicate: the way I acted had nothing to do with you… If they never answer, accept that as part of your past.”

5. Conflicting Values With Friends

Letter from “Marcus”
[51:25–68:15]

Summary:

Marcus is startled by his best friend’s opinions on topics such as immigration and Meg Thee Stallion, which seem at odds with his kindness. He asks how to navigate these divergent morals and values.

Key Points:

• Emphasizing Communication and Boundaries
  • Crissle [53:52]: “You have to decide where the line is for you. Say how you feel—clearly, with your whole chest—and let him respond.”
• Levels of Friendship
  • Crissle [55:13]: “Maybe your best friend gets downgraded from best friend to associate… from root friend to leaf friend.”
  • Mia [56:15]: “What stood out is that you said your friend is kind… if your friend is kind and he has opinions—people have opinions based on the information they gathered.”
• Choosing Which Battles To Fight
  • Mia [58:08]: “I’m not wasting my time with that… I’m not gonna sit here and debate with you about migrants, because I don’t know what that is.”
  • On Diddy doc: “Not my business… When my friends come to me about it, I make it very clear: I don’t talk about that.”
• Fundamental Differences Can Be Dealbreakers
  • Crissle [61:17]: “If we disagree fundamentally on something that means that much to me… you can’t be my best friend.”
  • Mia [63:50]: “Self-empathy… what’s happening to migrants, ICE is tearing the home apart. That’s happened in the Black community since slavery.”
• Everyone Sets Their Own Boundaries
  • Crissle [66:58]: “What is a hard line for me is not a hard line for Mia, and vice versa. Everybody’s an individual. So, Marcus, you can decide what matters the most to you and go off of that.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mia [08:41]: “In order to be entitled, you have to give them the title. Take the title back.”
• Crissle [09:33]: “This is something I learned in therapy: I’m not stuck doing this. I’m choosing to do this.”
• Mia [21:52]: “Bitterness is like me drinking the poison and thinking that you’re gonna die.”
• Crissle [24:51]: “Block is the best thing iPhone ever made… Block my mother sometimes.”
• Crissle [49:24]: “I was diagnosed with X, I have Y symptoms, I didn’t know… but I was putting my shit onto you. I was treating you unfairly…”
• Mia [55:56]: “Maybe your best friend gets downgraded from best friend to associate. Maybe he gets downgraded from root friend to leaf friend.”

Timestamps by Segment

• Guest Introduction: [00:01–02:20]
• Letter 1 – Georgia / Family Boundaries: [02:31–15:57]
• Letter 2 – Capri / Trauma Triggers & Support: [16:13–28:49]
• Letter 3 – Angie / Honesty in Therapy: [29:00–42:45]
• Letter 4 – A Recovering Burden / Friendship Repair: [42:49–51:16]
• Letter 5 – Marcus / Conflicting Values: [51:25–68:15]
• Wrap-up and Plugs: [68:34–end]

Closing

This session offers both actionable advice and validation on setting boundaries, seeking support, communicating vulnerabilities, and accepting life’s relational ebbs and flows. It embodies the show’s ethos of sharp truth, lived wisdom, and tender accountability—reminding listeners to “take your title back,” protect their peace, and be honest with themselves and others.