The Breakfast Club: Family Therapy – "The Gathering: A New Family"
Podcast: Family Therapy (The Breakfast Club / iHeartPodcasts)
Host: Elliot Connie
Date: December 7, 2025
Featured Family: Chris, Gladys, Jasmine, and Elijah
Episode Overview
Family Therapy returns with Season 2, introducing a new family facing the challenge of connection without a central anchor. Host Elliot Connie guides the family—a group of siblings and a nephew—through opening conversations about their disjointed pasts, the process of reconnection, and their aspirations for healing, clarity, and healthy routines. This episode serves as a foundational "gathering," allowing family members to introduce themselves, reveal formative stories, and set collective hopes for the therapy process.
Main Themes
- Family without an Anchor: Exploring the effects of growing up without a unifying matriarch or patriarch, and the struggles of forming family routines and traditions.
- Reconnection and Healing: Addressing long-lost siblings, the impact of trauma, and the ongoing journey to genuine family connection.
- Authenticity and Autonomy: Focusing on individual journeys—finding authenticity, building confidence, learning patience, and seeking clarity.
- The Challenge of Vulnerability: Confronting the discomfort of reaching out, risking rejection, and embracing the "uncomfortable work" of reconnection.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Introduction to the Family (03:08–05:24)
- Elliot sets the scene: The family lacks a central anchor due to early disconnection, particularly stemming from the father's absence.
- Family members introduce themselves:
- Jasmine: Youngest on her dad's side, grateful for getting siblings and nephew together.
- Gladys: Second eldest daughter, excited and grateful for the chance to connect.
- Chris: Eldest son—adopted and raised separately, only reunited with his siblings 20 years ago.
- Chris shares the family may have a "mystery sibling."
- Elijah: Gladys’ 22-year-old son, only child, expressing skepticism and value in anonymity.
2. Host’s Initial Assessments (05:09–09:21)
- Elliot provides insight on each member:
- Elijah: Struggles to be his authentic self, difficulty expressing negative emotions or needs.
- Gladys: Passionate, sometimes abrasive in her love and desire to control.
- Chris: Natural leader learning how to be a positive family anchor.
- Jasmine: Working on self-confidence and realizing her own power and truth.
“I think the biggest challenge is... how easy it is to not build family-sustaining routines. It’s just so easy to live in our own bubble.”
—Elliot (09:21)
3. The Pain and Hope of Reconnection (09:21–11:26)
- Elliot underscores the importance and difficulty of family reconnection, urging stepping out of comfort zones.
- Reaching out exposes vulnerability—risking rejection is part of the process.
"You reach out to that cousin or uncle...and they don't return your phone call...because we're not super bonded. And you get your feelings hurt.”
—Elliot (10:43)
4. Individual Stories & Family Dynamics
Chris’s Journey: Adoption, Trauma, Reunion (11:39–16:08)
- Chris describes discovering and integrating with his biological family:
- Raised apart after his mother’s death in a tragic fight (detailed at 16:08).
- Adoption led to a sense of incompleteness—reunion with siblings filled "the last puzzle."
- The reunion became newsworthy due to the tragic context of his early years.
“With finding my family was the last piece of my life of...not being complete, like the last puzzle.”
—Chris (15:47)
Jasmine’s Perspective: Sibling Connection & Trauma (18:50–20:52)
- Skeptical at first but wanted to "pour into" her dad’s side, especially as she heals from trauma with maternal siblings.
- Family feels tight-knit when together, despite not having grown up as a unit.
Gladys’ Clarity: On Blending, Acceptance, and Mystery (20:55–22:42)
- Six known siblings; possible seventh ("mystery sister").
- Siblings' mothers supported sibling relationships; family culture is inclusion, not division by maternal line.
“It’s weird saying my siblings from my mom...because when we’re all together, no one separates that. ...We all claim each other’s siblings.”
—Gladys (22:19)
Elijah’s Experience: Uncertainty, Caution, Individualism (23:04–26:24)
- Recounts "uncertainty" from a childhood marked by moving between parents and states.
- Developed skepticism and adaptability—cautious in relationships, used to separation.
“I’ve always been a loner by nature, but then also I've grown up to be somewhat cynical...separation was the name of the game."
—Elijah (24:28)
5. The Promise of Therapy and Family Clarity
- Elliot and Gladys both highlight the importance of therapy for healing and clarity.
“I’ve always wanted us to have therapy. ...You know, war and peace happen at home and we bring it into the world.”
—Gladys (31:00)
- Jasmine expresses a special bond with Elijah, hoping for his voice to be heard in the process.
6. Looking Forward: The Healing Journey (35:10–36:14)
- Elliot recaps the session as just the beginning:
- Future episodes will focus on legacy, trauma, survival, healing between mother and son, and envisioning the family's ideal future.
- Emphasis will shift from retelling the past toward creating new, positive family narratives.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On familial routine and anchorlessness:
“A really, really healthy family will have...a matriarch or a patriarch that brings a family together...this family never really learned how.”
—Elliot (03:21) -
On vulnerability in reconnection:
“You have to expose yourself to hurts...to being rejected. ...Most people, that's not a fun experience.”
—Elliot (10:43) -
On therapy’s value:
“It's okay not to be okay sometimes and be able to build strength and love within each other.”
—Chris (11:39) -
On generational impact:
“The stuff you guys are doing are going to impact Elijah's unborn children, because it'll kind of take the family and make it make sense.”
—Elliot (33:57)
Important Segment Timestamps
- Intro and overview: 03:08–04:47
- Family introductions: 05:09–06:52
- Host’s assessment of family members: 07:05–09:21
- Chris’s adoption/reunion story: 13:16–18:18
- Jasmine’s sharing and trauma: 18:50–20:52
- Gladys on family blending and claim: 20:55–22:42
- Elijah’s point of view: 23:04–26:24
- Gladys on therapy for her and Elijah: 30:53–31:47
- Host’s summation and future focus: 35:10–36:14
Episode Tone
The episode is candid, empathetic, and hopeful—balancing raw personal pain with a sense of optimism and forward momentum. Elliot is attentive and affirming in his role, helping each family member feel heard and laying the groundwork for deeper therapeutic work in episodes ahead.
Summary
Episode 1 of Season 2 is an authentic, sometimes raw, but ultimately optimistic portrayal of a family beginning the journey from fragmentation to connection. The family’s story is marked by loss, adoption, reunion, and the persistent effort to claim one another as true kin despite years and geography apart. As Elliot guides them, listeners are left with a real sense that healing is possible—not just for them, but for anyone willing to do the work of intentional, vulnerable reconnection.