Loving Differently Podcast
Episode Guide
We started this podcast to offer another way for people to learn about IRT and SASB, in a more informal manner. Here is an episode by episode guide, where you can read more about each episode in depth and search by keyword.
Looking for something particular in the podcast? Search below:
Please note: Transcripts and summaries are AI generated.
Episode 007 - What is the “R” in IRT? Reconstruction, Red & Green, and the Gift of Love
In this episode, Dr. Ken Critchfield and Dr. Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky explore what “reconstruction” truly means in Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT). They discuss how early relational experiences shape enduring patterns, why Red patterns persist through the Gift of Love, and how clients transition toward a more authentic Green self. Through clinical examples and reflections on identity, courage, and attachment, they show how personality change becomes possible through awareness, motivation, and repeated practice. This episode is ideal for clinicians seeking deeper insight into IRT’s unique approach to personality, trauma, and transformation.
Episode 006 - How Change Happens in IRT: The Gift of Love
This episode explores newly published research on Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT), examining how the Gift of Love functions as a measurable mechanism of change in high-acuity clinical cases. Dr. Ken Critchfield and Dr. Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky discuss therapist adherence, interpersonal patterns, developmental trauma, and why clients with longstanding personality disorder symptoms can improve when treatment aligns with their underlying attachment-based motivations. This conversation offers clinicians a grounded, relational understanding of symptom meaning, case formulation, and stages of change within the IRT model.
Episode 005 - What is a Personality Disorder, Anyway?
In this episode, we take a deeper look at personality disorders by comparing the DSM-5-TR framework with the interpersonal perspective of Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT). Rather than viewing PDs as fixed or stigmatizing labels, we explore how IRT conceptualizes them as learned relational patterns shaped by developmental environments, attachment histories, and trauma.
We discuss how clinicians can use their own emotional responses in the therapy room as meaningful data, the importance of understanding a client’s relationship with both others and themselves, and why compassionately mapping learning histories leads to more effective treatment. We also touch on Lorna Benjamin’s “song” metaphor, the role of red and green systems, and what it means to help clients reclaim or reconstruct a more authentic sense of self.
This episode aims to support clinicians in approaching personality-related work with clarity, curiosity, and respect for the complexity of human development.
Episode 004 - Introduction to SASB, part 2 - Touring the SASB model
Building on the previous episode, Ken and Eliza dive deeper into how SASB is applied in therapy. They explore the “copy process,” complementarity, and the use of alternative responses to help shift rigid, repetitive patterns toward flexibility and health. Through examples and reflection, they show how SASB helps reveal the logic of clients’ loyalties and self-treatment, bringing IRT’s core theme—learning to love differently—into concrete, behavioral focus.
Episode 003 - Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB), part 1
In this episode, Dr. Ken Critchfield and Dr. Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky introduce the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB), the core model that maps how people relate to others and to themselves. They explain SASB’s three dimensions—Focus, Affiliation, and Interdependence—and show how it provides a clear framework for understanding complex interpersonal patterns. This foundational discussion sets the stage for how SASB connects to Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT) and the “red” and “green” ways of loving differently.
Episode 002 - What is Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT), anyway?
In this episode of Loving Differently, Dr. Ken Critchfield and Dr. Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky introduce the core ideas of Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT). They explore how maladaptive patterns arise from early attachments, explain the “red” and “green” selves as guides for understanding behavior, and discuss the “gift of love”—how even painful patterns are rooted in loyalty and love. The episode lays the foundation for learning how to “love differently” through awareness, compassion, and healthy change.
Episode 001 - Introduction to the Loving Differently Podcast
In this premiere episode of Loving Differently, clinical psychologists Dr. Ken Critchfield and Dr. Eliza Stucker-Rozovsky introduce listeners to the spirit of Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT)—a way of understanding how our earliest relationships shape the patterns of love we repeat throughout life. Through stories of mentorship under IRT founder Lorna Smith Benjamin and their own paths into the field, Ken and Eliza explore what it means to “love differently”: to move beyond blame, understand the meaning behind behavior, and transform even painful attachment patterns into growth and connection.