What if the thing you’re trying to change isn’t the whole picture?

In this episode of The Carp, Allyson explores the backdrop of our lives—the assumptions, expectations, emotional environments, and familiar patterns that can become so much a part of everyday life that we stop noticing them.

Drawing on the artistic concept of negative space and the brain’s reliance on familiarity and prediction, she considers how our personal backdrop may quietly influence the way we see ourselves, our relationships, our challenges, and even what we believe is possible.

Maybe lasting change isn’t always about looking harder at the problem in front of us. Sometimes it begins by noticing what has been there all along.

What has become so familiar that you’ve stopped seeing it?

And if your life had a backdrop—or even theme music—what would it be, and would its influence on your life be?

Why do we think the way we think, make the choices we make, and become who we are? What helps us become more fully ourselves, build interpersonal strength, create, adapt, and find meaning in our lives—and why, at other times, do we repeat patterns we struggle to understand?

Hosted by Allyson Maida, Ed.D., LCSW —psychotherapist, business consultant, professor, and author who integrates insights from applied neuroscience into her work—The Carp takes the science of being human and makes it practical.

Drawing from neuroscience, psychology, behavioral science, and a career devoted to helping people navigate change in their personal and professional lives, Allyson explores the thoughts, emotions, habits, relationships, and experiences that shape who we are.

Complex ideas don't have to be complicated. Through approachable conversations, relatable stories, evidence-based insights, and occasional laughter, The Carp helps you understand yourself and the people around you.

Welcome to The Carp.