The Soulful Catalyst Podcast
Suzanne Scott: What Happens When You Stop Parenting from Fear
Published: 11 May 2026 at 06:44 Europe/London
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Episode notes
What if the behaviour you're trying to fix isn't actually the problem?
In this episode of The Soulful Catalyst, I'm joined by Suzanne Scott, Author and CEO of Trauma Informed Parenting, a fully-funded SCVO charity supporting parents and caregivers of children with trauma or neurodivergence. Suzanne is the author of Trauma-Informed Parenting in Action and a champion for breaking generational cycles of stress and fear in families across the UK and beyond.
Suzanne came to this work not as a researcher or clinician, but as a mum and foster carer in Glasgow who stumbled across a model that quite literally changed her household.
The model she learned asked her to step away from fear and control, the things society has passed down through generations, and move towards calm, connection, compassion, and curiosity.
Her first reaction...there is no way that is going to work.
But it did. Almost immediately, her foster child's meltdowns reduced. And then something she hadn't expected: her own daughter changed too.
Because when Suzanne changed, everything shifted. As she puts it, her children were feeding off her energy. She was living in overwhelming stress and fear, and so were they.
Now seven years on, Suzanne delivers workshops online and in person to families all over the world, sharing lived experience alongside the neuroscience of why this approach works, and why everything we instinctively do in a moment of conflict is actually making things worse.
In this episode, we explore:
➤ Why the behaviour is never actually the problem, and what's really happening in a child's brain during a meltdown that makes discipline in that moment completely pointless
➤ The pause that changes everything, how learning to breathe, regulate yourself, and simply not add more stress is a more powerful parenting tool than any consequence
➤ The rupture and repair cycle, why getting it wrong and coming back is not just okay, it's where the most profound bonding and learning actually happens
➤ The generational snowball, how unresolved trauma from wars, lockdown, and our own childhoods is showing up in today's kids, and what we can start doing about it right now
This episode is for any parent, carer, or practitioner who's exhausted from trying to manage the behaviour, and ready to understand what's underneath it 😊.
Connect with Suzanne Scott
Website: traumainformedparenting.uk
Facebook: Trauma Informed Parenting
Connect with Joanna Ingram
Website: joannaingram.com
Instagram: @iamjo.ingram
LinkedIn: Joanna Ingram
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Want to be a guest on The Soulful Catalyst?
If you're a coach, healer, or spiritual expert doing powerful work that transforms lives, and you'd love to share your story and methods with a global audience, I'd love to hear from you.
👉 Apply here: go.joannaingram.com/soulfulcatalyst
