Category: Relationships, Psychology

Hidden Red Flags You’re Dating a Narcissist

While anyone can spot the loud, attention-seeking narcissist, it’s the charming “nice guy” covert narcissists who cause the most damage—and Dr. Valerie Sussman should know. After 20 years trapped in a narcissistic marriage, this retired pediatrician traded her stethoscope for a paintbrush at 50 and became a certified Narcissistic Abuse Specialist dedicated to helping others recognize these wolves in sheep’s clothing.

In interviews, Sussman will reveal the “6 E’s” that determine if your partner is a narcissist and explain why victims stay “hooked on hopium”—the dangerous hope that keeps them trapped. Drawing from her book Love, Lies, and Narcissists in Disguise: The A-Z Guide for Survivors of Narcissistic Abuse, she’ll share how to spot the charm-to-harm cycle before it’s too late. Listeners will learn the red flags they’re missing, why asking “Am I the narcissist?” means you’re not, and how creativity can heal emotional wounds.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS: 

  • What’s the difference between overt and covert narcissists—and why are covert ones more dangerous? 
  • You call it “hopium”—why is hope so toxic in these relationships? 
  • What are the “6 E’s” and how do they reveal a narcissist?

CONTACT: Valerie Sussman at (805) 407-5635; Vsussman@rtirguests.com

Why Emotional Baggage Doesn’t Start in This Lifetime

Why do some people carry deep anxiety, relationship struggles, or fears they can’t explain despite years of self-work? According to Alla Kaluzhny, these emotional patterns may not begin in this lifetime at all.

Alla is a licensed marriage and family therapist, spiritual psychologist, and clairvoyant who helps people uncover unresolved experiences that could stem from the soul’s past. Drawing from vivid memories of her own past lives and the award-winning stories in her books Turning the Pages and Turning New Pages, Alla offers insight into how inherited spiritual clutter can quietly shape our lives.

Your audience will learn:

  • Why traditional talk therapy isn’t always enough
  • How past-life patterns might be the missing piece in their healing journey

Whether people believe in reincarnation or not, Alla’s intuitive approach invites deep self-reflection, healing, and possibility.

CONTACT: Alla Kaluzhny at (213) 459-3509; akaluzhny@rtirguests.com

Stuck in a Funk? Small Mindset Shifts That Lead to Fewer Days That Suck

Most people assume feeling stuck means something is wrong with their life. Deborah Mallow likes to remind us that sometimes nothing is wrong, except the voice in our head that refuses to stop narrating everything like a dramatic movie trailer. Surveys support this: nearly 60% of adults say they feel emotionally burned out, even when nothing “major” is wrong. That’s proof that mindset, not circumstance, often drives our mood.

Deborah explains why advice like “just think positive” often backfires and how tiny mental shifts can change the trajectory of an entire day. She shares surprising tools that help audiences quiet their inner critic, break out of emotional autopilot, and find momentum without forcing motivation.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS: Can focusing less on goals and more on what truly matters actually make you happier? Why do so many people feel behind even when so much in their lives is actually working?

CONTACT: Deborah Mallow at (516) 613-5359; dmallow@rtirguests.com 

The 3 Habits That Build Trust and Cut Division in Your Life

Tired of the conflict in your office, community, or even your own family? Dr. Dionne Poulton says building unity isn’t about avoiding tough topics. It’s about mastering three powerful habits: Decency, Excellence, and Integrity. In her new book Excellence Without Exclusion, she reframes what it means to lead, communicate, and connect across differences without ever saying “DEI.”

Her message? You don’t need a title to be a leader. You just need a standard. From how we treat others to how we hold ourselves accountable, Dr. Dionne shows how small shifts in behavior can transform relationships, rebuild trust, and prevent conflict before it starts.

According to a recent study, 76% of people say they avoid hard conversations at work and home often out of fear, frustration, or not knowing what to say. Dr. Dionne’s framework helps audiences replace avoidance with practical strategies that foster trust and real connection.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:

  1. What’s one habit that can instantly defuse rising tension?
  2. Can integrity really be taught, or is it innate?

CONTACT: Dr. Dionne Poulton at (404) 383-8924; dpoulton@rtirguests.com 

How to Not Become Your Mom

Many women fear repeating the emotional patterns they grew up with, but few know how to break them. When her own mother ran away with her boyfriend at age 13, Sabrina Ciceri learned early how deeply a parent’s choices can shape a child’s identity, relationships, and future. 

In her book If It’s Not One Thing, It’s a Mother, she shares how she stopped inherited dysfunction, rewrote her family story, and built a healthy life as a mother of six and grandmother of five.

Sabrina explores why we unconsciously mirror our parents, how to interrupt toxic cycles, and why healing doesn’t always require confrontation or forgiveness. Her perspective blends family psychology, faith, and real-life experience in ways audiences rarely hear.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:

Why do we often become the very parent we promised never to be?

Can you heal from a toxic parent without cutting them out of your life?

    CONTACT: Sabrina Ciceri at (352) 308‑1596; sciceri@rtirguests.com

    How to Reduce Test Anxiety by Changing How Kids Think

    Most parents try to reduce test anxiety by pushing kids to study harder. Sharon Emily says that approach often backfires. When children feel pressured to perform, their brains shift into fear mode, which actually makes learning harder. 

    A former counselor, FranklinCovey-trained facilitator, and educator, Sharon helps families understand how thoughts quietly shape behavior, confidence, and results. She teaches why creativity, repetition, and imagination can be more effective than checklists, rewards, or threats. 

    Her book Mirror of Myself grew out of a simple insight: when kids learn to focus on possibility instead of fear, their choices change naturally. Sharon explains why positive thinking is not about ignoring reality, why mistakes can build confidence faster than success, and how the same mindset tools work across parenting, school, and life. Her approach gives families practical ways to calm anxiety and improve performance during high-stakes testing seasons.

    CONTACT: Sharon Emily at (480) 470-3893 or semily@rtirguests.com

    Why Healing Doesn’t Always Follow a Straight Line

    Healing is not neat, inspiring, or Instagram-ready, and pretending it is leaves people feeling broken. Avonley Lightstone explains why healing often looks messy, slow, and unresolved, and why lingering pain does not mean failure. She challenges the belief that healing requires closure and reframes progress as something that can happen even when wounds remain.

    Lightstone speaks from lived experience. After losing her mother in a childhood house fire and facing abandonment soon after, she learned that healing comes in small, honest steps, not sudden breakthroughs. She is the author of Strength of Scars, a memoir on resilience and faith, and her story has gained media attention as it moves toward a potential film or television adaptation.

    SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
    Why does healing feel like failure to so many people? Can you heal without closure? What does real progress actually look like?

    CONTACT: Avonley Lightstone at (801) 980-0447; alightstone@rtirguests.com

    Award-Winning Parenting Expert Shares How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Sons

    In a world where boys are often taught to suppress their feelings, award-winning parenting expert and author C. Lynn Williams is changing the conversation. She offers practical, compassionate guidance for raising sons who are emotionally aware, resilient, and confident. “We need to focus on challenging outdated myths about masculinity and replace fear-based parenting with connection, communication, and trust,” she says. “When boys are given permission to feel, communicate, and be understood, they grow into healthier men and create stronger families and communities.”

    C. Lynn is the author of five parenting books including Trying to Stay Sane While Raising Your Teen, an educator, speaker, and family dynamics strategist.


    SAMPLE QUESTIONS:     What challenges do boys face in modern society? How can parents raise sons who are strong without being aggressive?


    CONTACT:     C. Lynn Williams at (224) 357-6315; Cwilliams@rtirguests.com

    The Dark Side of Positive Thinking No One Talks About

    Positive thinking is often sold as the cure for everything: pain, loss, confusion, or even a world that feels like it’s falling apart. But what happens when optimism stops working? Author Lydia Samaniego offers a counterintuitive perspective rooted in lived experience, rather than theory. She argues that forced positivity and manifestation culture can actually disconnect people from truth, responsibility, and the guidance of their own hearts. Lydia explores why the deepest betrayal isn’t a broken relationship, but the realization that our trusted systems, from society to culture and even religion, can’t actually tell us who we are or how to live. She shares why real change doesn’t come from thinking harder or “staying positive,” but from noticing the conflict between the mind and the heart, catching inherited beliefs that no longer serve us, and choosing an inside-out path forward. Her story resonates with anyone questioning what to trust when old answers fall apart.

    CONTACT: Lydia Samaniego at (530) 443-5826: samaniego@rtirguests.com

    The Silent Mistake Millions of Stepfamilies Make

    Over 1 in 3 Americans is now part of a stepfamily, yet few realize the emotional damage that’s quietly being done in homes across the country, not by conflict, but by silence. According to parenting expert Richard Ramos, the biggest mistake stepparents make isn’t discipline, favoritism or scheduling. It’s ignoring the child’s voice during major fam­ily transitions. And that unspoken pain can show up later as resentment, rebellion or complete emotional withdrawal. Ramos draws from 25+ years of working with families—and his own hard-earned lessons as a stepparent—to reveal what really derails blended families (hint: it’s not what you think) and how to turn things around. Ask him: Can giving your stepchild “space” actually backfire? Why do some kids act out more after the family finally “settles down”? Richard Ramos is the author of “The Art of Stepparenting: How to Blend Families Without Tearing Them Apart.” Contact him at rramos@rtirguests.com; (805) 456-1407