Behind The Smile with Ash Butterss

Ep 148. Beyond Codependency: The Truth About Self-Worth and Healing with Psychotherapist Jackson Goding

Behind The Smile with Ash Butterss

Show Notes

What happens when self-worth becomes the missing piece in healing? In this episode, Ash sits down with Trauma Specialist and Psychotherapist, Jackson Goding, for a raw and thought-provoking conversation about what it really takes to recover, grow, and build authentic connection.

Jackson opens up about his own journey through codependency, the reality of doing deep trauma work, and why self-worth sits at the heart of true healing. Together, they explore the often messy path of relationships, meditation, and emotional regulation, unravelling why personal growth is rarely linear and almost never easy.

This episode goes far beyond the surface of “self-care.” It’s about courage, consistency, and the daily non-negotiables that help us return to ourselves again and again. Expect honesty, humour, and plenty of takeaways to help you nurture your own sense of worth and connection.

Episode chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Jackson Goding and His Work 02:45 Living in Sydney and Future Plans 05:33 Daily Life and Mindfulness Practices 08:31 The Challenge of Powerlessness and Surrender 11:14 Meditation: The Struggle and Its Importance 14:04 Hiding Behind a Smile: Personal Struggles 17:00 Relationships as Mirrors for Personal Growth 19:40 The Complexity of Relationships and Recovery 22:21 The Journey to Becoming a Therapist 24:59 Core Beliefs and Their Impact on Identity 31:02 Navigating Shame and Self-Worth 31:46 Understanding Triggers and Responses 33:07 Effective Communication in Relationships 35:06 The Impact of Past Experiences 36:53 Identifying and Expressing Needs 39:59 The Importance of Boundaries 41:36 Self-Accountability and Inner Child Work 44:24 Defining Codependency 48:10 The Challenges of Recovery from Codependency 52:57 Staying Accountable in Relationships 56:12 Establishing Non-Negotiables for Self-Care 01:02:26 Finding Balance in Relationships

You can connect with Jackson via the below channels: It Ends With Us Retreat: https://findreasontherapy.com.au/it-ends-with-us/

IG @findreasontherapy https://www.instagram.com/findreasontherapy/

Before you do more work: https://app.heartbeat.chat/findreason/courses/c/e7acf2c4-df05-4546-8b6c-092d8363fa2a

Follow and connect with Ash on: ⁠Instagram⁠ @ashbutterss Website⁠ www.ashbutterss.com

The Letting Go Ritual: Breathwork, Yin, and Intention Setting for 2026 Tickets available here.

Join Ash on retreat in Bali in 2026! All the details can be found at https://www.ashbutterss.com/bali-retreat-2026

Watch Ash’s TEDx Talk here!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from Behind The Smile with Ash Butterss

Oct 18, 2026

My guest this week is Jason Dobbie, a chef of 26 years who got sober while still running professional kitchens. Sobriety, though, did not answer the question underneath it all: who am I? Eight years on, Jason leads a community of more than 750 people working through that same question, and he joins Ash to unpack what it actually took to rebuild a sense of self from the ground up.

Oct 11, 2026

In this solo episode, Ash reflects on a recent trip to the Gold Coast, where she spent five nights at a wellness retreat, not as a facilitator but as a guest. Away from Wi-Fi and her usual pace of life, she unpacks five lessons that surfaced in the stillness. From remembering to trust the wisdom of her body, to rereading an old favourite book and discovering how much she herself had changed, there were plenty of downloads she wanted to share.

Oct 4, 2026

This week Ash sits down with Dave McGrath, a 47 year old carpenter and father who recently celebrated three years of sobriety. For a period of about nine months before rehab, Dave was living out of his car, seeing his daughter once every month or two, and losing himself completely to what he calls the alcoholic insanity. His rock bottom came in a friend's garage, staring at an extension ladder and a rope, before something in him snapped awake enough to call a rehab.

Sep 27, 2026

My guest this week is Megan Ashton, founder of Unity Breathwork and a leading voice for raising safety standards in the breathwork industry. Megan spent most of her adult life escaping herself, first through alcohol and bulimia as a teenager, then later through constant travel that let her outrun her feelings entirely. It took a devastating breakup, and a breathwork session in Bali, for her to finally crack open decades of unprocessed grief, so that she could start the long journey of finding a way back to herself.

Sep 20, 2026

My guest this week is Tully Johns, a Melbourne based health coach who spent close to fifteen years working as a zookeeper before turning to helping people. For most of three decades, Tully carried the effects of childhood sexual abuse without a name for it, showing up instead as depression, anxiety, and eventually a PTSD diagnosis. It was only in his forties, after his brother came forward with his own memories and pursued a case against their father, that Tully began to understand what he himself had survived.

See all episodes →