Episodi

  • Your Future Self Is Trying to Get In | Dr. Branch

    Your Future Self Is Trying to Get In | Dr. Branch
    Oct 15 2026
    In this solo Season 5 episode of The 3 Parallels Podcast, Dr. Jason Branch takes listeners behind the scenes of an unexpected reunion in Birmingham with longtime colleague and fellow Black male therapist Eddie Sharp. What began as a simple podcast invitation became something neither of them planned for — a real-life demonstration of the law of attraction, and a reminder that some connections cannot be forced. They happen when the timing is right and when both people have done enough internal work to recognize what they are looking at when it arrives.

    Dr. Branch uses the encounter as a launching point to reflect on his full journey with mentorship, from his first mentor in the fourth grade through building mentorship programs, guiding future counselors, and eventually becoming an executive performance coach. He explores what it means to outgrow mentorship that no longer serves you without dishonoring what it gave you, and how the law of attraction works in practice through intentionality, authenticity, and the courage to speak and move as if the future you desire is already possible. The episode builds toward a question he puts to himself and to every listener: your old self may have something to say, your current self may be confused, but your future self is still trying to get in the kitchen. Will you let them?

    This episode is for anyone who has been waiting for the right moment, the right connection, or the right permission to become the next version of themselves. It is for the person whose future self has been knocking for a while — and who is finally ready to open the door. Dr. Branch sends listeners away with three challenges: honor one person who helped shape who they are, challenge one belief that is blocking the next version of themselves, and take one risk this week that their future self is counting on them to take. Life Work:
    1. Honor the People Who Made You: Who helped you become who you are? Name them. Reach out to one this week — not because you need something, but because they deserve to know their impact.
    2. Challenge One Belief: What belief is keeping the current version of you from becoming the next one? Name it. Then ask: is that a fact, or a story?
    3. Take One Risk: What risk would you take if you knew your future self was counting on you? Name it. Take one step toward it this week.























    Contact & Community Footer Connect with Dr. Branch: www.drjbranch.com | DrJ@DrJBranch.com | (858) 786-3638 Therapy available in NJ, PA, and GA. Coaching available everywhere. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/drjbranch/balloon-string-session-clone Gator University Free Community: https://www.skool.com/gator-university-4736/about Support the show on Cash App: $3ParallelsPodcast
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    28 min
  • You Are a Human Being, Not a Human Doing | Dr. Elisabeth Tomlin

    You Are a Human Being, Not a Human Doing | Dr. Elisabeth Tomlin
    Oct 12 2026
    In this Season 5 episode of The 3 Parallels Podcast, Dr. Jason Branch sits down with Dr. Elisabeth Tomlin, a colleague, friend, and kindred spirit he has known for more than a decade, for a conversation about the one competition most high achievers never think to enter: you versus your own perfectionism. The episode is built around a reframe Liz offers that names the wound most overachievers carry without language for it: we have been trained to be human doings instead of human beings. Slowing down is not doing less. It is learning to be present. And for anyone who has spent years confusing their worth with their output, this conversation is the permission slip they did not know they needed.

    Dr. Branch and Liz trace their friendship back to its origin: a shared look across a conference room that communicated, before either of them spoke, a mutual recognition of two people willing to question the status quo, challenge the rules of the spaces they occupied, and refuse to fit a mold that was never built for them. From there the conversation moves into Liz's own story of growing up feeling the need to accomplish, contribute, and be useful to feel worthy, and the childhood experiences, family dynamics, cultural expectations, and systems that reward constant achievement that shaped that belief. She names her high school teacher Joan Cecil as the person who first introduced her to frameworks for understanding gender, racism, class, and power, and who planted the early breadcrumb toward a lifetime of curiosity, cultural humility, and the courage to keep asking. Together they explore perfectionism, self-compassion, privilege, identity, and what it actually looks like to show up authentically in spaces that often reward the performance of expertise over the honesty of not knowing.

    This episode is for the high performer who has never stopped long enough to ask whether what they are chasing is something they actually want, or something they were trained to want. It is for the helping professional who knows how to take care of everyone else but has confused busyness with worth. And it is for anyone ready to enter the Season 5 competition that matters most: you versus the version of yourself that has been performing instead of being. Dr. Branch and Liz send listeners away with three challenges: catch yourself performing and ask who you are trying to prove yourself to, practice ten minutes of presence each day without an agenda, and choose to show up as your authentic self in one area where you have been performing instead.
    Life Work
    1. Catch Yourself Performing: This week, notice one moment when you feel the need to prove your worth, earn approval, or be everything to everyone. Pause and ask: Who am I trying to prove myself to?
    2. Practice Being Present: Slow down for 10 minutes each day. Put the work, responsibilities, and expectations aside. Be present without feeling like you have to accomplish something.
    3. Choose Personhood Over Performance: Identify one area of your life where you feel pressure to perform. Practice showing up as your authentic self instead of the version you think others expect.


    Contact & Community Footer Connect with Dr. Branch: www.drjbranch.com | DrJ@DrJBranch.com | (858) 786-3638 Therapy available in NJ, PA, and GA. Coaching available everywhere. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/drjbranch/balloon-string-session-clone Gator University Free Community: https://www.skool.com/gator-university-4736/about Support the show on Cash App: $3ParallelsPodcast
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    57 min
  • You vs. You: The 4th Quarter Starts Now | Season 5 Premiere

    You vs. You: The 4th Quarter Starts Now | Season 5 Premiere
    Oct 8 2026
    Season 5 of The 3 Parallels Podcast is here, and Dr. Jason Branch opens it with a declaration: the competition has changed. In this solo premiere episode, Dr. Branch returns from a break with a framework that will drive everything in the season ahead. You vs. You. Not you versus your colleagues, your competitors, your peers, or the version of success someone else has built. You versus the person you used to be. That is the only scoreboard that matters — and it is the one most people have never thought to look at.

    Dr. Branch draws on Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Tony Stark's suit upgrades to build the case that the greats do not avoid losing — they use it. Jordan was cut from his high school team. Kobe studied film of his misses. Each version of Stark's suit was not a replacement but an evolution, integrating what came before and building what was next. That framework applied to the 3 Parallels, who we were, who we are, who we are becoming, becomes the architecture for Season 5. He is also honest about taking a break, releasing rules that no longer serve him, and choosing wellness over simply performing at a high level. The 4th quarter of 2026 means 90 days left in the year, and this episode is the signal that those 90 days are not going to pass by without intention.

    This episode is for everyone who has been waiting for a sign that it is time to stop competing with everyone else and start investing in the version of themselves that is still becoming. It is for the person who almost made it through 2026 running on the same script they started with — and who still has 90 days to change one thing. Dr. Branch sends every listener away with three challenges: bet on yourself by starting one thing today, change the competition by measuring against yesterday's version of themselves, and bring somebody with them by sharing this episode with one person who needs to hear it. Whose house? My house. Welcome to Season 5.


    Life Work
    1. Bet on Yourself: You have 90 days left in 2026. Pick one thing you want to change, build, heal, or become — and start today. Not January. Today.
    2. Change the Competition: Stop comparing yourself to everyone else. Ask yourself: Am I better than the person I was yesterday? That is the only scoreboard that matters.
    3. Bring Somebody With You: If this episode gave you something, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Don't keep the breadcrumbs to yourself.


    Contact & Community Footer Connect with Dr. Branch: www.drjbranch.com | DrJ@DrJBranch.com | (858) 786-3638 Therapy available in NJ, PA, and GA. Coaching available everywhere. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/drjbranch/balloon-string-session-clone Gator University Free Community: https://www.skool.com/gator-university-4736/about Support the show on Cash App: $3ParallelsPodcast
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    46 min
  • They Decided Who She Was. She Had Other Plans. | Dr. Kalesha Jenkins

    They Decided Who She Was. She Had Other Plans. | Dr. Kalesha Jenkins
    Oct 5 2026
    In this episode of the 3 Parallels Podcast, Dr. Jason Branch welcomes back Dr. Kalesha Jenkins, clinician, professor, advocate for single mothers, and Gator University Alumni and Ambassador, as a different version of herself. She has been in the basement — navigating a custody battle, complex trauma, generational patterns, and the weight of being misunderstood while trying to protect what matters most. She did the work. And she is back to tell you what she found. This conversation begins with a reframe that holds the whole episode together: she was not bitter. She was becoming.

    Dr. Jenkins opens up about navigating one of the hardest chapters of her life as a Black woman, a mother, a professor, and a clinician, and about the experience of being labeled by a word that was never her truth. She and Dr. Branch explore what it means to carry the weight of being misunderstood while holding professional responsibilities and protecting your children, and what eventually becomes possible when you stop simply surviving and start asking who you want to become. The conversation goes deep into therapy, complex trauma, spirituality, generational patterns, creating spaces of peace, and what Dr. Jenkins did with the pain: she turned it into a platform, building a community for single mothers who are in the same fight and need to know they are not alone. The episode closes with a declaration Dr. Branch names directly: whose house? My house.

    This episode is for the Black woman who has been called bitter and knew it was not the whole truth. It is for the mother, the clinician, the professional, and the high performer who has been giving from empty for so long that filling her own cup feels like a foreign act. And it is for anyone who needs permission to stop carrying the old version of themselves so the next one can arrive. Dr. Branch and Dr. Jenkins send listeners away with three challenges: reflect on who you became to survive, reclaim one part of yourself this week, and take one action today for the person you are becoming.


    Life Work
    1. Reflect: Who did you become to survive? Sit with that question. The answer is not a judgment. It is information.
    2. Reclaim: What part of yourself are you ready to take back? Name it. One thing. This week.
    3. Act: What is one thing you can do today for the person you are becoming? Not tomorrow. Today.


    Contact & Community Footer Connect with Dr. Branch: www.drjbranch.com | DrJ@DrJBranch.com | (858) 786-3638 Therapy available in NJ, PA, and GA. Coaching available everywhere. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/drjbranch/balloon-string-session-clone Gator University Free Community: https://www.skool.com/gator-university-4736/about Support the show on Cash App: $3ParallelsPodcast
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    53 min
  • Put the Net Back Up | Dr. Branch on Healing, Legacy & Becoming

    Put the Net Back Up | Dr. Branch on Healing, Legacy & Becoming
    Sep 24 2026
    In this late-night solo episode of the 3 Parallels Podcast, Dr. Jason Branch takes a walk through Branch Park at Gator University and discovers something he was not expecting: evidence that he has been healing. The episode begins with a basketball court where the nets have been torn from both rims, and a simple decision: he and his sons will come back and put them up. That act becomes the central metaphor for everything that follows — doing something for someone that you wish someone had done for you, and what it means to protect the spaces that matter and contribute to a community in the ordinary moments of life.

    Dr. Branch reflects on the tension between exhaustion and purpose, between the version of himself that wants to slow down and the version that keeps saying build better systems and keep going. He traces his original five-year commitment to the 3 Parallels Podcast and connects it to a lesson from Iyanla Vanzant, shared through Cam Newton's Freaky Friday Podcast, about the difference between chasing money and chasing yourself. Then the walk back through the park at night delivers the episode's most powerful moment: a couple running toward him in the dark, and the realization that he did not brace for impact. As a Black man raised in the South, Dr. Branch knows the body scripts that public spaces at night can activate. This time, they did not run. That quiet absence, the thing that did not happen, is the evidence of healing he did not know he was looking for.

    This episode is for the person who has been doing the work long enough to wonder whether it is working. It is for the high performer who is tired but unwilling to quit, and for anyone who has been healing quietly and has not yet had the language for what they are noticing in themselves. Dr. Branch sends listeners away with three challenges that carry the whole episode in them: put the net back up for someone this week, pay attention to the moment when you do not react the way you used to and name it as evidence, and stop chasing long enough to ask what you actually want. Then take one step toward it.


    Life Work
    1. Put the Net Back Up: Do something for someone that you wish someone had done for you. It does not have to be big. It just has to be intentional.
    2. Notice Your Healing: Pay attention this week to a moment when you did not react the way you used to. That absence is evidence. Name it.
    3. Choose Yourself: Stop chasing something for a moment. Ask what you actually want. Then take one step toward it.


    Connect with Dr. Branch:
    www.drjbranch.com | DrJ@DrJBranch.com | (858) 786-3638
    Therapy available in NJ, PA, and GA.
    Coaching available everywhere. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/drjbranch/balloon-string-session-clone
    Gator University Free Community:
    https://www.skool.com/gator-university-4736/about
    Support the show on Cash App:
    $3ParallelsPodcast
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    40 min
  • When the Doctor Became the Patient | Dr. Alia Al-Barwani

    When the Doctor Became the Patient | Dr. Alia Al-Barwani
    Sep 21 2026
    In this episode of the 3 Parallels Podcast, Dr. Jason Branch sits down with Dr. Alia Al-Barwani for the second time, four years after their first conversation and in a completely different season of becoming. Dr. Al-Barwani is an obesity medicine physician who has evolved far beyond traditional healthcare to help women reconnect with themselves through weight, wellness, nervous system regulation, mindset, and subconscious reprogramming. But this conversation is not really about weight loss. It is about what happens when the person who has spent years helping others heal finally has to experience healing from the other side — and what changes when they do.

    Dr. Al-Barwani traces her evolution from the little girl who knew she wanted to become a doctor, through years of medical training and practice, to the moment she became a patient herself. That experience shifted everything. She began asking not what the blood work showed but what was actually happening underneath it, moving from treating symptoms to understanding the nervous system, the subconscious, and the identity patterns that shape how people experience their bodies and their health. She and Dr. Branch also get honest about the parts of professional success that rarely make it into the brochure, including navigating medical training as a Black Muslim woman, representation, racism, imposter syndrome, and the experience of living in multiple professional and personal worlds at once. The conversation ultimately arrives at a realization many high-achieving helping professionals eventually face: the way you have always served may not be the way you are meant to serve forever.

    This episode is for the helping professional who has been doing the work the same way for a long time and senses that something is shifting. It is for the physician, the clinician, the coach, the educator, and anyone who has spent years taking care of others and is starting to ask what it would look like to take care of themselves differently. And it is for anyone who needs permission to hear that professional evolution is not failure. It is becoming. Dr. Branch and Dr. Al-Barwani send listeners away with three challenges: run the three parallels on paper today, pause and listen to what the body is saying, and do one thing this week that is just for you.


    Life Work
    1. Run the 3 Parallels: Write down Who was I? Who am I? Who am I becoming? Sit with the answers. Don't rush to the third one.
    2. Listen to Your Body: Pause today and ask what your body is trying to tell you. Listen without judgment. No fixing. Just listening.
    3. Reconnect With You: Do one thing this week that is just for you — something that brings you joy, peace, or connection.

    Special Offer — Dr. Al-Barwani Use coupon code PARALLELS for $100 off The Pattern Reset for Emotional Eating, launching mid-October. Reserve your spot at albidayawellness.com/the-peace-protocol-page.

    Connect with Dr. Branch:
    www.drjbranch.com | DrJ@DrJBranch.com | (858) 786-3638
    Therapy available in NJ, PA, and GA.
    Coaching available everywhere. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/drjbranch/balloon-string-session-clone
    Gator University Free Community:
    https://www.skool.com/gator-university-4736/about
    Support the show on Cash App:
    $3ParallelsPodcast
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    56 min
  • Wanting the Pain to End Is Not the Same Thing | Dr. Branch

    Wanting the Pain to End Is Not the Same Thing | Dr. Branch
    Sep 17 2026
    In this solo episode of the 3 Parallels Podcast, Dr. Jason Branch records from a duck pond on the Gator University campus for a direct and compassionate conversation about suicide prevention awareness. He opens with the distinction that anchors everything in this episode: wanting the pain to end is not the same thing as wanting life to end. From that starting point, he takes listeners through an honest exploration of what it means to be in crisis, what connection offers in those moments, and why language and stigma shape whether people ask for help or suffer in silence.

    Dr. Branch revisits the story of Jontai, a previous guest on the show who survived a suicide attempt and returned to share her experience. Her story becomes the entry point for a broader clinical and human conversation about risk factors, the role of isolation, the importance of language, and what the 3 Parallels house metaphor reveals about crisis: sometimes a person spends so much time in the basement that they forget the house has other levels. The episode covers what it looks like to check on someone you care about, how to ask the question that opens the door, and why connection is not just supportive — it is the intervention itself. Dr. Branch also explains why he uses 'died by suicide' rather than 'committed suicide' and what that language choice reflects about stigma and care.

    This episode is for anyone who has experienced a moment when the basement felt like the whole house — and for anyone who loves someone who has. It is for the clinician, the friend, the family member, and the colleague who has wondered what to say or do when someone they care about is struggling. Dr. Branch sends listeners away with three direct challenges: check on somebody today, ask the question if you are worried about someone, and reach out if you are struggling. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text. You do not have to be in this moment alone.


    Life Work
    1. Check on Somebody: Call or text someone you care about today. Let them know they matter. You do not need a reason.
    2. Ask the Question: If you are worried about someone, ask. 'Are you okay?' creates the space. Asking does not plant the idea — it opens the door.
    3. Reach Out: If you are struggling, do not isolate. Tell somebody. Get connected to support. Call or text 988.


    Connect with Dr. Branch:
    www.drjbranch.com | DrJ@DrJBranch.com | (858) 786-3638
    Therapy available in NJ, PA, and GA.
    Coaching available everywhere. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/drjbranch/balloon-string-session-clone
    Gator University Free Community:
    https://www.skool.com/gator-university-4736/about
    Support the show on Cash App:
    $3ParallelsPodcast
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    34 min
  • Saying 'I Need Help' Changed Everything | Jontai Reynolds

    Saying 'I Need Help' Changed Everything | Jontai Reynolds
    Sep 14 2026
    In this episode of the 3 Parallels Podcast, Dr. Jason Branch sits down with Jontai Reynolds, podcaster, disability advocate, and industrial-organizational psychology graduate, for one of the most honest and courageous conversations this show has ever recorded. Jontai's story is not defined by what she went through. It is defined by what she said in the middle of it: I need help. Those three words became the turning point that led to therapy, school, a return to purpose, and a calling built directly from what she had survived.

    Jontai opens up about experiences with homelessness, loss, workplace trauma, burnout, and mental health challenges, and traces how each of those experiences shaped the advocate, the researcher, and the storyteller she is today. She and Dr. Branch explore how therapy became the intervention that helped her reclaim her life and discover that the very things she had been through were preparing her for work she could not yet see. The conversation deepens around disability rights and inclusion in the workplace, where Jontai brings both professional expertise and the irreplaceable authority of someone who has lived what she now advocates for. Through the Three Parallels lens, the episode traces a complete arc: who she was, who she is, and who she is still becoming.

    This episode is for anyone who has been carrying something alone that was never meant to be carried alone. It is for the person who has been through something hard and wonders whether any of it had a purpose. And it is for the advocate, the researcher, the helper, and the overcomer who suspects that their story matters beyond their own life. Dr. Branch and Jontai send listeners away with three challenges: ask for help in one specific area this week, share one piece of their story with honesty, and take one step toward who they are becoming.
    Life Work
    1. Ask for Help: Name one thing you have been carrying alone. Identify one person or resource you can reach out to this week.
    2. Tell Your Story: What you have survived may become part of someone else's healing. Choose one person or one space where you can share a piece of your story honestly this week.
    3. Choose Becoming: Don't let who you were decide who you become. Name one step this week toward the version of yourself you are building.


    Connect with Dr. Branch:
    www.drjbranch.com | DrJ@DrJBranch.com | (858) 786-3638
    Therapy available in NJ, PA, and GA.
    Coaching available everywhere. Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/drjbranch/balloon-string-session-clone
    Gator University Free Community:
    https://www.skool.com/gator-university-4736/about
    Support the show on Cash App:
    $3ParallelsPodcast
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    51 min