An Evolving Man Podcast

Piers Cross
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Mental Health
  • Biweekly

An Evolving Man Podcast explores leadership, emotional intelligence, trauma, healing and peak performance. Hosted by Piers Cross, the show features conversations with leading psychologists, psychiatrists, executive coaches, authors, researchers and high-performance leaders, alongside solo episodes on leadership, resilience, relationships and personal transformation. Drawing on the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, attachment, trauma and human performance, the podcast helps leaders develop greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence and the capacity to lead with clarity, compassion and courage. Whether you are a CEO, founder, entrepreneur or aspiring leader, each episode offers practical insights to help you thrive professionally while creating a more meaningful and connected life.

  1. 4d ago

    Men, Workaholism & Emotional Armour: Learning to Slow Down | AEM #176 Sam Adams

    What if the inability to stop working and the tendency to withdraw from life come from the same underlying wound? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross speaks with Sam Adams, founder of Coaching for Men, who has spent 25 years working with men's groups, coaching, counselling and nature-based facilitation.   Sam explores why so many men live at one of two extremes: continually working, controlling and achieving, or withdrawing into passivity and distraction. Beneath both, he suggests, may sit the same belief: “I'm not good enough.” Piers and Sam discuss slowing down, workaholism, rest, emotional armour, nature, self-love, healthy masculinity, men's circles and the importance of play. Sam also shares practical tools including the sit spot, seasonal approaches to work and rest, and the PIES check-in for physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Towards the end, they explore why vulnerability should not simply be forced. For men who have spent decades protecting themselves through emotional armour, a safe men's group, coach, therapist or counsellor can provide somewhere to practise opening up gradually.   A warm and practical conversation about becoming a healthier man without becoming either harder or more passive. To take part in the quiz about men's mental health please visit: https://www.projectmend.co.uk/?src=SA Sam: https://coachingformen.co.uk Piers: https://piers-cross.com --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.  He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man.  He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1  For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross  For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic  For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community  Many blessings,  Piers Cross  http://piers-cross.com/

    Men, Workaholism & Emotional Armour: Learning to Slow Down | AEM #176 Sam Adams

  2. 6d ago

    Boarding School Syndrome & Loneliness: Why Success Can Still Feel Empty | Piers Cross

    Why can somebody appear highly successful and connected on the outside while feeling profoundly lonely inside? In this episode, Piers Cross explores loneliness and boarding school syndrome, drawing together his own experience, client work and ideas from Nick Duffell and Pete Walker. For a child sent away to boarding school, acknowledging loneliness may have felt unbearable. Homesickness had to be suppressed. Neediness could attract ridicule. Trusting the wrong person could lead to vulnerability being used against you. So the child adapted. Become self-reliant. Build emotional armour. Don’t need anybody. Keep people at a safe distance. Those strategies can be remarkably effective at boarding school — but decades later they may interfere with friendship, intimacy, marriage, parenting and leadership. Piers also explores avoidant attachment, perfectionism, the outer critic, sensitivity to criticism and the belief that strong people should not need others. The final part turns towards healing: finding safe communities, gradually practising vulnerability, reconnecting with other people and also learning to reconnect with ourselves, our emotions and the world around us. A reflection on moving from: “I can do everything on my own” towards: “It is safe for me to belong.” More from Piers: https://www.piers-cross.com --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.  He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man.  He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1  For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross  For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic  For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community  Many blessings,  Piers Cross  http://piers-cross.com/

  3. Oct 23

    Boarding School Syndrome Through Poetry: Separation, Trauma & Healing | SENT AWAY | AEM #175 Paul Fray | Nicola Freeman | Guy Mutch

    What can poetry reveal about the psychological impact of being sent away to boarding school? In Episode 175 of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross is joined by Paul Fray, Nicola Freeman and Guy to explore SENT AWAY: The BSConcern Anthology of Boarding School Poems. Through powerful poems and personal reflections, they explore: The first separation from home and parentsHomesickness, abandonment and emotional neglectDissociation and learning not to feelLosing a sense of home and belongingThe long-term impact on intimacy and relationshipsHigh achievement alongside loneliness and disconnectionThe emotional armour many former boarders carry into adulthoodVulnerability as a pathway back to intimacyInner-child work, therapy and reintegrationHow creativity and poetry can support healingThe conversation follows the anthology from being sent away and surviving towards understanding, vulnerability and eventually the possibility of truly living again.  Content note: This episode includes discussion of suicide, sexual abuse, rape, neglect and childhood trauma. 📖 SENT AWAY: https://boardingschoolconcern.uk 🌐 Piers: https://piers-cross.com #BoardingSchoolSyndrome #BoardingSchoolTrauma #TraumaHealing #Poetry --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.  He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man.  He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1  For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross  For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic  For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community  Many blessings,  Piers Cross  http://piers-cross.com/

    Boarding School Syndrome Through Poetry: Separation, Trauma & Healing | SENT AWAY | AEM #175 Paul Fray | Nicola Freeman | Guy Mutch

  4. Oct 21

    Boarding School Concern Conference 2026 | Boarding School Syndrome, Healing & Support

    What is it like to attend a conference where people genuinely understand the experience of being sent away to boarding school? In this short episode, Piers Cross shares details of the Boarding School Concern Conference 2026, taking place in London on Saturday 7 November. Piers has attended the conference several times and reflects on why it can be particularly valuable for former boarders who are beginning to question the impact boarding school may have had on their relationships, emotional lives, identity and wellbeing. This year’s programme includes Nick Duffell, Rachel Godfrey and John Shirley, John Stanley, Helena Thomas and a wide range of afternoon groups exploring relationships, Third Culture Kids, family dynamics, bullying, creative writing, poetry and healing. BSConcern Piers also discusses SENT AWAY: The BSConcern Anthology of Boarding School Poems, which explores separation, attachment rupture and the long-term psychological legacy of boarding through poetry. BSConcern Perhaps most importantly, the conference offers something difficult to find elsewhere: a community of people who understand. For somebody attending for the first time, that alone can be enormously powerful. 🎟 Boarding School Concern Conference 2026: The Conference 7th November (please book before end of Friday 23rd October): https://boardingschoolconcern.uk/events/7-november-2026-bsconcern-conference-2026/ 🌐 Piers Cross --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.  He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man.  He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1  For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross  For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic  For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community  Many blessings,  Piers Cross  http://piers-cross.com/

  5. Oct 16

    From Trauma & Dissociation to Embodied Trust | Sara Carter | AEM #174

    What happens when trauma becomes so deeply embedded that we lose connection with our own bodies? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross speaks with embodiment coach, somatic movement educator and holistic trauma therapist Sara Carter about complex PTSD, dissociation and the long journey back towards safety and embodied trust. Sara describes a period of chronic pain, severe fatigue, insomnia and night terrors that eventually forced her to recognise how disconnected she had become from her body. Through somatic movement, breath, energy work and studying trauma, she began understanding shutdown and dissociation not as personal failure, but as survival responses.  Pasted text Sara also speaks with extraordinary openness about rape, childhood trauma, domestic violence, shame and the experience of not being believed. She describes how freeze and tonic immobility became familiar survival patterns, and how the effects of trauma continued long after the events themselves.  Pasted text Piers and Sara explore the importance of movement as medicine, healthy rage, vulnerability, speaking out, accountability and creating conditions in which both survivors and those willing to take responsibility for causing harm can change. They also discuss boarding school, complex PTSD, emotional suppression, relationships, masculinity and the possibility of creating a safer legacy for future generations. A profound conversation about trauma, the body, safety, connection and reclaiming life after dissociation. Content note: Detailed discussion of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Find Piers: https://piers-cross.com For more info: https://sara-white.com/ --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.  He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man.  He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1  For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross  For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic  For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community  Many blessings,  Piers Cross  http://piers-cross.com/

    From Trauma & Dissociation to Embodied Trust | Sara Carter | AEM #174

  6. Oct 14

    Joe Dispenza Retreat Integration: What to Do When the High Wears Off | Piers Cross

    What happens after the retreat ends? In this short episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross explores the often-overlooked process of post-retreat integration following his recent Dr Joe Dispenza retreats in Basel and Copenhagen. After an intense peak experience, it can be surprising to return home and begin feeling flat, uninspired or triggered by familiar relationships, responsibilities and environments. Piers reflects on why this does not necessarily mean anything has gone wrong — it may be precisely where the deeper work begins.  Pasted text Drawing on his years living in a Buddhist monastery as well as teachings from Joe Dispenza, James Clear, Phil Stutz, William James and others, Piers explores daily practice, identity, community, peak-state recall, small habits, boundaries and learning to use challenges rather than being defeated by them. A practical reflection on turning a powerful retreat experience into lasting change in everyday life. Find out more: https://piers-cross.com --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.  He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man.  He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1  For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross  For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic  For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community  Many blessings,  Piers Cross  http://piers-cross.com/

    Joe Dispenza Retreat Integration: What to Do When the High Wears Off | Piers Cross

  7. Oct 9

    Traumality: What Happened to You? Rethinking Mental Health | Ton Mazzone | AEM #173

    What changes when we stop asking “What’s wrong with you?” and begin asking “What happened to you?” In Episode 173 of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross speaks with Ton Mazzone, filmmaker behind Traumality — an independently produced documentary exploring childhood adversity, attachment, trauma, the nervous system and mental health. Ton spent years struggling with social anxiety and depression. After seeking medical help, he was given a diagnosis and medication, but little explanation for why he felt the way he did. Discovering trauma later became a profound turning point: his symptoms began to make sense as understandable responses to earlier experiences rather than proof that he was fundamentally broken.  Pasted text Piers and Ton explore psychoeducation, ACEs, shame, Internal Family Systems, somatic approaches, male vulnerability, trauma-informed schools, incarceration, boarding school and the need for systems that respond with greater curiosity and compassion. They also discuss the limitations of purely symptom-focused approaches to mental health and what might become possible if healthcare, education and leadership became more trauma-informed.  Pasted text A powerful conversation about understanding the roots of distress, restoring agency and building a more trauma-informed society. Watch Traumality: https://traumality.com Find Piers: https://piers-cross.com --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.  He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man.  He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1  For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross  For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic  For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community  Many blessings,  Piers Cross  http://piers-cross.com/

    Traumality: What Happened to You? Rethinking Mental Health | Ton Mazzone | AEM #173

  8. Oct 7

    Dr Joe Dispenza Week-Long Retreat Review: Highlights, Challenges & Insights | Piers Cross

    What happens when you step out of everyday life and spend a week immersed in meditation, teaching and personal development? In this episode of An Evolving Man Podcast, Piers Cross reflects on attending Dr Joe Dispenza’s week-long retreat in Copenhagen, following a Progressive Retreat in Basel. Piers had booked the retreats during a difficult period following the death of his wife Michelle. Although he had continued working and practising self-care, the retreat helped him recognise that grief, loneliness and a degree of depression were still present beneath the busyness.  Pasted text  Pasted text He shares some of the most meaningful parts of the experience: the people he met, deep meditation, coherence healing, powerful experiences of sensing Michelle’s presence, and the immersive nature of days beginning early in the morning and continuing into the evening.  Pasted text Piers also speaks openly about the challenges. Being surrounded by thousands of people brought up old patterns around people-pleasing, fitting in and censoring himself — patterns he connects with his experience of boarding school. Ultimately, the week became a reminder of three simple things: Gratitude. Joy. Presence. A personal reflection on grief, spirituality, meditation, discomfort, healing and remembering to enjoy life rather than constantly striving to improve it. Find Piers: Piers Cross website --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems.  He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man.  He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1  For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross  For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic  For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community  Many blessings,  Piers Cross  http://piers-cross.com/

    Dr Joe Dispenza Week-Long Retreat Review: Highlights, Challenges & Insights | Piers Cross
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

An Evolving Man Podcast explores leadership, emotional intelligence, trauma, healing and peak performance. Hosted by Piers Cross, the show features conversations with leading psychologists, psychiatrists, executive coaches, authors, researchers and high-performance leaders, alongside solo episodes on leadership, resilience, relationships and personal transformation. Drawing on the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, attachment, trauma and human performance, the podcast helps leaders develop greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence and the capacity to lead with clarity, compassion and courage. Whether you are a CEO, founder, entrepreneur or aspiring leader, each episode offers practical insights to help you thrive professionally while creating a more meaningful and connected life.

Information

  • Creator
    Piers Cross
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    342
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 An Evolving Man Podcast
  • Show Website
    An Evolving Man Podcast

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