Define with Denise
Define with Denise is a podcast about understanding behavior, creating meaningful change, and asking different questions.
Hosted by Denise—a behavior analyst, behavior change coach, and educator—this podcast explores why we do what we do and how we can intentionally create lives, relationships, and families that align with our values.
Drawing from behavior science, psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and real-life experience, each episode takes one everyday question and explores what's happening beneath the surface. From parenting and relationships to habits, health, resilience, and the patterns we inherit from our families and culture, these conversations are designed to help behavior make sense—and make change feel possible.
Growing up in a hardworking Vietnamese immigrant family taught Denise the value of respect, resilience, sacrifice, and showing up for the people you love.
Those lessons continue to shape her work today while also inspiring the questions many of us are asking:
What do we carry forward?
What are we ready to redefine?
Whether you're raising children, hoping to become a parent one day, working with kids, supporting families, or simply trying to understand yourself a little better, you'll find thoughtful conversations, practical tools, and a fresh perspective grounded in both science and compassion.
My hope isn't that you leave with all the answers.
It's that you leave asking different questions.
Because different questions lead to different conversations.
And different conversations create the opportunity for change.
Behavior always makes sense—we just have to understand the story it's telling.
Define with Denise
Latest Episodes
Why Values Lose to Urgency: A Behavior-Analytic Look at the Time Management Matrix (1 CEU)
You'd never let a client's most important goal sit untouched because the day got loud. So why does that keep happening with your own?In this episode, we take the classic time management matrix and look at it the way we'd look at any cli...
The Kids Aren’t the Only Ones Learning | Guest: Kody Harms from CFT
What if the kids aren’t the only ones learning?In this episode of Define with Denise, I sit down with my friend and former colleague Kody Harms — BCBA, third-generation educator, co-founder and clinical director of Curated Fa...
What do we carry forward for the next generation?
We’re the generation raising kids while also looking back at how we were raised.In this episode, I share pieces of my experience growing up in a Vietnamese immigrant family—from achievement and expectations to sacrifice, love, conflict, ...
Are We Raising Kids Differently… or Just Afraid to Get It Wrong?
Our generation is trying really hard to raise kids differently.We talk more about emotions. We know more about trauma. We want our kids to feel heard, safe, and understood.But sometimes knowing what we don't want to repeat ...