Hello to our beautiful listeners! We are so sorry but we have a slight change of plan and will now be going on a break for the rest of this year. We just wanted to update you on what has been going on behind the scenes. And, not to be too mysterious, but we do have some exciting news in here! x  We can't wait to get back to sharing 'What Matters Most' with you next year - We have so much planned and promise it will be worth the wait! 

Ah, money: Right now, money – or the lack of it – is a real hot-button topic as New Zealanders battle a cost-of-living crisis. If you’ve found yourself worrying about finances this year, first of all you’re FAR from the only one, in fact, 57% of Kiwis surveyed in recent studies are worried, too.   So in this episode of What Matters Most, you’ll hear Jacqui and Antonia talk openly about budgets, finances and how the rising cost of living is truly impacting so many of us in Aotearoa.   But,...

We all experience it – the dizzying highs of helpful emotions, and the crushing lows of the unhelpful ones. In this episode, Jacqui explains exactly what is emotion regulation – and how, if you develop some simple skills, you’ll be able to identify and navigate your thoughts and feelings in a far healthier way. You’ll hear heaps of tips and tricks as to how to actually label what the emotion your feeling is – did you know that anger is a secondary emotion, and you’re probably feeling...

It’s been an incredibly challenging year for many Kiwis, and to those who are rebuilding their lives after the impacts of a natural disaster, Jacqui and Antonia send you their love and support. It’s an unfortunate sign of the times that this week, close friends Jacqui Maguire, a clinical psychologist, and Antonia Prebble, actor and presenter, tackle the subject that has been most requested this year: dealing with the effects of a natural disaster. In this episode, Jacqui breaks down the three...

You’re far from being alone if you identify as a people pleaser – more than half the female population are too! In this episode Jacqui will talk you through how you can identify whether you (or someone you have a close relationship with!) are a people pleaser. You’ll hear a bit of live therapy, as Antonia opens up about her own experiences as a people pleaser and Jacqui works through some techniques to tone down her – and perhaps your! – people pleasing ways. Jacqui takes us through some...

This is the one Jacqui has been very much looking forward to discussing – and it’s a biggie: attachment styles. Yip, our relationship in those very early years with our primary caregiver does go on to impacts us as adults – not just in our romantic relationships, but in all facets of our lives, from friendships to the workplace. Gaining an understanding of how your early relationship with your primary caregiver has informed your interactions as an adult can be incredibly powerful. It can also...

We’re back! In Volume VII of What Matters Most, close friends Jacqui Maguire, a clinical psychologist, and Antonia Prebble, actor and presenter, get to the bottom of what the mental load is, how this dynamic occurs, what we can do to change our own behaviours and how we can have those tricky conversations with our partners to create a more equal distribution of tasks in our homes. It's a conversation that is sure to stir up some thoughts (particularly for women – yip, research shows that 90%...

If you’ve ever found yourself pulling multiple all-nighters to meet a long-known deadline, or are constantly putting off things on your to-do list, you might be one of the estimated 20% of the population who procrastinate. In the final episode of the first season of What Matters Most, good friends and co-hosts Jacqui Maguire, a clinical psychologist, and Antonia Prebble, actor and presenter, have left the procrastination episode until (***joke alert***) the very end .  In Volume V of What...

It’s no wonder so many women aged in their late twenties to early forties are feeling paralysed by overwhelm. We have SO many decisions to make, all while we wade through SO many expectations – whether they’re ones we’ve put on ourselves, or ones that exist from our families, social media, or society as a whole. These dilemma-filled few years (eek, should I have a baby? Is it already too late? Am I with the right person? Should I be focusing on my job?!) are referred to as ‘The Panic Years’ –...

In Volume IV of What Matters Most, the pair are delving into all things friendship – why we need them, why they are so hard to find – or maintain – as adult life gets busier and the roadblocks we can put up, without knowing, when it comes to seeking connection with new people. Far from being a luxury, good quality friendships are our biggest indicator of a healthy and long life, Jacqui says. The pair share their own friendship origin story, cover off some of the grey areas that come with...

Whether it’s how you respond to a relationship tiff, or your reaction to authority, your inner child is potentially a lot closer to the surface than you might imagine. In Volume IV of What Matters Most, good friends and co-hosts Jacqui Maguire, clinical psychologist, and actor and presenter Antonia Prebble are taking a trip to our most vulnerable, joyful self – our inner child.  In this episode, the pair talk about the importance of our inner child and how tapping into what brings them joy –...

 Is there anything more likely to induce a stomach drop than knowing you have to have a difficult conversation with someone? Fun fact: even Jacqui, a clinical psychologist, says her common reaction is still likely to burst into tears when faced with a difficult conversation – so you’re in good company if that’s also you – plus Antonia says she’s far more likely to get dragged into conflict if she’s tired or hungry, and who amongst us hasn’t been there? In Volume II of What Matters Most, the...

Walk past any self-help book shelf or tune into any better-living podcast and you’ll be told that happiness is the end goal we all should be chasing. But… is it, actually? In Volume I of What Matters Most, close friends Jacqui Maguire, a clinical psychologist, and Antonia Prebble, actor and presenter, are tackling the pursuit of happiness. First off, how should we actually define happiness? Turns out, there are two types – hedonia, which is a fleeting experience or feeling; and eudemonia,...

Conversations between two friends that support, provide practical tools, are light hearted at times, joyful, soulful and offer that little bit of ‘friendship mixed with therapy’ on the days that you might need it.