This week we’re joined by Dr. Mary Cail, author of Dementia and the Church: Memory, Care, and Inclusion and Alzheimer's: A Crash Course for Friends and Relatives. She explains why the church’s role can be so important in caring for those impacted by dementia, some basic steps to start in memory ministry, and why ‘informed compassion’ is so important.
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This week we talk with Diana Gruver, author of Companions in the Darkness: Seven Saints Who Struggled with Depression and Doubt. She talks to us about the struggles of people like Charles Spurgeon, Mother Theresa, William Cowper, Martin Luther King Jr., and more. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about historical figures that have shaped them.
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On this week’s episode we’re joined by Dr. Amy Marschall to talk about being a trauma-informed community. What does ‘trauma-informed’ even mean? What changes when we use that lens? How does it shape caring for others (and ourselves)? We talk about all this and more!
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This week we’re joined by Abby Norman, author of the new book You Can Talk to God Like That: The Surprising Power of Lament to Save Your Faith. She tells us about lament on a personal level, a community level, and a societal level.
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This week we’re joined by the wonderful Sarah J. Robinson! Sarah’s upcoming book I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die: Finding Hope in the Darkness of Depression shares her journey of wrestling with things like suicidal thoughts and self-harm while also figuring out her faith.
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This week we talk with therapist Krispin Mayfield about attachment science, how that shapes our relationships, and how that shapes our connections with God. In the intro, Robert and Holly share about things they’re attached to.
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This week, we're joined by psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Hankerson. Dr. Hankerson is passionate about training clergy on counseling depressed community members and has worked extensively with communities in New York to build partnerships between faith communities & mental healthcare providers to help people get treatment for mental health. He tells us about barriers to care in African American communities, what role faith communities play, and how to build relationships between those communities and mental health providers to overcome some barriers.
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This week, we talk with Alexandra Thompson, LCSW about the church’s responsibility in caring for the mental health needs of communities. We also hear about her own experiences with infertility, adoption, and why she’s passionate about those topics. In the intro, Robert and Holly talk about Advent.
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The first week of May is Children’s Mental Health Week, and to celebrate we’ve got the second part of our conversation with Dr. Stephen Grcevich! We cover a lot of ground including things to look for in children, the medicating of kids (are we overdoing it?), the rising rates of anxiety & ADHD in children, and helping our kids be resilient. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about Burger King’s recent campaign “for” Mental Health Awareness Month.
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In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Stephen Grcevich (founder of Key Ministry and author of Mental Health and the Church) to talk about how we can make our churches & ministries more inclusive to those encountering mental health struggles and their families. Dr. Grcevich talks about the 7 barriers identified in his book and what we can do about them. (Next week, he comes back to talk about children’s mental health, so make sure you come back too!) In the intro, Holly and Robert discuss several birthdays and how to balance focusing on too many things at once.
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This week, we’re airing an interview Holly recorded back when Robert was on podternity leave (flashback!). She talks with Storey Cook, director of Reclaim Recovery Ministry at Harris Creek in Waco. They talk about recovery ministries, how 12 step programs fit into a faith context, and the importance that doing your own work plays in helping others.
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It’s Valentine’s week, and one important conversation to have is about singleness. What messages do people get about being single? Are there positives and negatives? How can the church do a better job at creating space for single people to exist and to lead? We’re joined by Dr. Bella DePaulo and Holly Stallcup to talk about it.
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Folks, it's been a tough week. The deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain by suicide filled the headlines, and the CDC released a new report that suicide rates have been rising across the Unites States. As a result, I wanted to rebroadcast this episode from last year on Suicide Prevention for new listeners or long-time listeners who might find it helpful again.
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Everyone's favorite bad missionary, Jamie Wright, stops by to talk about her new book, the problems with missions, and how her self-worth and mental health impacted her over the years.
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Did you like last week's episode? Then you're in luck! Dr. Holly Oxhandler returns as this week’s guest host, sitting down with Dr. Jon Singletary again to talk about the Enneagram some more. This week, they talk about how the Enneagram can be applied to communities using the thinking/feeling/doing centers, how each of these centers impacts communities’ responses to various issues (including promoting mental health), and where the Enneagram and mental health may intersect.
Read MoreThis week, I talk with life & leadership coach, author, & speaker Amy Simpson. We talk extensively about Amy's book Troubled Minds: Mental Illness & The Church's Mission, and we talk a lot about her experiences growing up with her father as a pastor and her mother being diagnosed with schizophrenia. She shares how those experiences impacted her, what she wishes would've been available to help her, and how the church can help families going through similar things today.
Read MoreIt's National Suicide Prevention Day, so we're releasing this episode on Sunday. Also: holy cow. We talk with Kay Warren, and it's phenomenal. She shares a lot of her story with us including molestation, trauma, losing a son to suicide, working in ministry, and more. You (seriously) don't want to skip this one.
Read MoreWe're kicking off Season 2 strong! In the intro, we talk about internet trolls and get into a fight about college football. Then we're joined by Jason Chesnut, co-founder of The Slate Project and ordained ELCA pastor to talk about his depression, intersectional justice, switching medications, and Harry Potter.
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