a podcast at the intersection of Christianity & mental health.

Episodes

100 - Balancing Working from Home with Intentional Family Time (feat. Dr. Karen Melton & Dr. Sara Perry)

For many of us, we’re trying to figure out working from home while balancing family needs for the same time. To help talk us through some practical tips and ideas, we brought on two guests: Dr. Karen Melton (an expert on family leisure time) and Dr. Sara Perry (an expert on working remotely). They help us talk through the challenges, potential ideas, and helpful reminders for making this time work as well as we can.

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99 - Mindful Practices for Rekindling Your Faith (feat. Steve Wiens)

This week, we’re joined by Steve Wiens to talk about his new book Shining like the Sun: Seven Mindful Practices for Rekindling Your Faith. He talks about using practices like attentiveness, simplicity, and rhythm to find the Divine, as well as talking some about picking up poop. It’s a good one, we promise.

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98 - Thinking About Sick Systems, Caring for Sick People (feat. David Finnegan-Hosey)

Today we talk with David Finnegan-Hosey, a college chaplain who’s written about his experience with inpatient treatment for Bipolar Disorder. We hear about that experience and then take a deep dive into his latest book, Grace Is A Pre-Existing Condition: Faith, Systems, and Mental Healthcare. We talk about seeing sick systems instead of sick people, ‘thoughts and prayers’, and how faith communities can care for those with mental health concerns while helping to change harmful systemic problems.

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Checking In: How Are We Doing?

This episode is different from anything we’ve done on CXMH before: it’s an episode just checking in with Robert & Holly to see how we’re doing amidst the chaos of the current moment. This conversation is less as professionals and more as just human beings who are also navigating the uncertainty and changes that the COVID-19 pandemic have brought.

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95 - 3 Shapes of Pain & What Divine Love Has to Say (feat. Seth Haines)

We’re joined this week by Seth Haines, author of the new book The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Divine Love That Reorders a Life. He tells us his story of realizing he had a drinking problem and finding sobriety that inspired his first book, Coming Clean. Then we talk about his new book, 3 common shapes of pain, how divine love responds, our unhealthy addictions/attachments, and more. In the intro, Robert & Holly celebrate Holly getting tenure.

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93 - Using the Enneagram & Neuroscience for Practical Growth (feat. Dr. Jerome Lubbe)

We loved last week’s episode with Dr. Jerome Lubbe so much we invited him back right away! Jerome stops back by to talk about ways to use the Enneagram for practical growth, ideas for how to care for ourselves better, moving from ‘I am a number’ to focusing on our innate human capacity, why some of our numbers might change, and more.

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92 - Neuroscience, Faith, Identity, the Enneagram, & Self-Care (feat. Dr. Jerome Lubbe)

Have you ever wondered how neuroscience intersects with faith, or how they both intersect with the Enneagram? We talk with Dr. Jerome Lubbe about that, the neurotheology of self-care, identity formation, and much more. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about what’s currently giving them life.

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91 - Spiritual Bypassing (feat. Dr. Jesse Fox)

What is Spiritual Bypassing? We talk with Dr. Jesse Fox about his work in this area, what it looks like to use spirituality as a resource (or as a method of avoidance), offering unhelpful platitudes vs. helpful responses, and more. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about a recent Wall Street Journal article that discussed pastors and their mental health.

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90 - Small Beginnings, Other People's Stories, & Being Made to Make (feat. Morgan Harper Nichols)

This week, artist and internet phenomenon Morgan Harper Nichols stops by the show. We talk about small beginnings, finding inspiration in the day-to-day, hearing other people’s stories, creativity, and how her artwork reflects faith & mental health. Morgan also shares with us some brand-new poems from her new book All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about freedom and structure in daily rhythms.

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89 - Trying Softer, Self Compassion, & Moving from Survival to Joy (feat. Aundi Kolber)

It’s 2020! Robert & Holly talk about New Year’s intentions in the intro, and then chat with trauma therapist Aundi Kolber about her new book Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode--and into a Life of Connection and Joy. Aundi talks about attachment, being compassionate with ourselves, expanding our window of tolerance, white-knuckling through life, and listening to our bodies.

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88 - Practical Tools for Mental Health Ministry (feat. Joe Padilla)

Joe Padilla (co-founder of Mental Health Grace Alliance) joins us to talk about the practicalities of ministering to people’s mental health within a faith community. We get asked a ton about resources for small groups, trainings, etc. to help equip people to do this kind of work, and Joe breaks down what Grace Alliance offers and their thinking behind it. We also hear some of Joe’s story and why the work is so personal to him. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about holiday traditions.

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87 - Getting the Rest You Actually Need (feat. Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith)

Have you ever wondered why you’re still tired if you’re getting enough sleep? How do we know if we’re actually even resting? Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith stops by the show to tell us about 7 different types of rest and how to make sure we’re actually restoring what we’re pouring out.

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85 - Why & How Should Therapists Talk About Faith? (feat. Dr. Cassandra Vieten)

Should mental health professionals ask about clients’s spiritual & religious beliefs? Today’s guest says ‘yes.’ Dr. Cassandra Vieten stops by to talk about her new book Spiritual and Religious Competencies in Clinical Practice: Guidelines for Psychotherapists and Mental Health Professionals as well as touch on subjects like trends towards ‘spiritual but not religious’, recommendations for faith leaders, and more. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about their recent travels and the tooth fairy!

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84 - Technology, Media, & Living Our Theology (feat. Dr. Angela Gorrell)

What role do things like social media, streaming content, and other new media play in shaping our faith lives? How do we have productive conversations about it? Is this even worth considering? Rev. Dr. Angela Gorrell (author of Always On: Practicing Faith in a New Media Landscape) stops by to talk about these questions and more. Angela’s uniquely qualified to talk about the issues, having been a pastor, taught college courses on social media, & more.

One note: if the intro sounds like it’s a week behind, that’s because it is. This episode was supposed to air last week but got pushed back due to sick kids.

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83 - How Can Faith Communities & Human Service Providers Collaborate? (feat. Dave Eckert)

This week we talk with Dave Eckert, a pastor, social worker, and director of Intersect (an initiative to train, consult and collaborate with human services providers and faith communities). Dave describes 6 key assets to this kind of work, going beyond faith leaders & mental health professionals to describe how we can all play a role.

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