Soul Grit

TW: This episode contains a story of violence and assault. Our guest will share how she has overcome the trauma that happened to her, but if you are sensitive to stories of violence, please choose another episode for today. Even if your personal story sounds like an episode of Dateline, there is hope, healing, and forgiveness possible. Our guest, Kimberly Haar, has a story that is difficult to bel...

Do you change and grow when you have those "Aha!" moments? When you understand why? Or does change actually happen when new habits, consistency, and accountability are in place? Brandon Joffe talks about the "seduction of why" in therapy. (Brandon also offers great wisdom for parents who may be struggling with their teens--including the host!) Brandon Joffe, LCSW, is the host of the " Hope for Par...

How does growing up in an Asian or Asian-American culture shape the way you live out your Christian faith? How do traditional Asian values measure up against biblical values? And how can we understand attachment to a loving God as a basis for our mental health? Gary Quan, LMFT, James Chen, AMFT, and Ari X. return for Part 2 of the conversation about their new book Asian American Chronicles - Tales...

What is unique about mental, emotional, and relational health in an AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) context? Our guests who are uniquely positioned to respond because of their identities as Christians, as Asian Americans, and as mental health providers are here for our first ever panel conversation with three guests. Gary Quan, LMFT is a return guest on the Soul Grit Podcast. Gary spearhead...

Why do we seem to repeat the same emotional patterns over our lifetimes? And why do we pair up with partners who activate those same dysfunctional patterns? Counseling veteran Dr. Gary Lawrence is here to share his wisdom from over 50 years of counseling, ministry, and coaching. He'll show us how our addiction to our own early rejection is tearing us apart. Dr. Gary Lawrence served as a pastor, co...

ADHD is just a diagnosis for hyper little boys, right? Not so! Many more adults are realizing that some of the struggles they face in adulthood--causing problems in work, relationships, and parenting--are actually due to ADHD. Perhaps a social media post has you wondering if this is you. Check out Tiffany's story to see if you relate, and listen to Ann's input from a therapist's perspective. Tiffa...

More and more kids and adults are being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other types of neurodivergence. If you love someone on the spectrum, you might wonder how he or she processes concepts like salvation or the church. How can parents help autistic kids come to know and love Jesus? Larah from @raisingautisticdisciples is here to encourage parents on this journey. Larah Roberts has wo...

Sexual addiction is a cry for intimacy and connection that has gone awry. The betrayal a partner feels is excruciating. So how can couples heal, move beyond addictive behaviors, and find true intimacy? Matthew and Joanna Raabsmith are here to share their journey and how they are helping couples heal and discover new levels of intimacy. Matthew and Joanna Raabsmith are a Coach-Therapist team with s...

We never want our children to suffer, but tragedy can strike any family. How do you talk to your kids about death? How do you lead them through grief when you are grieving yourself? Erin Nelson and Colleen Montague are here to talk about Jessica's House , a grief center serving families in Central California, and their new book, When Grief Comes Home: A Gentle Guide for Living Through Loss While S...

When a life-altering tragedy, or even just a big disappointment, threatens to derail your hopes and dreams, you might need a little bit of hope to believe that God plans to get you through it. After her husband's death, Tricia believed that her life was over, but God showed her that she could have "another beautiful life." Today she shares about how you can find peace, gain confidence, and transfo...

After a traumatic divorce, Kathy struggled to find the support she needed as a Christian woman, so she created it! In this episode, Kathy shares her pain, hard-won wisdom, and compassion for those who are navigating being divorced with all the changes to social life, church community, sense of self, and parenting. Kathy Kaspar is a certified coach, writer, speaker, and leader of the Success After...

It's a new year and we're being bombarded with messages about goals, resolutions, and transformations. It's high time that we get practical about setting goals in a way that works with our brains and honors God. In this episode, Renee Booe helps us to understand that we first consider who we want to be before we can decide what we should do. Renee Booe is a Biblical Brain-Based Life Coach and host...

ADHD brains are fascinating, creative, and capable of amazing things, but if you or someone you love struggles with the difficult parts of ADHD, this episode is for you. Chad Potts is back to talk about lifestyle changes, parenting strategies, and how pharmaceuticals can offer support. Chad Potts is a pharmacist, pastor, coach, and host of the RevRx Podcast. Find out more at www.therevrx.com and g...

If you were a youth group kid in the 90s, you are already familiar with the movement now known as "Purity Culture," a social, political, and religious movement aimed at pushing young people to "save" themselves for marriage. While there were biblical roots to this idea, many young people suffered trauma, shame, and misshapen sexual identities from some of the tactics. Dr. Camden Morgante is a psyc...

The holiday season is often a mix of stress and joy, but if you've lost someone, you might be dreading it. Bart Blair lost his teen son in 2021 and is using his experience in pastoral ministry to process through the complicated feelings of grief during the Christmas season. Trigger Warning: Teen suicide. Bart Blair is a pastor, author, and podcaster who specializes in church marketing and growth....

What does neurodiversity mean in the context of your family? Why does God allow some of us to suffer more than others? How can we think biblically about the the different ways our brains work? Emily Flowers is a blogger and a mom to a neurodivergent child who suffers with a psychiatric diagnosis. Through years of struggling, she is discovering how Jesus makes her radiant as she looks to Him. Find...

Psychiatrist, psychologist, or therapist? Which one should you see and when? Dr. Uejin Kim is a Texas-based child psychiatrist who started her private practice because she wanted to integrate her faith more authentically in her treatment of patients. In this episode, she discusses how her healing from church hurt and acknowledging her spiritual gifts has made her a better psychiatrist. Dr. Uejin K...

Have you noticed how divided our country is feeling just weeks away from Election Day? How do you deal with anxiety related to politics? How do therapists keep it together in sessions when clients have different beliefs? How can our Christian identity help us face this political climate with faith and hope? In this solo episode, Ann talks through the reasons for so much political anxiety, how ther...

How many feelings do you have in an average week? Probably a lot more than you acknowledge, express, or investigate! Depending on the culture and faith tradition that you've grown up in, you might not have learned how to think about your emotions, let alone talk to God about them. That can leave you feeling alone, awkward, and disconnected from God and others. Anjuli Paschall is helping us learn h...

We all became adults with quirks, hang-ups, and self-protective masks. But what if you could really let your essential self out of hiding, live in an integrated way, and pursue your dreams with new resilience? Dr. Merry Lin is here to share about her new book Rebecoming: Come Out of Hiding to Live as Your God-Given Essential Self , where she shows how personalities are developed--and hopefully re-...

Whether you choose to drink or not, you have a relationship with alcohol, a readily available and socially acceptable substance that has the power both to add to celebrations and to destroy lives. If you're considering reducing or eliminating alcohol from your life, you will need support. Our guest today shares her story about why she chose to forsake alcohol and how she's helping others do the sa...

Medications for mental health disorders can be a tricky subject, especially among Christians. If you've been prescribed something for your depression, anxiety, or mood, chances are your doctor didn't have time to explain to you how the medicine would work and what to expect. In this episode, we'll hear from Chad Potts, a pharmacist and pastor, about medicine and non-medical approaches to improving...

Is stress just the standard mode of operation in our modern society? It seems like everyone you meet is "busy" or "overwhelmed." What if you could learn to use spiritual practices to have more of the rest and abundant life that Jesus talked about? Barb Roose is a speaker, coach, Bible teacher, and the author of the new book Stronger than Stress: 10 Spiritual Practices to Win the Battle of Overwhel...

Many of us can improve our mental health by taking a few simple steps for our whole health--body, mind, and spirit. By working with an integrative health practitioner, you can find out how to get the bad stuff out and the good stuff in . Our guest today works with women from a Christian perspective on their physical, mental, and emotional health. Denise Sultenfuss, MA is a Certified Health-Wellnes...

If your teen has strayed or struggled, you might feel very alone as a parent. Our guest today has experienced it all with her parenting journey: from adoption, to body image, to self-harm, to jail time, all contributing to her own struggling health and relationships. But she is here today to offer hope and encouragement to parents of teens in crisis with a message: "You are not alone." Stacy Lee F...