CXMH: On Faith & Mental Health

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...

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.

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 communitie...

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.

We know it’s a time of massive uncertainty and anxiety right now, no matter where you are. Dr. Inna Khazan joins us this week to talk about 5 steps for navigating uncertainty and the discomfort that comes with it.

Seth Haines is back! In our continuation of last week’s conversation we talk about things like waking up to our coping mechanisms and living an embodied faith. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about Lent and what foods they could both eat forever (spoiler: they’re both candy).

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...

Today, we’re joined by Stephanie Lobdell to talk about ordinary losses and what resurrection has to tell us about those things. We talk about being a woman in ministry, Stephanie’s mental health diagnoses, facing the death of your expected future, how her loved ones have learned to be supportive and more.

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.

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.

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.

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 & H...

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 li...

Grab a mug of hot cocoa and snuggle up with a blanket, it’s time for a fireside chat with Robert & Holly! Your hosts get together to share listener-submitted traditions, talk about ways we’re reflecting on 2019, and what’s ahead in 2020. (Not included: mug, hot cocoa, blanket, fire)

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 t...

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.

It’s the holiday season, which can be both joyful & hard. We’re joined by Lanta Carroll, a counselor & pastor, to talk about grieving during this season. We talk about why it’s so complicated, some ideas for your own grief, and thoughts on how to support others personally or within a faith community.

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 le...

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 p...

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.

Are we living in especially lonely times? What does ‘hospitality’ mean? How could extending invitations change the way we live? We’re joined by Leslie Verner, author of Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Loneliness to talk about all of this and more. In the intro, Robert and Holly talk about their own experiences with hospitality, their favorite ice cream flavors, and why hospitality h...

This week, we’re joined by Dr. David Rosmarin to talk about integrating spiritual beliefs into treatment, navigating the distrust between faith & mental health, and more.

Have you ever wondered about our intro/outro music? Great news: we got together with the guys behind Rivers & Robots to learn more about their music, their ministry, and how they take care of their mental health while keeping so busy. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about writing and the challenges of getting stuck.

How does hunger impact mental health? How widespread is food insecurity across the United States? We’re joined by Jeremy Everett, founder of the Texas Hunger Initiative and author of the new book, I Was Hungry: Cultivating Common Ground to End an American Crisis. We obviously talk about hunger, but Jeremy also touches on why it’s so important to work together if we’re going to move past ‘charity’...

In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about the recent suicide deaths of pastor Jarrid Wilson & Gregory Eells. In the interview, we’re joined by Ryan Kuja to talk about the ways we should prepare better for missions. Ryan talks about thinking critically regarding our cultural lenses, our psychological needs, and our own stories. Ryan is the author of From the Inside Out: Reimagining Mission, Recreatin...