Love and Life with Dr. Karin and Pastor Elliott

As a psychiatric nurse, David Wayne believed wholeheartedly in the veracity of medical research and the necessity of pharmaceutical interventions—until he saw how ineffective and at times, harmful, these “treatments” were.  He began to question his profession—especially psychiatry’s pharmaceutical “solution” for every mental health concern. Then COVID descended, and because he chose not to inject...

The election is upon us and the political divide—well, it’s probably better described as a chasm.  So, we weren’t surprised to receive this question from a listener: “I’ve seen this rhetoric start to pop up on social media, leading into the election:  ‘Don’t tell someone you love them, and then vote for someone who will hurt them.’ How do we deal with this type of divisive statement?” Our listener...

Elliott didn’t know about this—I’m way more into current events than he is—so I decided to inform him during our episode. I wanted him to share his thoughts as a therapist, husband, father, and perhaps most importantly, as a pastor. Abortion is a heavy, sensitive, and painful, subject—at least, it used to be. Clinton claimed it should be, “Safe, legal, and rare.” Now women are encouraged to, “Shou...

Today Pastor Elliott and Producer Tim continue our series on "What is a Man?" In his work as a counselor and pastor Elliott has developed a thesis for what he believes makes up the theology of a man based on the book of Genesis. Specifically Elliott dives into the following topics: Accountability Responsibility Sacrifice Interdependence And how men facility all of these topics into their...

As you’ve likely heard, last week Olympic boxer Imane Khelif beat Angela Carini in a bout that lasted only 46 seconds. Carini said of Khelif’s punch to her nose, “I’ve never been hit so hard in my life.” Controversy ensued because just last year, Khelif had been disqualified from competing in the World Boxing Championships in the women’s category because of testosterone levels that were higher tha...

Our world feels increasingly chaotic and morally inverted. And for those who remain skeptical and endeavor to think critically and rationally, it’s extremely overwhelming. As you know from episode 294 “COVID Trauma:  How to Move Through Post COVID Stress Disorder,” Elliott and I have lost trust in many, if not most, of the institutions we once thought were at least somewhat honorable. Who can we t...

My father-in-law passed away a month ago. We knew his death was imminent, so we weren’t caught off guard, but I was definitely surprised by the depth of my grief. I’d only known Max for 14 years and because I was in my 40s when I joined the Abrell family, I hadn’t had the years of connection with him. Yet my grief was significant and multifaceted. My mom, Elliott, and our brother, Warren, attended...

As psychotherapists, Elliott and I obviously view love and life through a psychological lens. We take a holistic approach to love and life—underscoring the interaction of our mind, body, and spirit. Elliott takes this approach in his role as a pastor, too.  He reads the Bible and interprets scripture through this lens. God designed psychology—meaning, how God created human thinking and behaving. W...

Please enjoy this conversation Dr. Karin had on the Single and Not Settling podcast! A note from Vanessa of Single and Not Settling: "This is absolutely a dream come true. I was so nervous throughout this interview as I could have pinched myself, achieving this goal of mine. You see in 2020 after I was ghosted and the world shut down, I found a podcast by Dr Karin. Her advice on dating and re...

Recently, I read an article in Time Magazine titled, “America Has Reached Peak Therapy. Why Is Our Mental Health Getting Worse?” Obviously, the content was quite sobering. How is it that mental health awareness is up, stigma is down—and yet, we’re more depressed and anxious than ever!?! I knew I wanted to discuss the article with Elliott and share it with the Love & Life community. Specificall...

No surprise, Elliott and I had plenty to say on this topic so we broke up the debate into two parts. In part 1 (ep. 304), Elliott and I tackled 3 questions: Are younger couples more at risk of codependency because they marry before their identities are sufficiently formed? Do older couples struggle to adjust to the division of labor and day to day norms because they’re “stuck in their ways?” What...

Recently Dr. Karin appeared on the Odyssey Resilience podcast to discuss dating and anxiety!  From Odyssey Resilience:  “Dr. Karin Anderson Abrell is a psychologist, author, podcast host, and musician. Her book, Single is the New Black: Don't Wear White 'Til It's Right is a word of empowerment to singles—encouraging them to stay strong amidst “single shaming,” live life on their own te...

Elliott and I have been meaning to debate this question for a while now—so here it is! Elliott married at the tender age of 22 and, as for me, I was 42 before Dan and I tied the knot. We both have strong, loving marriages. We’re both incredibly happy. But, we took very different paths. Over the years, we’ve had fun taking sides—with Elliott proclaiming the benefits of marrying young and me asserti...

Imagine this: you’ve worked your whole life to swim at the collegiate level. You make the team at an Ivy League school. All those sacrifices paid off—you’re competing at the elite level! And then, before your sophomore year, a guy joins the team. His name is Will, but he now goes by Lia because during his junior year, he decided he was a woman and started hormone therapy. You don’t think it’s righ...

In the midst of newlywed bliss, we often overlook the importance of presenting ourselves to our families and friends as a united front. That is, until our in-laws begin to meddle and make inappropriate demands . . .  Of course, we remain respectful of our parents and in-laws. Of course, we want to avail ourselves of their wisdom and guidance. But, a young couple (or not-so-young couple) must demon...

You have questions. We’ve got answers! As part of our series on Elliott’s premarital counseling curriculum, we shared 2 episodes about how to cultivate true sexual intimacy and fulfillment.  We received some feedback from listeners whose sex lives are extremely difficult. They don’t intend to leave their marriages for various reasons–there are children involved, or they love each other deeply desp...

A 2016 Pew Research Poll found that just 44% of respondents consider shared religious beliefs to be key to a successful marriage. Therefore, 66% of us aren’t too worried about aligning spiritually with our partner. But, is it wise to minimize this? Actually, according to multiple studies, couples who pray together DO stay together. In fact, marital satisfaction is highly correlated with religious...

Dave Wayne had found his passion and purpose in life. As a psychiatric nurse, he’d gained the respect of both his peers and superiors–so much so, that he won a prestigious award at his hospital!. Not long after receiving this accolade, Dave was fired. Why? He declined to take an injection of an experimental product.  But as so often happens in life, our darkest moments propel us in a new direction...

We started an occasional series a while ago called, “Empowered Evolving” in part, because I saw so much shifting all around us. Beliefs that had once been considered integral to folks with certain philosophical ideology, now seem to be embraced by those on the opposite side of things. Furthermore, over the last several years, we’ve witnessed the abolition of core American rights I thought we all v...

Sometimes, even when we’re well into adulthood, dynamics from our family of origin continue to impact us and our relationships.  We may be physically distant, but still emotionally enmeshed! Oftentimes, we remain entangled in family drama, which consumes our time and energy. What’s worse—it robs us of the emotional bandwidth necessary to pursue healthy, romantic partnership.  We may not actually b...

In Elliott’s final session of his premarital curriculum, he delves into a topic which all too often proves incredibly difficult for couples to discuss—sex. We began this conversation in episode 295 but, because there’s obviously a lot to talk about, we broke it up into 2 parts. Elliott shares Biblical wisdom to help couples cultivate deep, meaningful sexual connections. He also provides practical...

In the final session of Elliott’s premarital curriculum, he helps couples develop habits and dynamics necessary for cultivating sexual intimacy and fulfillment. Step one—you need to be able to talk about it! As Elliott notes, many couples struggle to discuss this most important element of their relationship. Elliott shares the key questions he poses to couples to assist them in establishing a soli...

Four years after “2 weeks to stop the spread” and I’m still reeling. They say, “Get over it. Move on! COVID’s done.”  Of course, I’d like to forget about it. But, it doesn’t feel “done” to me. I’m still trying to get my bearings.  Elliott says it’s Post COVID Trauma. We all feel it to some degree. And, we all deal with it differently. How could we NOT be traumatized? We’d never experienced anythin...

In the fifth session of Elliott’s premarital curriculum he discusses the relationship dynamics related to money and power. Karin is out of town this week so Elliott and Tim tackle this topic and address the following issues: How do we communicate with our partner about finances? What role do you play with your partner in relationship to money? How do money and power co-exist in the context of a pa...

We all know conflict is unavoidable. And, it’s certainly inherent to marriage. In the fourth session of Elliott’s premarital curriculum, couples take a deep dive into all aspects of conflict. We know it’s inevitable, but can conflict actually strengthen our bond and cultivate intimacy? Specifically we address: Why does conflict happen?  When is it most likely to occur?  When disputes arise, what’s...