Mind and Spirit Podcast: With Luke Johanni

When a child is upset, overwhelmed, or melting down, it’s easy for parents to feel pulled into the chaos. In this short Skills Episode, Luke Johanni, LGPC, NCC, focuses on what actually helps in those moments; not controlling behavior, but staying steady when your child can’t. Building off Episode 12, this episode introduces a simple skill for responding to child distress by regulating yourself fi...

Fatherhood isn’t just about raising children. It’s about who a man becomes in the process. In Episode 12 of Mind and Spirit , Catholic-integrative therapist Luke Johanni explores the inner growth of being a father. Drawing from psychology, attachment research, and lived experience, this episode looks at how fatherhood forms a man from the inside out. You’ll learn why presence matters, how emotiona...

Season 2 of Mind and Spirit is HERE! Today, Luke Johanni, LGPC, NCC, guides you through a calming, prayerful guided imagery exercise designed to help you slow down, release stress, and meet your God-guided future self. Through visualization, Scripture, and gentle reflection, you’ll explore the desires God is placing on your heart and the next steps He may be inviting you to take. A free PDF versio...

Season 2 of Mind and Spirit is STARTS TOMORROW! Bringing with it Skills Episodes! Short episodes focused on providing you with immediate tools to help you find clarity, focus, peace, and direction in the moments you need it most. These episodes will continue to alternate with our full-length Season 1 conversations, giving you additional practical techniques to practice each week. Your support help...

What if the very thing we turn to for relief is quietly rewiring our mind, reshaping our desires, and pulling us further from the life we want?  In this episode of Mind and Spirit , Catholic-integrativetherapist Luke Johanni, LGPC, unpacks how pornography hijacks the brain, distorts identity, and fractures our capacity for love; and why so many men feel trapped in shame, secrecy, and cycles they c...

What does it really mean to be a man today? In a world that swings between extremes (calling masculinity either “toxic” or meaningless) many men are left without a clear, healthy, or hopeful vision of who they are called to be. In this episode, we explore authentic masculinity through the lenses of psychology, Catholic theology, and lived experience. We look at the distortions (machismo, dominatio...

For generations, men have been taught to stay strong, stay silent, and handle it alone. But what happens when silence becomes the very thing that’s breaking us? In this episode of Mind and Spirit , Catholic-integrativetherapist Luke Johanni, LGPC, explores the hidden epidemic of men’s mental health; the exhaustion, anger, and addictions that grow from unspoken pain. Through practical psychology, f...

When prayer feels empty and heaven seems quiet, it’s easy to wonder if God has left you. In this episode of Mind and Spirit , Catholic-integrated therapist, Luke Johanni, explores what the saints called the Dark Night of the Soul; a season when God withdraws the feeling of His presence not to punish, but to purify and deepen our love. You’ll learn how to recognize the difference between spirituald...

What do you do when prayer feels empty and God seems silent? In this first part of the When God Feels Far mini-series, Catholic-integrated therapist Luke Johanni explores what it means to feel abandoned by God; when life’s pain and people’s failures make Him seem distant. You’ll hear how Scripture, psychology, and faith come together to reframe this experience through the story of Job, the practic...

Healing from trauma isn’t about forgetting the past. It’s about learning to live freely beyond its grip. After understanding what trauma does to the brain, body, and soul in Part 1, this second half of the Healing Trauma series explores what recovery looks like when psychology and faith work hand in hand.   In this episode of Mind and Spirit , Catholic-integrativetherapist Luke Johanni unpacks how...

Some wounds don’t just fade with time. They live quietly in the body, shaping how we think, react, and even pray. When past pain lingers beneath the surface, it can color everything: our relationships, our sense of safety, and our view of God Himself. In this episode of Mind and Spirit , Catholic-integrative therapist, Luke Johanni begins a two-part series on trauma: what it really is, how it rewi...

When faith turns into fear and prayer becomes a compulsion, that’s not devotion, it’s scrupulosity. And it’s time we talk about it. In this episode of Mind and Spirit , Catholic-integrated therapist Luke Johanni unpacks what scrupulosityreally is, a form of OCD that turns religious practice into anxiety, and how both psychology and Catholic wisdom reveal a path toward peace. You’ll learn what OCD...

What is anxiety, really? Why isn’t it the same for everyone In this episode of Mind and Spirit , Catholic-integrated therapist Luke Johanni unpacks the difference between anxiety and fear, explores four distinct categories of anxiety (clinical, situational, trauma-based, and spiritual), and explains how negative self-talk can keep us stuck. You’ll also hear how psychology and Catholic faith come t...

What’s the difference between guilt and shame, and which one does God actually want for your healing? In this episode of Mind and Spirit , Catholic integrative therapist, Luke Johanni, explores St. Paul’s teaching on godly grief vs. worldly grief, how the Catechism defines contrition, and what John Paul II and Aquinas reveal about shame. You’ll also hear how psychology confirms the Church’s wisdom...

Welcome to the very first episode of Mind and Spirit ! I share my story of how God turned brokenness into calling and why I became a Catholic-integrated therapist. Growing up, I believed I had to earn God’s love, which led me into shame and despair—until the parable of the Prodigal Son became personal and I discovered the Father’s mercy. In this episode, I open up about my struggles with depressio...