Soul Grit

Beyond lock-checking and hand-washing, OCD forced Ryan to drop out of seminary twice. In this episode, Ryan shares with Ann how he discovered he had some bad "habits," how he overcame the debilitating impact of OCD, and how he sees now that his faith is a gift. Ryan Ragozine is the host of the Thinker Sensitive Podcast , where he helps Christians and skeptics alike develop "think better" and "thin...

Last week we celebrated 50 episodes and next month we will have the first anniversary of the Soul Grit Podcast. It's time that Ann told you about her labor of love, an e-course designed to help therapists integrate their Christian faith into their practices. If you're a counselor (or in school to become one) this episode is for you! If you're not in the counseling field, you're welcome to listen i...

Christians deal with anxiety, just like anyone else. In fact, anxiety on the whole has been on the rise (can you guess why)? But Christians have power to overcome anxiety that the world doesn't have. Healey Ikerd is a licensed therapist who wrote a book called Changing Your Feelings: A Workbook and Journal for Anxiety and Worry to help Christians manage anxiety with tools from both Scripture and t...

If you're a human, you are in relationship. Relationships are the domain of Marriage and Family Therapists, and one of the big issues we see in practice is the need to give and receive forgiveness. We know that the Bible instructs us to forgive, but it doesn't really seem like it explains how to forgive. Author Janey Pitts helps us understand what forgiveness means in the Bible and offers some pra...

Most prisoners are impacted by trauma, mental health, and relational needs that have little chance of being met while they are incarcerated. Jennifer Brianne, author and podcaster, is the founder of the Pens to Prisons ministry, which organizes volunteers to write letters incorporating prayer, scripture, and encouragement to inmates in approximately 10 different prisons in 5 states. Hear her persp...

Getting arrested and processed through county jail is traumatizing in itself, but many inmates have mental health challenges before they even arrive in the system. Ann talks with Gary Quan, LMFT, about his time serving in the county jail offering hope and dignity to inmates who find themselves in the cycle of incarceration. Come back next week to learn more about a ministry that is offering messag...

If you had a mental health crisis, would you be able to afford treatment? Today's guest, Andrew Syed, realized after his own encounter with trauma treatment that he had what many do not: a chance to get the therapy he needed when he needed it most. Along with some friends, he founded A Way Thru, a non-profit that helps people from under-served backgrounds access mental health care. You can learn m...

Who do you call first when you have a crisis? Your pastor, or a therapist? Depending on your background and what you're going through, your answer might be different. The beginning of this episode includes the end of the conversation that started in the previous episode with Pastor Charles Wolfe. Then Ann explains why she sees pastors and therapists as frontline workers. Follow @soulgritresources...

Charles Wolfe is the pastor of a small local church. As a Soul Grit listener, he started to ask questions about how therapists and pastors can both come alongside hurting people in a collaborative way. In this episode, Ann and Charles discuss why Christians need support from both pastors and therapists and started brainstorming about how to make this kind of holistic care available. You can find o...

If your family ever hit a moment when a big or a small crisis turned your lives upside down, you may or may not have known that family therapy could help you out. But many of us think of family therapy as too daunting or too impractical to make that phone call. In this episode, Ann is joined by Lauren McClain, LMFT-A, to talk about family therapy and how it can help in all sorts of family situatio...

Kicking off a mini-series about families and family therapy, Soul Grit welcomes Tammy Kennington, a Christian writer, speaker, coach, and mental health advocate. Tammy shares her story of a childhood filled with abuse and the ways God brought about healing in her adult life. Trigger Warning: physical and sexual abuse, generational curses. Ann jumps in to help listeners understand the clinical fami...

Whether you're a Disney fan or just a nerd about family therapy, you'll love this episode. Ibinye Osibodu-Onyali, LMFT returns to the Soul Grit Podcast to talk about Disney's new hit movie Encanto. Ann and Ibi discuss the family dynamics, mental health issues, and generational trauma present in the Madrigal family. Then they tie it back to roles and gifts in the family of God. Whether or not you'v...

Today's episode is a continuation of last week's conversation (Ep. 39: Making Up Your Mind - Pt. 1). You will learn all about mindset and how to choose a healthy one, plus lots more about following Jesus and improving your mental health. Michelle Nietert is the co-author of the upcoming book, Make Up Your Mind , which is available now for pre-order. You can find out more about Michelle on her webs...

Why is mindset important? What does the Bible say about our mindsets? In today's episode, Ann chats with Michelle Nietert, a mental health professional and author of an upcoming book Make Up Your Mind . Besides mindset, Ann and Michelle cover lots of topics related to therapy and following Jesus. You can find out more about Michelle on her website www.yourmentalhealthcoach.com or follow her on soc...

Pastor Drew Froese reveals the moment he realized he wasn't functioning as well as he could mentally and emotionally. In this episode, Ann and Drew talk about how medication helped Drew function as a compassionate and connected father, husband, and leader, and how sharing about his mental health struggles has helped others get the support they need. Find out more about Drew and his book FAITH FULL...

Are you hesitant about meds because you've heard people struggling with side effects or becoming addicted to them? Let Ann share with you her own story of medication, starting from the time she was 17. In this episode, Ann shares personal experience with meds over the course of several major life events, and how she keeps godly discernment in view at all times. Follow @soulgritresources on FB and...

Is it ok for Christians to take antidepressants or anti-anxiety meds? What about more serious conditions that need meds? How should we understand the role of God's healing versus medical science for mental health conditions? In this episode, Ann offers some answers to questions about a Christian's approach to psych meds, when they should be taken and when they shouldn't. Listen in for a balanced v...

Maybe you know God called you to do something big, but you're not sure how to get going? Or maybe your mental health struggles and self-doubt have kept you from really understanding God's purpose for your life? Listen to this conversation with Taylor Phillips, author of Training Ground: From Anointing to Appointing, and get inspired to get after the dreams God put in your heart. Taylor shares how...

Before we can get to any real deep therapy work, we have to have a good foundation. If you want to maximize your mental and spiritual health in 2022, here are five simple resets you may consider. Last week, Ann covered sleep, nutrition, and exercise. In this second part, Ann covers social support and spirituality , and how they impact your mental health, and some quick steps to getting things on t...

Before we can get to any real deep therapy work, we have to have a good foundation. If you want to maximize your mental and spiritual health in 2022, here are five simple resets you may consider. In this solo episode, Ann covers sleep, movement, and nutrition, how they impact your mental health, and some quick steps to getting things on track. Next week, Ann will continue covering the 5 areas by f...

If you're feeling overwhelmed by all the festive foods this season, you'll love listening to this conversation between Ann and Jess Doan. Both are therapists, moms, Jesus-lovers, and foodies that need to have daily conversations with God about this "thorn in the flesh." In this episode, we talk about self-soothing, being connected to God and others, and some practical tips to bring order to your h...

What brings you joy? Have you ever made a list? How would you put it into practice in your daily life? Listen in to Ann's second session of joy coaching with Robin Shear of Joy to the World Coaching. This is Part Two of a two part coaching experience. Check out Episode 30 from December 7, 2021 for Part One. You can find out more about Robin at www.joytotheworldcoaching.com . She's also active on s...

We hear a lot about joy in the Bible, but how many of us have it? And do we stop to get more of it when we're lacking? Ann chats with Robin Shear, a Joy Coach, about the differences between joy and happiness and how coaching can help people get more joy in their lives. In this episode, Ann gets vulnerable and allows Robin to coach her--and you get to overhear her session. This is Part One of a two...

Never heard of C-IQ? It stands for Conversational Intelligence, a way of having more successful and satisfying conversations. Ann talks with Nicole Devereaux, a certified C-IQ trainer, about how to have better conversations within our workplaces, families, and communities. Being heard and understood is a major step towards having great relationships and mental health. You can find out more about N...

Over the last 8 weeks we have heard from therapists and pastors about their own experiences with church hurt and helping others through those wounds. In this episode, Ann recaps what we learned and offers some reflections about the process of talking publicly about church hurt. Thanks for tuning in to the first ever series on the Soul Grit Podcast. Stay tuned for some fun, light-hearted episodes c...