Episodes

Robert and Holly reflect on Season 4, talk about taking the summer off, and set some goals for the next few months. We’ll see you in the fall for Season 5! Full show notes available here.

It’s our last interview of Season 4! We’re glad to be joined by Dr. Alex Korb, a neuroscientist and author of The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time. We talk about what motivates us, why small

Instead of the episode we had scheduled for this week, we wanted to amplify voices of those doing important work around racial justice. As a result, we’re rereleasing our interview with Austin Channing Brown from 2018. In the show notes you’ll find a list of resources we’ve seen recommended by racial justice activists & leaders.

This week we’re joined by Melody Moezzi, author of the new book The Rumi Prescription: How an Ancient Mystic Poet Changed My Modern Manic Life. She talks with us about Rumi, her experiences with a bipolar diagnosis, the challenges between faith & mental healthcare, and how to fight injustice with love instead of anger. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about end-of-the-school year traditions.

How do we give up on ‘hiding in hurry,’ opting instead to be present to our bodies and our stories? Therapist and author K.J. Ramsey joins us to talk about her new book This Too Shall Last, her own story, and how we can shift from thinking pain is a problem to be solved to seeing it as a story to tell. In the intro, Robert & Holly offer some words for those graduating.

What do we do when faced with suffering (either our own or someone else’s)? Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren and Sara Showalter Van Tongeren (authors of the new book The Courage to Suffer) join us to talk about existential questions, facing the darkness, and coming out on the other side. They walk us through the steps of Sunset, Dusk, Midnight, Dawn, and Daylight, explaining the importance of meaning-making and how we can help each other.

How do we communicate well? Do the same principles apply to settings like one-on-one, preaching, writing, or posting online? We talk with communication expert Dr. Heather Thompson Day about all of that and more! (Communication is really about listening! Why should we tell stories? What about ‘platform building’?)

This week, we’re joined by relationship experts Dr. Rod Hetzel & Dr. Susan Matlock-Hetzel who talk us through the Gottman Institute’s Sound Relationship House Theory. They explain how to build trust and commitment in your marriage or partnership, offering ideas like building love maps, sharing fondness and admiration, turning towards instead of away, keeping a positive perspective, managing conflict, making life dreams come true, and creating shared meaning. If that list seemed like a lot, it’s ...

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 as well as we can.

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 communities can care for those with mental health concerns while helping to change harmful systemic problems.

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 intro, Robert & Holly celebrate Holly getting tenure.

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 & Holly talk about freedom and structure in daily rhythms.

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 listening to our bodies.

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 the work is so personal to him. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about holiday traditions.

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.