As we enter the Advent season, we pause to remember the beautiful rhythms God gives us through the four candles of Advent—Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love—all pointing us toward the final candle: the Light of Christ. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we are invited to not only celebrate these truths but to practice them in our daily life, our relationships, and our marriages.
In this podcast, Dan and Stephanie will guide you through how each Advent theme can become a spiritual anchor for your heart and your neurodiverse marriage.
 Christmas50
Use this code on special courses selected for 50% off!


https://www.christianneurodiversemarriage.com/courses

Courses included:

• Struggling to Connect

• Autism & Neurobiology

• Autism Female Phenotype

• Marriage & Family 22 sessions

Today, Dr. Holmes talks to Heidi and Robin about AVA: Autistic Voiceover Artists.
What if there were a place- a program- a community for autistic adults who want to use their voice talents in the voiceover industry? THERE IS! Have you thought about all the ways voiceover work is possible?
 About our Guests:
Heidi S. Hackney MS, PCC, Co-Founder
Certified Autism Coach, ICF Accredited Life Coach, Masters in Human Development
   Robin Brooke SAG-AFTRA, AEA, Co-Founder
Professional Voiceover Talent of 20+ Years. Established VO Instructor and Coach. AVA Program Director.
 How to contact:
https://autisticvoiceoverartists.org/

About the Program
Here at AVA, our mission is to empower autistic adults in the voiceover industry, redefine the creative community, and inspire positive change in the way society perceives and embraces neurodiversity.
 Please join us! Together, we can make voices heard, dreams realized, and a more inclusive world for all.
 Live classes led by voiceover professionals
Elevate your artistry with specialty workshops
Access voiceover video courses 24/7
A subscription program designed to work for you
 The program is affordable!

Today, Dr. Stephanie Holmes talks with Occupational Therapist, Kelly Mahler. The topic is interoception! Every neurotype can struggle with it, but we find neurodivergent folks can have a few more challenges with interoception.

Defined by Kelly's website: Many people notice these feelings in their body with the help of an important sense… a sense called… interoception.
Don’t let the name fool you. The word interoception might not sound very sexy or important. But this sense is a really big deal. Interoception has a huge influence on many areas of our lives, like self-regulation, mental health, and social connection.
 About our Guest:
Kelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L, earned a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Misericordia University, Dallas, PA. She has been an occupational therapist for 20 years, serving school-aged children and adults. Kelly is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2020 American Occupational Therapy Association Emerging and Innovative Practice Award & a Mom’s Choice Gold Medal. She is an adjunct faculty member at Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA as well as at Misericordia University, Dallas, PA. Kelly is a co-principal investigator in several research projects pertaining to topics such as interoception, self-regulation, trauma & autism.

In this holiday-themed episode of Just the Guys, the conversation centers on thankfulness—not as a sentimental add-on to Thanksgiving, but as a practical tool for navigating the chaos of family gatherings. Drawing from Dr. Jim Wilder’s teaching on appreciation as the spark that “turns on our relational circuits,” the guys explore how gratitude transforms not just moods but entire relationships.
 Greg admits that even when overstimulated, “I still made the turkey; it’s my job”—a wry reminder that responsibility and love can coexist with limits and self-awareness. Jeremy reflects on the sobering truth that “what you complain about today might be someone else’s answered prayer,” while Kevin shares how recovery and thankfulness helped him replace counterfeit joys with authentic connection. Dan rounds out the discussion with insights on starting the day with intentional gratitude as a way to short-circuit negativity before it starts.
 From Western novels as an escape hatch to unexpected hugs from kids, from box breathing to pecan pie, the guys trade stories of how thankfulness shows up in real life—sometimes messy, sometimes humorous, but always transformative. With family gatherings looming, they offer encouragement to embrace both the people you love and the people who stretch your patience, not as problems to solve but as relationships to nurture.
 The takeaway? Joy rarely arrives by accident—it’s cultivated, like Greg’s turkey, with intentional care.

Today, Dr. Stephanie and Barb talk with Dr. Jill Corvelli about the ND Compass charting stages of relationship progression for ND couples.
Stages of Relationship Progression:

• Romance

• Power Struggle

• Stability

• Commitment

• Co-Creation

  About Our Guest:
Jill Corvelli, PhD, LPC, is the creator of ND Compass, a structured methodology designed to
support neurodiverse couples in relational healing. With over a decade of experience working
with hundreds of couples in thousands of sessions, she has developed a systematic approach that integrates Liberating Structures, Differentiation, and Somatic Self-Energy Activation into a phased, neuroaffirming therapeutic framework.

Originally developed to stabilize couples during the Power Struggle stage of relational
development, ND Compass has expanded to support couples across all five stages of relational growth.

Dr. Corvelli is a University Supervisor at Northwestern University’s Family Institute, where she
trains and mentors graduate-level clinicians. She is experienced in Internal Family Systems
(IFS), EMDR, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), and has extensive experience
integrating neuroscience, somatic work, and relational models into therapy.
As a national trainer and consultant, she teaches therapists how to bridge the gap between relational stabilization and deeper inner differentiation work, ensuring that neurodiverse couples experience developmental growth in a way that is accessible, paced for their nervous systems, and structured to honor their unique lived experiences.

Couples Institute:
https://www.couplesinstitute.com/therapists-toolkit-for-neurodiverse-couples/?srsltid=AfmBOorpmFwzP_PTwfWel2FDkhyt83uX3mD94qGEseYBQxdEliisZmYi
 ND Compass:
https://www.ndpartnersinstitute.com/about

We are welcoming back Dr. Lehman with so much positive feedback about his first time on the show. Last show with Dr. Karl, we specifically spoke about the trauma from the perspective of the non-autistic woman married to an autistic man. Today, we shift the focus to potential traumas the autistic man may have, where simple feedback and simple emotions can trigger trauma in the autistic spouse, with a brief discussion on brain anatomy and how trauma develops and the differences in processing in the autistic brain. While we did not get enough time to go through all the steps of healing, we introduce that laying new circuits are possible and healing old trauma and wounds is possible!
 About Our Guest:
Dr. Karl Lehman is a board-certified psychiatrist with 35+ years of experience and more than 40,000 hours of clinical experience. He has worked tenaciously throughout his career to integrate his personal Christian faith with medical science, modern mental health care, and his rigorous scientific training. He has researched and worked to integrate faith-based emotional healing with insights from psychological and neurological research. Dr. Lehman is also deeply committed to his own growth and healing.
Dr. Lehman has been married to Charlotte for over 30 years, and they work as a team to apply everything they learn about growth and healing in the context of their marriage.
Author of Outsmarting Yourself and The Immanuel Approach.
 Podcast links from podcasts we mentioned about autistic brain neurology:
Pt 1 with Dr. Lehman
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/unresolved-trauma-s-impact-on-marriage-with-dr-karl-lehman--66548811
 Enemy Mode with Dr. Wilder
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/escaping-enemy-mode-with-dr-jim-wilder--52449734

Our guest was identified on the autism spectrum with the label he prefers, Asperger's Syndrome, and began his identification journey of what it means to be on the spectrum. As we conclude this month's focus on attachment, Michael shares from his book, Sacred Attachment, that discovering God's love, affection, and delight in us was life-changing. Michael shares many insights, but leans in on his definition of humility and how it is key to attachment to oneself and others.
 About our Guest:
Michael John Cusick
Michael John Cusick is the CEO and founder of Restoring the Soul, an intensive counseling ministry in Denver. He is a licensed professional counselor, spiritual director, and former assistant professor of counseling at Colorado Christian University. Michael is the author of Surfing for God, and his articles have appeared in prominent publications such as Relevant, The Huffington Post, and Red Letter Christians. He and his wife, Julianne, have two grown children and live in Littleton, Colorado. You can find out more about Michael and his resources at: https://restoringthesoul.com/

Continuing this month's topic on attachment and attunement, we have with us today the Life Model Works Executive Director, Marlene Allen. So many of our clients and listeners ask how I can have joy in pain or return to joy when things seem hopeless. Isn't that like just being happy and faking it until you make it?
No!
Today, we talk about adversity, pain, and lament, and how they differ from complaining and venting, which are stuck in disgust or contempt. Lament is a release and offering, and complaining amplifies your pain and can blind you.
So join our discussion today to learn more about:

• Self-attunment

• Attunement to God and developing iSight, is Immanuel always with me?

• How does pain impact me?

• Lamenting vs Complaining

 About our Guest:
Marlene Allen currently serves as the Executive Director of Life Model Works. She is an author, teacher, mentor, networker, licensed minister, and joy-starter. She graduated from McNeese State University in her home state of Louisiana. Her passion for teaching spiritual principles to young people led to a forty-plus-year journey of serving in schools and churches. During her 16-year service as a missionary in Southeast Asia, Marlene was introduced to Life Model Works and finally found the language to articulate the value of joy that she carried within her.
 Before becoming executive director, Marlene was a relational practitioner and served on the Life Model Works Board of Directors. She firmly believes that Life Model Works’ relational tools will help us better represent the Lord on the Earth.
 Residing in Aurora, Colorado, Marlene is a mom to four amazing adults, Rachell, Victoria, Kia, and Moses, and is called ‘Momma Marlene’ by a host of others. She is the creator of Doodles at Relational Wholeness Doodles and the author of the children’s book Candlestick City, available on Amazon.

Life Model: https://lifemodelworks.org/neurotheology/
 Many of Dan & Stephanie's courses use Life Model Books or ministry partners such as Deeper Walk or Thrive Works.
Chapter 5 of Uiquely Us relies on some of these principles!

This month, we are focusing on Attachment! Dan invited a previous guest and attachment expert, Dr. W. Jesse Gill, to join the guys to talk about attachments. What do powder milk biscuits have to do with attachment? Just the Guys cast Greg, Jeremy, and Clay discuss with Dan and Dr. Gill thoughts and questions about attachment.
 Dr. Gill's site: https://www.facetofaceliving.com/our-story

7 Keys to Intimacy: https://www.facetofaceliving.com/shop

And Dr. Gill has a new book on our leadership!

Attachment to God!
What a huge topic to cover! Today, Dr. Stephanie and Barbara talk with Geoffrey & Cyd Holsclaw about intimacy and attachment to God.
We continue our month-long deep dive on ATTACHMENT/INTIMACY.


Topics in our discussion:
 Right brain vs left brain stuff- logical approach to knowing about God, to relational attachment to or with God.
The old marriage triangle of husband and wife at the bottom, as you grow closer to God, you grow closer to each other. What is right and wrong about that
Barriers to attachment with God?
How church trauma or trauma in a marriage can impact one's view of God or attachment to God.
   About our Guests:
Geoff Holsclaw (PhD) is an author of multiple books, a visiting professor of theology at Western Theological Seminary, and co-founder of the Center for Embodied Faith (embodiedfaith.life). Co-author of the forthcoming Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection.
 Cyd Holsclaw is an author, spiritual director, and pastor. She is also a trauma-informed, Jesus-centered, professional certified coach focused on embodied practices and building a secure attachment to God. Co-author of the forthcoming Landscapes of the Soul: How the Science and Spirituality of Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection.
Learn more at www.cydholsclaw.com