Recorded the day after Halloween, counselor/supervisor (TX), registered play therapist/supervisor, and Liberty University assistant professor Dr. Christina Villarreal-Davis joins Robert and Jeff (and Jeff's two-year-old) to begin addressing some common student fears in counseling couples, families, and children.  She discusses some nuances of shifting from individual counseling, red flags and pitfalls, and best practices for new clinicians. 

For more from Dr. Villarreal-Davis, visit her practice Wellspring of Life Counseling and Play Therapy Center here.

* Spotify users - visit here for episodes pre-dating Ep. 23

Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, November 15). Ep. 27: Couples, families, and children, oh my! - Dr. Christina Villarreal-Davis [Audio podcast episode]. In RENAR Voice. Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho of Chi Sigma Iota, Liberty University.

African American professors in Liberty's Department of Counselor Education and Family Studies Dr. Stephanie JW Ford and Dr. Tylon Crook join counseling students Robert and Jeff for a discussion on the interwoven dynamic of spirituality and mental health in African American communities.  The conversation powerfully evolves into personal experiences of pain and hope following the nation's response to the killing of George Floyd, and the fruitfulness of keeping the conversation going when one feels afraid, weak, vulnerable, or uncertain.

* Spotify users - visit here for episodes pre-dating Ep. 23

Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, November 1). Ep. 27 Seen, heard, and freed to breathe - Dr. Stephanie JW Ford and Dr. Tylon Crook [Audio podcast episode]. In RENAR Voice. Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho of Chi Sigma Iota, Liberty University.

Counselor (AR & OK) and supervisor, private practice owner, Liberty University assistant professor, and CSI Rho Eta Sigma chapter faculty advisor Dr. Deborah Braboy joins Robert and Jeff to discuss eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).  She shares how EMDR can release clients from pain deeply rooted within the body, heart, and mind.

Check out Anchored Hope Counseling for more from Dr. Braboy.

* Spotify users - visit here for episodes pre-dating Ep. 23

Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, September 27). Ep. 25: Unlocking pain with EMDR - Dr. Deborah Braboy [Audio podcast episode]. In RENAR Voice. Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho of Chi Sigma Iota, Liberty University.

Liberty alumnus and assistant professor, counselor in private practice, registered play therapist, and certified group psychotherapist Dr. Kevin Hull joins us to share stories of his use of play therapy with incarcerated fathers.  Look for his article "Light in the darkness with the forgotten: Using play therapy in prison as a pathway to relationship and self-development" in the December 2021 issue of Play Therapy Magazine from the Association for Play Therapy.

Visit Dr. Hull's website here and his check out his selected works here in the area of play and group therapy with children, adolescents, and adults on the Autism Spectrum. 

* Spotify users - visit here for episodes pre-dating Ep. 23

Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, September 13). Ep. 24: Play therapy in prison - Dr. Kevin Hull [Audio podcast episode]. In RENAR Voice. Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho of Chi Sigma Iota, Liberty University.

Jeff sits down with Robert to ask him about his recovery journey through addiction and his betrayal in his marriage of almost 20 years.  Robert shares how it all brought him into a real relationship with the Lord, transformed him, and brought him into the counseling profession.  Prior to becoming a counseling intern, Robert was a professional civil engineer for 20 years.  Robert serves as the 2021-2022 Past President of our CSI chapter Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho (RENAR), and is currently a counseling intern at Living Free Counseling under the supervision of Anna Zaccardo, MS, LPC, LMHC, NCC, BCC.  He and Jeff started this podcast in November 2020 at the suggestion of Liberty University online faculty advisors and counselors Dr. Krista Kirk and Dr. John King.  

To contact Robert or Jeff, email them at [email protected] or [email protected].

* Spotify users - visit here for episodes pre-dating Ep. 23

Counselor, Liberty associate professor, and current president of the Alabama Counseling Association Dr. Yulanda Tyre joins Robert and Jeff for a conversation on race.  She shares her experiences as an African American woman in the context of development, leadership, opportunities, challenges, and discrimination.  She discusses her views on reconciliation, and some bumps she has experienced along the way.

Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, August 9). Ep. 22: Race, vulnerability, and personhood - Dr. Yulanda Tyre [Audio podcast episode]. In RENAR Voice. Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho of Chi Sigma Iota, Liberty University.

Clinical psychologist and Franciscan University of Steubenville assistant professor Dr. Matthew Breuninger joins Robert and Jeff to discuss the integration of psychology, philosophy, and theology in examining wounds, healing, and radical encounters of God's love.  Dr. Breuninger explains that healing does not necessarily mean removal of our pain, but being set free to love and serve the Lord with that pain.  He explores the process of Christ's healing in the counseling room, and the role of the clinician in participating in its power.  He describes wounds as our failing to be loved according to how we are created, and how our damaging attempts to numb the hurt often form patterns of anxiety, depression, and stress.  He offers a few steps rooted in the 12 Steps that can open us to some ways God may choose to heal.  He also intimately shares his own story through pain, his attempts to numb it, and his journey toward restoration. 

Click here for the mentioned video "Restored in Christ: A Theology of Healing."

For info on the mentioned philosopher J. Budziszewski, click here. 

Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, July 26). Ep. 21: Restored in Christ (Part 2) - A special feature with Dr. Matthew Breuninger [Audio podcast episode]. In RENAR Voice. Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho of Chi Sigma Iota, Liberty University.

Clinical psychologist and Franciscan University of Steubenville assistant professor Dr. Matthew Breuninger joins Robert and Jeff to discuss the integration of psychology, philosophy, and theology in examining wounds, healing, and radical encounters of God's love.  Dr. Breuninger explains that healing does not necessarily mean removal of our pain, but being set free to love and serve the Lord with that pain.  He explores the process of Christ's healing in the counseling room, and the role of the clinician in participating in its power.  He describes wounds as our failing to be loved according to how we are created, and how our damaging attempts to numb the hurt often form patterns of anxiety, depression, and stress.  He offers a few steps rooted in the 12 Steps that can open us to some ways God may choose to heal.  He also intimately shares his own story through pain, his attempts to numb it, and his journey toward restoration. 

Click here for the mentioned video "Restored in Christ: A Theology of Healing."

Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, July 26). Ep. 20: Restored in Christ (Part 1) - A special feature with Dr. Matthew Breuninger [Audio podcast episode]. In RENAR Voice. Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho of Chi Sigma Iota, Liberty University.

Counselor, board-certified biofeedback practitioner, and registered yoga instructor Jenae Spencer joins Robert and Jeff to discuss biofeedback's ability to help shed light on what we experience at every level of our being as spirit, soul, and body.  She shares how it helps inform clients and clinicians about what is occurring within the body in relation to stress, hypervigilance, triggers, trauma, and recovery.  Jenae explains how the data gathered from biofeedback can indicate how one's nervous system responds to stressors, and what can be done to bring balance toward more effective emotion regulation and healing from trauma.  She shares a few stories about how biofeedback integrated with talk therapy has yielded some powerful results for clients. 

Learn more about Jenae here.  Visit the Boston Center for Health Psychology and Biofeedback here.

Check out these resources mentioned in the episode:

Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life

The Body Keeps the Score

Biofeedback Certification International Alliance

Heartmath

Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, July 12). Ep. 19: Biofeedback for holistic wellness - Jenae Spencer [Audio podcast episode]. In RENAR Voice. Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho of Chi Sigma Iota, Liberty University.

Counselor, certified sex and certified sex addiction therapist, Liberty University alumnus, and Liberty residential professor of counseling Dr. John C. Thomas joins Robert and Jeff to talk about sex addiction, or what he defines as a pathological relationship with sex similar to a thirsty man craving salt water.  He explains how sex can become one's attempt to satisfy unmet needs, issues, or struggles not only rooted from whatever bad things may have happened to us developmentally, but also from a deficiency of the good things we need for a healthy and whole sexuality.  Dr. Thomas also discusses how sex addiction can be very present in the lives of Christians, and how dealing with it is much more than just questions about sin, Bible verses, and ascetical practices.  Robert and Jeff explore with Dr. Thomas diagnostics, accountability, community, and our sexual anthropology rooted in the garden and culminating with the cross and Christ's second coming.

For Dr. Patrick Carnes and The International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals, click here.

Check out some of Dr. Thomas' books:

Enduring Your Season of Suffering

What's Good about Feeling Bad? Finding a Purpose and a Path through Your Pain

Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, June 21). Ep. 18: The sex addiction talk - Dr. John C. Thomas [Audio podcast episode]. In RENAR Voice. Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho of Chi Sigma Iota, Liberty University.