What happens when faith meets real-life pain—and people are brave enough to talk about it?

In this episode, Vicki Diemert and guest host Mark Andress sit down with Gini Larsen, Owner and Director of Biblical Hope Counseling, for a heartfelt conversation about biblical counseling and why authentic, human connection matters more than ever in a digital age. Gini shares how creating safe, nonjudgmental spaces rooted in Scripture helps people navigate church hurt, family conflict, betrayal, and emotional struggles while drawing closer to God for peace and direction.

The discussion also challenges our culture’s growing reliance on online diagnoses and AI, reminding us that true healing happens in relationship, community, and presence.                                                                                                               

http://www.biblicalhopecounseling.org/counselors.html

What if healing could begin with a piece of paper and a paintbrush?

In this episode, Vicki Diemert and guest host Robbin Howey talk with Brittany Johnson, owner and therapist at The Well in Mesa, AZ, about how creativity can open powerful pathways to healing. They explore how art therapy helps create safety, regulate the nervous system, and express experiences that are hard to put into words.

By engaging the senses and emotions, this conversation shows how the body and brain can work together offering a refreshing, hope-filled approach to healing that goes far beyond talk alone.

thewellmesa.com/

What if the struggle you’ve kept hidden isn’t the end of your story but the beginning of real healing?

In this episode, Vicki Diemert and guest host Mark Andress, sit down with John Hinson who is on the executive team at Family Strategies to unpack their Sexual Addiction and Betrayal Recovery (SABR), a faith-honoring, clinically grounded program that has helped over 2,000 individuals and couples over the past 21 years. As pornography and sexual addiction rise, often beginning as early as ages 9–11, this conversation addresses the real impact of betrayal, trauma, and isolation on both men and women, and why community, responsibility, and hope matter.

We walk through the SABR program’s phased approach to education, accountability, trauma healing, and disclosure, explore how faith can be integrated without shame, and discuss why recovery is possible even when trust has been broken.

This episode offers a clear message: there is help, there is hope, and healing while hard is absolutely possible.

familystrategies.org/                

What if listening to the right sounds could calm the nervous system and bring healing to people with trauma, autism, or ADHD?

In this powerful episode, Vicki Diemert and guest host Robbin Howey talk with Pam Bonilla of Compassionate Heart Christian Counseling about the Safe and Sound Protocol and other faith-based, neuroscience-backed approaches to healing children and families. Pam explains how attachment wounds, shame, and nervous system dysregulation impact behavior, anxiety, and emotional regulation. She also shares how gentle, innovative therapies help children feel safe enough to connect, engage, and thrive.

This hope-filled conversation offers a fresh perspective on moving from survival to lasting growth—for both kids and parents.

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What if you could be confident and comfortable right where God has placed you?

In this episode, Vicki Diemert and guest host Mark Andress welcome Gabby DeLong of Goodworks Counseling for a compelling conversation about identity, trauma, DBT (which teaches skills to manage intense emotions, improve interpersonal relationships, and tolerate distress) and what real healing actually looks like. Gabby unpacks her work with women navigating life after reproductive trauma, and individuals with autism all within a faith-based counseling practice that takes insurance.

You’ll hear insights about emotions (why they matter but shouldn’t run the show), why counseling is different than talking to a friend, and how growth often shows up through discomfort.

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Have you ever wondered why certain memories still have power over you even after years of faith, prayer, or therapy?

In this episode, Vicki Diemert and guest host Mark Andress, talk with Tony Ziolko, owner of Reclaim Counseling, a clinical practice rooted in gospel values and guided by the motto Restore. Rebuild. Reclaim. They serve individuals, couples, and children, focusing on trauma care using EMDR, an evidence-based therapy that helps reprocess painful memories so they no longer overwhelm the nervous system.

They discuss what EMDR looks like, what to expect during and after sessions, and why healing happens at a human pace. Ultimately, this conversation reframes therapy as a tool to help you grow bigger than your suffering and step back into the world ready to love and serve.       

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What if healing isn’t about fixing yourself, but about feeling safe enough to be fully human?

In this episode, Vicki Diemert and guest host Mark Andress talk with Summer Fletcher, owner and therapist at Path of Life Counseling in Gilbert, AZ, about how healing happens through connection, presence, and understanding the nervous system. They explore trauma-informed and somatic approaches that help people slow down, move out of survival mode, and feel safe in their bodies and relationships.

This conversation gently reframes mental health struggles as human experiences not failures and reminds us that emotions are gifts meant to be felt, not avoided.

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The Talking To Humans Podcast is back! 
This season, we’re kicking things off by introducing you to our host, Vicki Diemert, along with guest hosts Mark Andress and Robbin Howey. Get to know who they are, what they do at Ironwood Church, and why this podcast exists in the first place. We’ll share what this new season is all about and how we hope these conversations will encourage, connect, and serve our Ironwood community.

Mark and Vicki discuss themes and takeaways from this season of Talking to Humans, all about conflict. 

Vicki and Mark talk with guest Gina Mendez on the importance of boundaries. What boundaries are, what it looks like to have them and hold them in a healthy way.