Therapy and Theology

It’s not always the “big betrayals” that damage trust in a marriage. More often, it’s the seemingly “little things” that are easy to overlook.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The two essentials that must be present for trust to thrive.
• How to stop having the same argument with your spouse.
• A simple assessment to help you establish your unique “trust language” as a couple.

Links and Resources We Mention in This Episode:

• Download the "Healthy Conversations Contract" here.
• Fight for your family by downloading 15 Prayers for Your Husband and 15 Prayers for Your Son or Daughter.
• We’re grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today’s most common mental health challenges. 
• Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.
• Capstone Wellness provides residential treatment and custom therapy intensives that retrace hurt to the roots in a Christ-centered environment. Learn more at Capstonewellness.com/proverbs31.
• Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.
• Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode. 

Experiencing hardships in marriage is inevitable — especially as both seasons and partners change. But what truly matters is how you communicate through those challenges.

In this episode, you'll learn how to:

• Stop avoiding conflict and fight for connection.
• Know your spouse on a deeper, emotional level.
• Be on the same team even when you aren't on the same page.

Links and Resources We Mention in This Episode:

• Fight for your family by downloading 15 Prayers for Your Husband and 15 Prayers for Your Son or Daughter.
• Explore counselor Rebecca Maxwell's work and her new book here: Jesus and Your Mental Health
• We’re grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today’s most common mental health challenges. 
• Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.
• Capstone Wellness provides residential treatment and custom therapy intensives that retrace hurt to the roots in a Christ-centered environment. Learn more at Capstonewellness.com/proverbs31.
• Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.
• Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

With so much against us and our families in today's world, how can we build a family rooted in biblical Truth and a strong sense of belonging?

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Four things that fracture belonging in a family unit — and how to work through them.
• The four S’s of healthy attachment.
• Ideas for writing your own personal family mission statement or covenant.
• Insights on family dynamics from the Bible.

Links and Resources We Mention in This Episode:

• Fight for your family by downloading 15 Prayers for Your Husband and 15 Prayers for Your Son or Daughter.
• Explore counselor Rebecca Maxwell's work and her new book here: Jesus and Your Mental Health
• We’re grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today’s most common mental health challenges. 
• Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.
• Capstone Wellness provides residential treatment and custom therapy intensives that retrace hurt to the roots in a Christ-centered environment. Learn more at Capstonewellness.com/proverbs31.
• Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.
• Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

Welcome to Season 12 of Therapy & Theology: Fight for Your Family!

Are you longing to strengthen your marriage, build deeper family relationships, or parent with greater intentionality in today’s modern world? In this new season of Therapy & Theology, we combine biblical wisdom with practical therapeutic tools to help you fight for the relationships that matter most.

In this six-episode series, you’ll discover:

• How to use scriptural prayers for your family to strengthen your faith and relationships.
• The root causes of conflict in your marriage — and how to heal them.
• Practical tools for setting healthy boundaries and improving communication.
• Habits that build trust in marriage (and what quietly destroys it).
• How to create a home where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.
• Wisdom on Christian parenting in a modern culture.

Episode 1 releases on April 9, so make sure you're subscribed, and we'll see you then!

Links and Resources We'll Mention This Season:

• We’re grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today’s most common mental health challenges. 
• Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.
• Capstone Wellness provides residential treatment and custom therapy intensives that retrace hurt to the roots in a Christ-centered environment. Learn more at Capstonewellness.com/proverbs31.
• Fight for your family by downloading 15 Prayers for Your Husband and 15 Prayers for Your Son or Daughter.
• Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.
• Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode. 

A relationship can only be as healthy as the individuals in that relationship. So how can we grow and show up as our best selves for the people in our lives?

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Four things that erode or even break apart a good relationship.
• How to improve communication and work through conflict when you’re feeling misunderstood.
• How to answer the question "What is really bothering me?" so you can identify root issues.

Links and Resources We Mention in This Episode:

• Get your copy of I Want to Trust You, but I Don't by Lysa TerKeurst here.
• We’re grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today’s most common mental health challenges. 
• Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.
• Capstone Wellness provides residential treatment and custom therapy intensives that retrace hurt to the roots in a Christ-centered environment. Learn more at Capstonewellness.com/proverbs31.
• Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.
• Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.
• Help women experience God’s nearness in this and every moment. Receive Come Close to Jesus as our thanks for your gift today.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

Our emotions are God-given signals designed to guide us toward greater self-reflection, self-awareness, and spiritual growth. But how do we learn to manage our feelings instead of letting them control us?

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to maintain emotional health, whether you tend to suppress your emotions or feel them intensely.
• Practical strategies for staying emotionally regulated as a parent.
• How relationships contribute to our emotional well-being — for better or worse — and how to improve this.

Links and Resources We Mention in This Episode:

• We’re grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today’s most common mental health challenges. 
• Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.
• Capstone Wellness provides residential treatment and custom therapy intensives that retrace hurt to the roots in a Christ-centered environment. Learn more at Capstonewellness.com/proverbs31.
• Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.
• Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.
• Help women experience God’s nearness in this and every moment. Receive Come Close to Jesus as our thanks for your gift today.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

In today's world, it can feel like stress is unavoidable. Is constant pressure and burnout just part of life now? How can we protect our mental health with so much pulling at us?

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to identify stressors in our life and assess how you're really doing.
• What to do when you feel overwhelmed by shame.
• Practical scripts you can borrow to reach out to someone when you need help.
• Four essential questions to ask your loved ones as you support their mental health journey.

Links and Resources We Mention in This Episode:

• We’re grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today’s most common mental health challenges. 
• Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.
• Capstone Wellness provides residential treatment and custom therapy intensives that retrace hurt to the roots in a Christ-centered environment. Learn more at Capstonewellness.com/proverbs31.
• Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.
• Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.
• Help women experience God’s nearness in this and every moment. Receive Come Close to Jesus as our thanks for your gift today.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

If you’ve ever been tempted to confuse spiritual health with spiritual perfection, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The markers of a spiritually healthy Christian and the daily habits they consistently pursue.
• The overlooked patterns that may be threatening your spiritual health and relationship with God.
• How to escape shame, guilt, and isolation and return to the Lord — who has never left your side.

Links and Resources We'll Mention This Episode:

• Download the "Healthy Conversations Contract" Jim talks about here.
• We're grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today’s most common mental health challenges. 
• Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.
• Capstone Wellness provides residential treatment and custom therapy intensives that retrace hurt to the roots in a Christ-centered environment. Learn more at Capstonewellness.com/proverbs31.
• Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.
• Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.
• Help women experience God’s nearness in this and every moment. Receive Come Close to Jesus as our thanks for your gift today.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

Therapy & Theology is back for the first time in 2026! Season 11 includes four brand-new episodes designed to help you take an honest look at your life and grow healthier — spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and relationally. Think of this season as a “health check,” where each episode dives deep into a key area through meaningful one-on-one conversations with a trusted Therapy & Theology voice.

This season isn’t about quick fixes or becoming a “new you” overnight. It’s about sustainable healing, biblical wisdom, faith-based mental health, and learning how to partner with the Holy Spirit for lasting growth — even when progress feels slow or life feels out of your control.

These episodes will especially help:

• Anyone who feels stuck, discouraged, or unsure where to begin making progress.
• Those longing for spiritual, mental, emotional, and relational growth.
• Anyone feeling “I’m just not where I want to be,” who needs gentle guidance, prayerful reflection, and trusted Christian voices.

Episode 1 releases February 12.

Links and Resources We'll Mention This Season:

• We’re grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today’s most common mental health challenges. 
• Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.
• Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.
• Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.
• If you’d like to give a gift today so Therapy & Theology can reach even more women in their desperate moments, go to proverbs31.org/givenow.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

In this bonus Q&A episode, Lysa TerKeurst, Dr. Joel Muddamalle, and Counselor Jim Cress respond to voice memos sent in by Therapy & Theology listeners.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn How To:

• Navigate conflicting narratives and opinions from others.
• Respond to someone whose actions and words don't align.
• Make peace with your desire for clarity and closure as you move forward from a past relationship.

Links and Resources We'll Mention in This Episode:

• Get your copy of Surviving an Unwanted Divorce by Lysa TerKeurst, Dr. Joel Muddamalle, and Jim Cress.
• The Therapy & Theology podcast is brought to you by Proverbs 31 Ministries. Give today to partner with Proverbs 31 Ministries and help more women encounter the Truth of God's Word. 
• Have a question for Lysa, Jim, or Joel? Leave us a message, and it could be answered on one of our future podcast episodes! Start here.
• Be notified as soon as new Therapy & Theology episodes are available! Enter your email address here to subscribe and stay connected.
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

Go Deeper:

• Listen to "Moving Through the Impact of Trauma."
• Listen to "Mile Markers of Healing."
• Watch "You’ve Been Through So Much — Now Let God Use It."