"His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence."
~ 2 Peter 1:3

With a greater understanding of mental health in recent years, many have become aware of the benefits of therapy in general. But how does someone know if therapy is right for them - individually or for their marriage? Especially for a person who believes that Jesus Christ is their hope and their source, how should they view and approach therapy?

We welcome Vonda Tiede, LMFT into an honest conversation to discover the purpose of therapy as a resource for greater life and wholeness. You'll get a unique glimpse into the mind of a therapist, not to mention some on-the-spot, unrehearsed thoughts from Pat (the only non-therapist in the conversation) about the challenging yet fruitful realities of going to therapy. 

Vonda Tiede is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who cares about mental health and ministry. Her office is in Maple Grove, MN where she sees individuals, couples and families. Her professional education includes degrees from Crown College, the University of Minnesota and St. Mary's University. Her favorite days include her family, life group and friends, holding space for clients, cooking, garage sale hunting, singing and playing piano, spreadsheets, designing spaces, bonfires, and board games.

Chapters
0:00: Introduction
5:03: Highs & Hards
14:53: Lightning Round: Inside a therapist's mind
22:05: How do I know if I need therapy?
29:33: Why would a Christian need therapy if they have Jesus?
36:33: Should a Christian only go to a Christian therapist?
44:44: What should someone look for in a therapist? What are the red flags?
51:32: Pat's honest thoughts about therapy 😅
57:06: Challenge By Choice

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.

"Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison..."
~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

The last 50 years have seen incredible development in neurobiology and our understanding of the human brain. Yet we, as people of faith, know that humans are so much more than just a "brain in a body"; in fact, we are a deep and mysterious unity of mind, body, soul, brain, and even our relationships. How can we better know ourselves and our place in God's plan by better understanding our brains?

Join this fascinating conversation with Sofia Carozza, a neuroscientist and theologian. Pat & Sofia discuss mental health and healing, especially with regards to childhood adversity (experiences of violence, neglect, poverty, serious illness, etc.). These difficult circumstances in childhood can affect the very structures of our brain, but one's path is not determined by those experiences; rather, we can know healing and restoration through profoundly simple means like healthy relationships grounded on love!

Sofia Carozza is a Marshall Scholar at the University of Cambridge, where she is completing a PhD at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. In her research, she is seeking to understand how early experiences of adversity shape the biological and psychological development of children. Sofia completed undergraduate studies in neuroscience and theology at the University of Notre Dame where she was the valedictorian of the Class of 2019, and she has an MPhil in basic and translational neuroscience from the University of Cambridge. Sofia is also the co-host of The Pilgrim Soul, an engaging and insightful podcast.

Chapters
0:00: Introduction
3:27: Highs & Hards
8:42: Formational experiences of mental illness & healing
17:30: The call to understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences
22:58: Choosing faith over cynicism in the face of suffering
26:21: Research on childhood adversity & neurobiology
37:15: Adaptability & neuroplasticity
47:58: Approaching suffering with healing & hope

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.

This saying is trustworthy:
If we have died with him we shall also live with him;
if we persevere we shall also reign with him.
~ 2 Timothy 2:11-12

Happy Resurrection from our family to yours! He is risen! Alleluia!

The Sacred Triduum and the Easter season are some of the most significant days of the liturgical year and of our lives. There is so much beauty, solemnity, sorrow, and triumphant joy in the symbols, rituals, and traditions of this holy time. And while the passion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord obviously point toward our ultimate destiny in His heavenly kingdom, they also carry great power to help us grow in sanity and be more rooted to reality.

We're excited to celebrate the joy of the Resurrection with you (no matter what time of year it is!) and to share some reflections on the meaning of the cross and the empty tomb in our minds and hearts. May you be led ever deeper into the hope and joy that Jesus offers in his victorious Resurrection!

Chapters
0:00: Intro
3:02: Highs & hards
13:50: Sanity & sanctity in the Sacred Triduum & Easter
24:08: The power & victory of Christ’s love
33:06: Challenge By Choice

Check out our Resurrection playlist on Spotify
And just for fun, Pat's masterfully curated playlist of 90s & 2000s Country

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.

"...but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ..."
~ Ephesians 4:15

We return to Dr. John Gottman's "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" for marriages with a conversation about Stonewalling. In the course of every marriage, there are times that our emotions feel overwhelming. One response to that experience can be to shut down, disengage, and cut off communication from our spouse - this is what Gottmann calls "stonewalling," and it can be very damaging for a loving marriage.

In this episode, we take a moment to define and describe stonewalling, the ways that it negatively impacts a marriage, and (most importantly) the antidote to overcome stonewalling and to restore healthy communication into marriage. Whether you've been married for one year or 50 years, these are skills that can help you and your spouse to become "masters of marriage"!

Episode 18 Show Notes

Check out Nate Bargatze's website 😂
(Clip from Nate's special The Tennessee Kid used with permission)

Time stamps
0:00: Intro
8:10: Highs & hards
16:23: The Four Horseman part 2: Stonewalling
20:00: Stonewalling  ≠ silent treatment (with a hilarious commentary)
23:49: Defining stonewalling
33:52: Biblical examples of stonewalling
37:45: The antidote to stonewalling: physiological self-soothing
47:30: Challenge By Choice & wrap-up

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.

"For He bore witness to the truth, but He refused to impose the truth by force on those who spoke against it."
~ Dignitatis Humanae, St. Pope Paul VI & the Second Vatican Council

One of the most difficult and heartbreaking experiences for us as people of faith is watching someone that we love wander from the Church or make choices that are harmful to themselves or others. So much fear, disappointment, and anxiety is created by these situations in our lives. We deeply love our children, our spouses, our friends, and we so desperately desire for them to know the joy, peace, and freedom that we have found in Jesus, yet they must be allowed to exercise their own free will.

How do we live out the spiritual work of mercy to "admonish the sinner" and still honor the free will of those whom we love? How can we propose the Gospel without imposing it upon others? How do love and truth come together in a real, complex human relationship?

In this episode, Pat & Father Nathan discuss the crucial, and often difficult, tension of evangelizing while giving our loved ones the gift of healthy boundaries and their own personal agency - the freedom given to them by God.

If you love someone who seems to be far from Christ, this episode is for you!

Episode 17 Show Notes

Time Stamps
0:00: Intro
3:00: Highs & hards
8:24: Introduction to the free will of others
11:30: Parents desiring the faith for their children
18:45: When do we step in when someone is making mistakes?
25:45: Dignitatis Humanae & Proposing the faith, not imposing it
35:25: Admonishing the sinner and still respecting free will
46:50: Challenge By Choice

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.

"For God has willed that man remain 'under the control of his own decisions,' so that he can seek his Creator spontaneously, and come freely to utter and blissful perfection through loyalty to Him. Hence man's dignity demands that he act according to a knowing and free choice that is personally motivated and prompted from within, not under blind internal impulse nor by mere external pressure."
~ Gaudium et Spes §17

God, in His incredible goodness, has created each of us in His image and likeness. Because of that, every one of us enjoys the unspeakable gift of free will. We each have the power to choose, a sense of personal agency and volition. But in this fallen world, our awareness of our own free will comes with so many questions:

• Can we really be trusted with free will?
• Why does God allow us to choose evil?
• Do we still have free will when we feel like we don't have any choice, or when we feel constrained by expectations (others' and our own)?

The depth and power of our own free will lies in the kind of relationship that God desires with you, His precious child - a relationship that is free, total, joyful, intimate, and authentic. The Lord loves you perfectly and He calls you to respond to that love by choosing to love Him in return. It's in this free response of love that we find psychological health and spiritual wholeness.

Fr. Nathan LaLiberte returns to reflect on God's unfathomable gift of free will and how we, His children, can live in true freedom!

Episode 16 Show Notes

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.

"For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, 'Abba, Father!'"
~ Romans 8:15

When someone has experienced separation or trauma, especially as a child, it can be challenging for them to feel safe in attachment with others. Yet, close connections are a powerful source of healing and wholeness for all of us, especially for those who have suffered. How can we step into connection and attachment, even - and especially - when it's difficult?

In this exceptional conversation, Ryan O'Hara invites us into his experience of fostering and adoption: his preconceptions, his journey of mental health & healing, his growth as a father and as a person, and especially his identity as a child of God. Whether or not you have personal experience with fostering or adoption, you'll see yourself more clearly through Ryan's wisdom and humility.

Ryan O’Hara serves as the Marketing Strategist for Saint Paul’s Outreach, a national Catholic organization that ministers to college students on campus. He is passionate about seeing Catholics come alive in Christ, grow to spiritual maturity and become apostles to the people in their life. Ryan has a B.A. in History from William Jewell College and an M.A. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife Jill live in West St Paul, MN and are parents to four sons.

Episode 15 Show Notes

Visit Ryan's website to learn more about his blessed ministry

Check out Ryan's podcast - Better Preach - to grow as a Catholic, as a communicator, or both! (And you can start with Pat's appearance in Episode 21)

Follow Ryan on Instagram (@ryancohara) as well as Better Preach (@betterpreach).

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.

Those who conceal their sins do not prosper, but those who confess and forsake them obtain mercy.
~ Proverbs 28:13

Humans seek connection, and sometimes that connection leads to conflict.  What happens when that conflict doesn't lead to greater understanding and acceptance, but rather defensiveness and rejection?  Conflict can make our walls go up, we're stuck in a dilemma: trying to protect ourselves and missing out on the relationship all the while.

In this first episode on Gottman’s “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”, we define defensiveness and the sneaky ways it presents in our communication.  More importantly, we explore defensiveness's antidote and talk about how to live in greater humility and authenticity, as well as intimacy.

Join the conversation and get ready for your relationship to steadily grow & thrive!

Episode 14 Show Notes

More information on The Gottman Institute

More details on the Four Horsemen for relationships, as well as a helpful video explanation.

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.

"Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted."
~ Matthew 5:4

Everyone has had experiences and feelings of grief and loss. Whether it's a person that we love, a relationship, a job, a dream - we all know the weight of having something or someone that we love torn away from us. This is a reality of our fallen, passing world: losing what we love is something we all go through. Death is a part of life. And it can be so, so hard.

How are we, as Christians, invited to deal with death and loss? Is it possible to be joyful and hopeful when we're feeling crushed by grief?

Join us for this beautiful, challenging, and deeply real conversation about the feelings and experiences of grief - how to fully embrace the grieving process and still live with a profound sense of hope and peace. We're so glad you're here with us!

Episode 13 Show Notes

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.

"Life in man is the glory of God; the life of man is the vision of God. If the revelation of God through creation gives life to all who live upon the earth, much more does the manifestation of the Father through the Word give life to those who see God."
~ St. Irenaeus of Lyons

At the center of humankind's search for wholeness and holiness is the desire to become fully alive - truly present, richly aware, and thoughtfully loving in all circumstances. Yet, so many of us struggle with mental, emotional, and spiritual challenges that leave us living a partial life, a half life. How do we live completely and authentically so that God might be glorified through our witness? Our guest for this episode is the ever passionate and inspiring Paul J. Kim.

Paul J. Kim is one of the most sought-after Catholic youth & young adult speakers in America. The way he presents is a rare gift to witness and has impacted people of all ages in 48 states and in 16 countries over the past decade. Moving his audiences from laughter in one moment, to deep reflection and prayer in another; Paul utilizes his many talents (i.e. music – beatboxing, comedy, inspirational talks) to communicate the Gospel message of Christ to people in a way that is engaging, entertaining, and altogether life-changing.

Paul is the author of the best-selling A Catholic Guide To Adulting Online Course, he’s the founder of the Triumph Men’s Conference, he’s released two music albums, his videos have accumulated millions of views, and he presents to an average of 40,000 people a year at events throughout the world. His background includes a BA in Philosophy (Franciscan University of Steubenville), an MA in Marriage and Family Therapy (Hope International University), religious formation with the Community of the Franciscans Friars of the Renewal (NYC), and life experiences working as a therapist, missionary, and youth minister. He currently resides in Austin, TX with his beautiful wife and four children.

Episode 12 Show Notes

Check out Paul J. Kim's website here 👈🏻
Be sure to follow him on Instagram, YouTube & Twitter 👍🏻
Listen to Paul J. Kim's music on Spotify or wherever you listen to music 🎧

Send us a text. We're excited to hear what's on your mind!

Support the show

Thank you for listening, and a very special thank you to our community of supporters!

Visit us online at thiswholelifepodcast.com, and send us an email with your thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Interested in more faith-filled mental health resources? Check out the Martin Center for Integration

Music: "You're Not Alone" by Marie Miller. Used with permission.