Face to Face Podcast

E192 | The Power of Slow Healing: Aundi Kolber on Trauma and Transformation In this Face to Face podcast episode, Melinda and Cathy share updates from the Immanuel Institute, including 21 people in Level I and an upcoming Level II cohort starting November 30, emphasizing experiential training, coaching triads, community, and trauma-informed education.  They welcome licensed professional counselor and bestselling author Aundi Kolber (Try Softer, Strong Like Water, Take What You Need), who explains how a traumatic childhood and later life transitions led her into therapy and trauma work. Kolber discusses why healing is often slow and gentle rather than a quick fix, critiques performative faith and spiritual bypassing, and describes shame as a belonging-threatening force shaped by attachment patterns.    She addresses relational over-reliance, titration as gradual change, and why body-based approaches matter, outlining nervous system concepts like the window of tolerance, fight/flight, and dissociation, and connecting embodiment to Christian theology through Jesus' incarnation. 00:00 Welcome & Immanuel Institute Update 03:39 Introducing Aundi Kolber 04:05 Aundi's Path to Therapy 08:45 Why Slow Healing Works 18:06 Shame, Performance & Attachment 29:18 Secure Attachment with God 39:36 The Body & Nervous System 53:15 What's Next for Aundi 55:29 Closing Thanks https://aundikolber.com/about-me/ www.immanuelinstitute.com

E191 | Stories That Heal: An Intimate Talk with William Paul Young Paul Young on Return to the Shack, Death Row Friendships, and Living in the Grace of the Moment Melinda and Cathy welcome back author Paul Young to discuss his new book, Return to the Shack (releasing October 6), describing it as a continuation rather than a sequel and noting it expands the cast into a "choir," with larger roles for Nan and the community around Mack. Young shares how the story began through a decade-long relationship with men on death row in Nashville, inspiring questions about what happens in Mack's life 10 years after The Shack, including grief, forgiveness, justice, and facing the serial killer directly. He emphasizes staying present ("pass the salt"), how anxiety affects the body, and his shift away from trying to fix people toward being a loving presence, rejecting ideology and categorization. The conversation also touches on trauma-informed perspectives in prison, the difference between vengeance and healing, and Young's reflections on God's kindness, wholeness, and the connection between grief and joy. 00:28 Welcome Back 02:30 The Interview Begins 03:14 Pass the Salt 06:05 Return to the Shack 07:46 Death Row Relationships 24:33 Identity & Love vs. Ideology 35:22 The Prison System & Trauma 41:56 Closing Reflections www.immanuelinstitute.com  

E190 | Lysa TerKeurst | Navigating Control and Trust   Lysa TerKeurst on Control, Anxiety, and Trusting God with the Outcome | Melinda Wilson and Cathy Little celebrate reaching episode 190, noting the long wait and technical issues that shortened their interview with Lysa TerKeurst. TerKeurst, Proverbs 31 Ministries president and bestselling author, shares how her husband's double life led to an unwanted divorce and shaped her recent books on rejection, forgiveness, boundaries, trust, and her new release, Making Peace With What I Can't Control. She explains how anxiety and fear often drive controlling tendencies, contrasting responsibility with control and emphasizing the need to trust God with outcomes. TerKeurst offers practical steps: recognize when fear is motivating control, commit to reality, and mentally release what is outside one's control to God, while staying self-controlled and practicing surrender.  00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:28 Season Update And Milestones 01:24 Introducing Lysa TerKeurst 03:52 Conversation Begins 05:52 Lysa Story And Calling 08:17 Fear Behind Control 15:34 Trusting God With Outcomes 19:44 Responsible Vs Controlling 21:50 Practicing Surrender Daily 24:19 Release And Surrender Tools 26:40 Book Details And Release Date 29:16 Wrap Up And Farewell https://lysaterkeurst.com/ Register for Level 1 - Immanuel Approach for Life: www.immanuelinstitute.com/for-life 

The Secure Soul: Healing Through Presence, Parts Work, and God's With-ness Therapist and psychologist of religion Dr. Alison Cook explains her work at the intersection of attachment wounds, emotional life, and how people experience God, including her training in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and her books Boundaries for Your Soul and The Secure Soul. She and discusses with us "with-ness" and presence as central to healing, contrasting quick-fix problem solving and religious bypassing with learning to be with uncomfortable parts without shame.  Cook outlines her "recognize and return" practice, the need for compassion, curiosity, and containment, and how grief and exiled emotions can feel overwhelming and may require support. She shares her personal history of panic attacks, disembodiment, and discovering IFS, plus cultural trends in parenting, psychology, and evangelical language that can reward disembodiment. Cook promotes her latest book: The Secure Soul (released Aug 18), a family roles quiz, and an 8-minute daily devotional podcast unpacking scripture through psychology.  01:53 Introduction & Alison's Background 13:54 The Parts Framework (IFS) 17:18 Grief & the Healing Process 37:41 Christianity, Shame & Compassion 53:09 Closing & Where to Find Alison https://www.dralisoncook.com/ Register for Level 1 - Immanuel Approach, Go to: www.immanuelinstitute.com/for-life

 E188 | Susan Carson | Safe Enough to Heal: Why the Church Gets Trauma Wrong and What to Do Instead Welcome to the Face to Face podcast and episode 188 with spiritual director and author Susan Carson. Susan tells her story of meeting Jesus at 18, later experiencing spiritual trauma, and moving into a contemplative path of prayer and inner healing. We talk about how neuroscience, Christian mystics (especially Julian of Norwich), and the biblical idea of kenosis (Philippians 2) come together in her "safe space" approach—noise-free, shame-free, and formula-free—focused on embodied, face-to-face connection. We discuss how church environments can be unsafe and harmful, why healing is low-and-slow rather than a quick fix, what it cost Susan relationally (including LGBTQIA+ convictions), and her new book releasing May 5, with more at susancarson.net. Instagram: @susancarsonauthor YouTube: @SusanCarson Substack: @susancarsonauthor 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:29 Episode Intro and Summer Plans 02:38 Meet Susan Carson 05:04 Her Spiritual Journey 08:17 Mystics Meet Neuroscience 12:29 Kenosis and Healing Space 16:14 Good News After Deconstruction 23:10 Church Safety and Trauma 25:47 Book Controversies and Costs 28:13 Safety and Trauma Basics 29:05 Church Culture and Safe Spaces 29:50 Leaders Doing Inner Work 31:23 The Quick Fix Myth 32:33 Contemplative Healing Journey 36:59 What Contemplative Really Means 39:22 Low and Slow Rewiring 42:40 Book Takeaways and Release Info 45:50 Thesis Origins and Farewell 47:05 Podcast Wrap Up