In this episode of Post-Traumatic Growth, Dr. Gerry Crete sits down with theologian and counseling student Dr. Donald Wallenfang and his daughter Ellen. Ellen, now a 25-year-old singer-songwriter, shares her diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes at age 15, her years-long struggle with diabulimia, and the road through residential treatment to healing.

Main Topics:

• Ellen's Type 1 diabetes diagnosis and the shame and identity disruption it produced
• Diabulimia: how insulin manipulation became a form of disordered eating
• The moment Ellen chose to seek treatment—and what made that possible
• How chronic illness strained the father-daughter relationship and what family therapy revealed
• Integrating faith and professional mental health care without collapsing one into the other

Chapters:

• 00:00: Welcome and Introduction
• 02:26: Ellen's Story: Diagnosis and Identity
• 08:46: Diabulimia and Insulin Manipulation
• 11:10: Hitting Rock Bottom and Seeking Help
• 15:40: Faith as an Undercurrent of Peace
• 17:56: Advice for Young People Struggling
• 19:27: What Treatment Actually Looked Like
• 26:05: A Father's Perspective
• 30:48: Resentment, Resistance, and Family Therapy
• 44:34: What Therapists and Parents Should Know

Resources Mentioned:

• The Elijah Institute: https://elijah-institute.org/
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/
• National Alliance for Eating Disorders: https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/

Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios: https://saintkolbestudios.com/