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Dialectical thinking - the "both-and" mode of thinking, versus the "either/or" mode - is the difference between failure and success, between disorder and health, and between counterfeit versions of Christianity and actual, life-transforming Christlikeness. In this episode, get a crash course on how this concept shows up in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), German philosophy (briefly!), and biblical theology. Bonus points if you can spot the references to a KC Green cartoon and a Mitch Hedberg bit.

Content notice: brief general mentions of suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, and substance abuse throughout the episode.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel

Original wording of the Hegel quote: “The bud disappears when the blossom breaks through, and we might say that the former is refuted by the latter; in the same way when the fruit comes, the blossom may be explained to be a false form of the plant’s existence, for the fruit appears as its true nature in place of the blossom. These stages are not merely differentiated; they supplant one another as being incompatible with one another. But the ceaseless activity of their own inherent nature makes them at the same time moments of an organic unity, where they not merely do not contradict one another, but where one is as necessary as the other; and this equal necessity of all moments constitutes alone and thereby the life of the whole.” See this in its original context on page 3 of this document: http://home.lu.lv/~ruben/Vestures_filozofija/Hegel-The%20Phemenology%20of%20Mind.pdf

One good explainer on Hegelian dialectics - https://www.reddit.com/r/hegel/comments/16pkt6a/can_someone_explain_hegels_dialectics_like_i_am/

Marsha Linehan on the origins of DBT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bULL3sSc_-I

With All Your Psyche explores topics related to mental health, relationships, and faith, but it's not a substitute for therapy or professional care - though it might give you some ideas to bring up with your own therapist or pastor! If something you hear on this podcast brings up personal concerns for you, or if you need support in other areas of your life, please reach out to a licensed professional such as myself or others you can find through the therapist directory at PsychologyToday.com.

I'd love to hear from you! Leave a quick anonymous voice or text message by clicking this link or going to https://www.buzzsprout.com/2488731/fan_mail/new. Thanks for joining the conversation!

How are we supposed to deal with the anxiety of living in an uncertain world when, sometimes, the worst-case scenario really does happen? What is anxiety trying to do for us at an IFS parts-of-the-mind level? Is unconditionality a thing you have or don't, or is it a gradient, a hierarchy? And what options do we have even when we know we'll have to walk through the fire?

(Content notice: child loss in the context of a Bible story, from 33:15 to 36:10)

References:

"A World of Dew," by Kobayashi Issa: https://allpoetry.com/a-world-of-dew

Scripture Cited: Habakkuk 3:16–19, Isaiah 43:1b-5a, Daniel 3:17–18, and 2 Kings 4:1-37

Timestamp for the start of the “big medical bills” example: 17:15

With All Your Psyche explores topics related to mental health, relationships, and faith, but it's not a substitute for therapy or professional care - though it might give you some ideas to bring up with your own therapist or pastor! If something you hear on this podcast brings up personal concerns for you, or if you need support in other areas of your life, please reach out to a licensed professional such as myself or others you can find through the therapist directory at PsychologyToday.com.

I'd love to hear from you! Leave a quick anonymous voice or text message by clicking this link or going to https://www.buzzsprout.com/2488731/fan_mail/new. Thanks for joining the conversation!

We've established the basic theory behind IFS - now how do we put it into practice in the therapy room and in daily life? In this episode, we speedrun therapy with a simplified case study: a depressed, bitter Christian named Tyler who wants to live out of his values way more than he has been lately. By the end of this episode, you'll learn the basics of working with polarized protector parts (like moral scrupulosity and angry defensiveness) and the complete six-step process of unburdening exiles. Whether you identify as a Christian or not at all, there's a lot of technique and templating here that you can take and use in your life right away. Let's get to work!

References:

Gustavo Mello's introduction to scaffolding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1fNNkhaavg&t=230s

Aphantasia: https://aphantasia.com/what-is-aphantasia

The "Put Off / Put On" paradigm in the writings of Paul: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/putting-on-christ-putting-off-sin/

Sub-Zero: https://wiki.supercombo.gg/w/Ultimate_Mortal_Kombat_3/Unmasked_Sub-Zero

With All Your Psyche explores topics related to mental health, relationships, and faith, but it's not a substitute for therapy or professional care - though it might give you some ideas to bring up with your own therapist or pastor! If something you hear on this podcast brings up personal concerns for you, or if you need support in other areas of your life, please reach out to a licensed professional such as myself or others you can find through the therapist directory at PsychologyToday.com.

I'd love to hear from you! Leave a quick anonymous voice or text message by clicking this link or going to https://www.buzzsprout.com/2488731/fan_mail/new. Thanks for joining the conversation!

The DSM-5 thinks of every disorder as a set of symptoms, but that doesn't answer the question of what PTSD actually is - or what it's trying to do to help us become whole again. Is there a redemptive drive behind our trauma symptoms? How do we rewrite the ending of the worst moments we've ever been through? What does that look like in the therapy room and the Gospel of John? Bonus: how to convert a potentially traumatizing bank robbery into a meme.

(Content notice: brief mentions of many different kinds of traumatic experiences. One mention of the word "suicide" as a maladaptive avoidance strategy, with no scenario or details of any kind.)

References:

Judith Herman's "Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror" - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trauma-and-recovery-judith-lewis-herman-md/1100923391
(Note that this book is an excellent resource for deep understanding of trauma and abuse, and also intensely triggering for anyone with unresolved sexual trauma.)

Study which concludes the DSM is "a disingenuous categorical system" - https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2019/07/08/study-finds-psychiatric-diagnosis-to-be-scientifically-meaningless

DSM-5 Criteria for PTSD, with symptom clusters - https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/essentials/dsm5_ptsd.asp

With All Your Psyche explores topics related to mental health, relationships, and faith, but it's not a substitute for therapy or professional care - though it might give you some ideas to bring up with your own therapist or pastor! If something you hear on this podcast brings up personal concerns for you, or if you need support in other areas of your life, please reach out to a licensed professional such as myself or others you can find through the therapist directory at PsychologyToday.com.

I'd love to hear from you! Leave a quick anonymous voice or text message by clicking this link or going to https://www.buzzsprout.com/2488731/fan_mail/new. Thanks for joining the conversation!

How do we make sense of the way one mind can want so many conflicting things at once? In this episode, we explore the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model as a way to understand our own inner conflicts, how the mind organizes itself for psychological self-defense, the way Jesus restructures the human personality, and why your mind is a flock of belligerent sheep needing a shepherd.

References:

Margaret Feinberg's "Scouting the Divine: My Search for God in Wine, Wool, and Wild Honey" - https://zondervanacademic.com/products/scouting-the-divine

The Zealot sect - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zealots

Russ Harris's "Christ-Centered Therapy: Empowering the Self" - https://www.routledge.com/Christ-Centered-Therapy-Empowering-the-Self/Harris-Koenig/p/book/9780789012272

Romans 7:14-25, on Paul's internal conflict - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%207%3A14-25&version=NIV

With All Your Psyche explores topics related to mental health, relationships, and faith, but it's not a substitute for therapy or professional care - though it might give you some ideas to bring up with your own therapist or pastor! If something you hear on this podcast brings up personal concerns for you, or if you need support in other areas of your life, please reach out to a licensed professional such as myself or others you can find through the therapist directory at PsychologyToday.com.

I'd love to hear from you! Leave a quick anonymous voice or text message by clicking this link or going to https://www.buzzsprout.com/2488731/fan_mail/new. Thanks for joining the conversation!

If we're starting out on a journey of building better minds and lives, we have to figure out what actually makes that work. In this intro to the channel, we explore some foundational questions: Isn't the Bible all we need? Can Christianity and psychology truly be integrated? What does that integration look like in practice? And can I cringe at both Sigmund Freud and James Dobson?

(Content notice: to respect the content guidelines of some platforms, this episode is flagged as "explicit" due to generic mentions of pornography addiction, with no specifics mentioned, from 24:15-28:50.)

References:

The Scopes Monkey Trial - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_trial

Scum of the Earth Church (mini-documentary) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRsWIuRvyWI

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) - see The Happiness Trap, by Russ Harris (https://thehappinesstrap.com/)

Scripture (mentioned around 38:00) about using knowledge from sources other than Scripture - Exodus 18, Daniel 1:17, Acts 17:28, 1 Corinthians 15:33

With All Your Psyche explores topics related to mental health, relationships, and faith, but it's not a substitute for therapy or professional care - though it might give you some ideas to bring up with your own therapist or pastor! If something you hear on this podcast brings up personal concerns for you, or if you need support in other areas of your life, please reach out to a licensed professional such as myself or others you can find through the therapist directory at PsychologyToday.com.