Understanding how brain development affects the behaviors and thought processing of teens helps adults know how to be a support to them. Nicole Hunter shares her expertise and wisdom after years of teaching. She gives insight into the ways students cope with their fears of not measuring up academically. She tells how adults can guide their students to success.

After a childhood filled with trauma and shame from relational neglect and educational breakdown, Cary begins to find healing through Jesus, a grace-based church, and career success. Through God’s enablement, he was able to forgive those who brought him great harm. He began to walk in the truth of who he really is.

Before there was understanding of learning differences, students were sometimes wrongly labeled. They were identified as having character issues. Shame quickly took root. Cary shares the story of his painful experiences in school with teachers and peers who didn’t know how to meet his needs and embrace his unique design.

School makes up the majority of each day for children and teens. We often tell them that going to school is their job. Yet school can be a place where students come face to face with their fears and insecurities about themselves. It is important that the shame experiences are addressed so that we can move forward with health and wisdom.

Identifying the shame lies he believed about his height and his value as a man was the first step of healing for Brian. As he began to receive instead of dismiss the affirmations of those who knew him well, the truth penetrated his heart and mind. He began to believe what is true about him, growing him in confidence of who he is. This freed him to live out the calling of his life with greater joy.

Brian grew up believing he was not enough. His negative experience with men in authority followed by being told he was too short in height to be valued, produced shame in him. Brian believed the lie of his shame and fought to be heard and seen. Learning that Jesus accepted and valued him for who he is began to change his belief system.

A shame-based evaluation of our bodies hinders us from appreciating the gift that they are to us. Along with self-compassion, it’s important that friends, loved ones, and fellow believers encourage one another regarding body image. Jenny Scheid, MA, LPC, shares some of the tools she uses with clients, helping them to think of their bodies with gratitude.

What we believe about ourselves on the inside reflects how we evaluate our outward appearance. If I don’t think I measure up as a person in general, I may criticize parts of my body, believing my looks are the issue. Jenny Scheid, MALPC, shares her expertise about body image issues, bringing clarity to the root cause of the struggle.

There is a strong emphasis in our culture on image. Therefore, we can find we have insecurities about our appearance. We want to be valued and may fear that something in our looks may not measure up. Facing the shame helps us to understand what may be behind the insecurity. Our bodies and how they work are miracles from God. Thanking Him for our bodies and body parts helps us shift our focus to the gifts they are to us.

As family members understand that their relationships are dysfunctional, they can look for resources to help them gain tools to live in a healthier way. As churches offer relational discipleship, they can be used by God to bring healing and hope to individuals and families. Growing in intimacy with Jesus strengthens us for the journey.

Every family has a system whereby they try to maintain a relational balance. Some family systems function well. Others are dysfunctional. Kaye Schneider will help us understand dysfunctional family systems, and how each person takes on a different role in an attempt to create personal safety and internal peace. Patterns can develop that may last into adulthood, but change is possible.

Our family members can be some of the most important people in our lives. They know us in a way that others can’t and their opinion of us carries weight. When we intentionally or unintentionally shame each other, it’s important to learn helpful and healthy ways of responding so that we relate well. If not, we can fall into the Shame-Contempt Dance, which tears down relationships and hurts those we love most.

When a parent notices within themselves the cue of an unhealthy emotional reaction to their child, there are steps to take that bring change. Learning to stop and come back to the child when a parent is emotionally regulated allows the parent to respond in a way that creates hope for growth in trust.

Events and trauma from our past manifest in the present as we parent, no matter the age of our children. Christopher Keck, DBH, LPC, President and CEO of Open Hearts Family Wellness shares his experience and wisdom as a father and mental health professional. He graciously tells how our emotional reactions as parents give us clues to what may remain unresolved in our relationships. Taking steps to address those issues will make us healthier parents and more whole as people.

When a mother or father has shame issues, it affects their ability to parent their children. It makes them self-focused. It keeps them from being confident in decision-making and hinders their objectivity of themselves and their children. Examining these patterns in ourselves, if we are parents, or recalling the effects of our own parent’s shame issues helps us take the necessary steps to move forward to a healthier future.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This is just a quick holiday message of what to expect on the podcast in 2024!

When Devry began to risk trusting God with his fears, he found that his heart became open to loving others. Instead of needing to be right so that he might be respected, he could put the needs of his family first. It changed his relationships. His influence inside and outside of his home increased.

Devry grew up without rails to guide him. He survived by protecting himself through needing to be the one who is right in conflict. No one modeled humility and repentance for him. He needed healing and a way out of his self-protective patterns. Coming to know Jesus as a teenager gave him a new focus and hope for future change.

As we move forward in our healing journeys, we realize that our old self-protective strategies no longer serve us. They never did fully protect us. Learning to trust God with our old patterns, allowing Him to do the work of repentance in us, miraculously frees us to love instead of turning to our sophisticated fig leaves. He can do in us what we cannot do.

Caring adults sometimes don’t know what to do when children and teens express negative emotions or behave inappropriately. Sara Brown, LAMFT, shares tools and helpful hints on how parents, grandparents, or other adults can wisely interact with youth, guiding them and being present to love well.