The Allender Center Podcast
The Allender Center
The Allender Center Podcast features Dr. Dan Allender and his team engaging topics on healing and restoration through the unique intersection of theology and psychology. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache and hope that are rarely addressed so candidly in our culture today. Join us to gain refreshing insight into understanding your story, handling relational struggles, recovering from trauma and abuse, and more.
The mission of The Allender Center is to help people tell their stories with awareness and integrity, and to train them to listen to the stories of others with care, artistry, and skill so that they may foster redemption and healing in their lives. The Allender Center is a pioneering organization committed to boldly engaging the impact of trauma and abuse, providing healing and teaching to individuals, couples, and communities, and training professionals to listen and enter into stories in a way that facilitates transformation and hope. For information on all our programs and live events, visit theallendercenter.org
The mission of The Allender Center is to help people tell their stories with awareness and integrity, and to train them to listen to the stories of others with care, artistry, and skill so that they may foster redemption and healing in their lives. The Allender Center is a pioneering organization committed to boldly engaging the impact of trauma and abuse, providing healing and teaching to individuals, couples, and communities, and training professionals to listen and enter into stories in a way that facilitates transformation and hope. For information on all our programs and live events, visit theallendercenter.org
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 24, 2022 • 48min
The Disruption of the Incarnation
The message of Christmas is one that disrupts the norm and turns systems of power upside down. When we examine Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1:46b-55, we see that disruption unfolding, not only in Mary's own life, but in the course of humanity. Today on the podcast, Dr. Dan Allender is joined by two guests from The Seattle SChool of Theology & Psychology: Dr. Chelle Stearns, Associate Professor of Theology, and Trevor Grindle, the Director of Marketing & Communications. Their conversation covers both cultural and personal implications of Mary's Song. As you listen this Christmas weekend and beyond, we invite you to join us to consider how this passage can impact our own lives and open our ears and hearts to the voices and stories around us with a fresh perspective. Trevor Grindle's tattoo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CdjQBUFvv1A/
Dec 16, 2022 • 40min
How the Incarnation Invites Creativity
We're pleased to welcome Sue Cunningham back for another episode this week. You're in for a treat: Sue shares one of her poems, "Mary and Michelangelo." She and Dan reflect both on the poem itself and on the creative interpretation process that readers or listeners may have as well.
Dec 10, 2022 • 41min
Sharing in the Creativity of Christmas with Sue Cunningham
Many of us are inspired to create during the Christmas season - perhaps through hanging up decorations, baking treats and meals to share, or dreaming up creative gifts for loved ones. But beyond the tangible holiday projects, how does the season of Christmas inspire us to engage our creativity and playful nature? This week, Sue Cunningham, Licensed Professional Counselor and Facilitator at the Allender Center, joins Dr. Dan Allender to reflect on how creativity emerges through Christmas.Sue says, "The way God moves in the world with the Christmas story: Mary, Jesus, the whole story is all about creativity. And I just love the thought that God is the original creator, and we humans are image bearers. So we get to share in that creativity."We hope you enjoy this week's episode, "Sharing in the Creativity of Christmas."
Dec 3, 2022 • 42min
The Presence of the Incarnation with Alexander John Shaia
This week on the podcast, Dan is joined by author, speaker, and clinical psychologist Alexander John Shaia to engage the incarnation, the Christmas story, and a glimpse of John's upbringing and the beautiful spiritual tradition of his family and culture. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Alexander John was part of a large extended family that had emigrated from Lebanon a generation previously. He grew up immersed in the ancient traditions of Middle Eastern Christianity (Maronite Catholicism) and was expected to become a priest, a family tradition since the year 1300. He was led otherwise. Hear more from Alexander John Shaia in this week's podcast: "The Presence of the Incarnation."
Nov 26, 2022 • 37min
The Nature of Disappointment
As we enter the holiday season with anticipation, there are times when we will also feel, well… disappointed. How do we honor disappointment without being bound by it? Dan and Becky Allender talk through their experiences with disappointment, how the body reacts when faced with disappointment, and the ways in which we can tend to our disappointments and still find hope.
Nov 19, 2022 • 37min
Holiday Madness
As nature slows down, many of us are gearing up for a busy holiday season - beginning with Thanksgiving next week. Dan and Becky Allender unpack some of the nostalgia that surrounds the holiday, the tensions that arise from unmet expectations or clashing opinions, and what we can mindfully bring to the Thanksgiving table - and what can be left at the door.So as we enter into this season of "holiday madness," as Dan puts it, we hope you can pause to consider what this time of year means for you, and how you can help foster a season of goodness for you and the people in your life.
Nov 12, 2022 • 40min
Listener Questions: Engaging Past Trauma and Our Families of Origin
Last month, we invited our social media followers to send in questions that they would like to hear Dan Allender address. We are honored that so many of you sent in questions and comments. We'll begin by addressing some of the questions about confronting past trauma in general, and trauma involving families of origin in particular. What if our past trauma is too painful to bear? Should we address our parents about trauma in our upbringing? How do we stop the trauma cycle with our own children? Dan addresses these questions and more in this episode, hosted by Melissa Dowell from the Allender Center. Listeners and friends - we are grateful for your questions. Stay tuned for more episodes in the future in which we'll unpack more of the questions that were submitted.
Nov 5, 2022 • 47min
"Exit the Cave" with Blaine Hogan
Blaine Hogan joins Dr. Dan Allender on the podcast this week to talk about his new book, "Exit the Cave: Embracing a Life of Courage, Creativity, and Radical Imagination." Blaine holds a Master of Arts in Theology and Culture from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. It was during his time at the Seattle School that he says, "It was time to go back to those stories, to those shadows, because I was reenacting them in so many heartbreaking ways to myself and to others." In this conversation, Blaine describes his process of finding the goodness in his story, and how embracing his story allowed him to express his creativity more fully.
Oct 29, 2022 • 28min
Engaging Triggers in Marriage
We recently wrapped up the Allender Center Marriage Conference with Dan and Becky Allender and Steve and Lisa Call of The Reconnect Institute. So as our team is reflecting on that incredible event and gearing up for next spring's Marriage Enrichment Retreat, we thought we'd go back into the archives to revisit this conversation between the Allenders and the Calls. In this episode from 2020, the two couples talk about engaging triggers in a marriage. Whether you are married or not, we hope this topic will help you in any of your close relationships with a spouse, friend, or family member, and will prompt you to consider the triggers you have - and the triggers you notice in those close to you.
Oct 22, 2022 • 37min
Does Time Heal All Wounds?
Does time really heal all wounds? After recently celebrating their respective 70th birthdays, Dan and Becky Allender sat down to look back over the decades with a different awareness, considering the trauma, the joy, the losses, and the blessings. They also explore the saying that "time heals all wounds" and explain why trauma does not honor time. The good news is that, instead of hoping that the passage of time will allow us to heal, we can step in and own our stories and begin to experience the redemption and restoration that God has for us.
