Love and Life with Dr. Karin and Pastor Elliott

We all want to be great parents—but how? Actually, science points us in the right direction! This week Dr. Karin and her husband, Dan, discuss a well-established theory of parenting from the developmental psych literature—Diana Baumrind’s parenting styles take the guesswork out of parenting. It’s simple! Not easy, but simple!

Dr. Karin welcomes Kira Sabin of The League of Adventurous Singles to the podcast. Kira shares her philosophy for thriving while flying solo and reveals methods from her coaching practice, The Owner’s Manual. Spoiler alert: you will NOT learn the mysteries of the male mind (because Karin and Kira are women, after all) nor will you discover the secret to finding The One (because sadly, there’s no magic bullet) but you WILL learn strategies for loving yourself and loving your life—because as Kira says, “great relationships start with ourselves!”

How do you grieve the loss of something you never had? This week Dr. Karin welcomes to the program Nichelle Polston and Alisha Jones of the blog, Give Me a Ring and a Baby. We discuss the pain associated with a life that refuses to play out as planned—whether we’re longing for a husband but flying solo to yet another wedding or receiving a baby shower invitation the day we learn our IVF cycle has failed—for the third time! Nichelle and Alisha share their stories—their frustration (often exacerbated by insensitive, unsolicited input from friends and family) and their triumph—how they’ve managed to find peace, joy, and purpose in the midst of their unique grief.

Enduring the loss of a loved one is horribly painful, but experiencing a unique grief can prove difficult in unexpected ways. In this episode, Dr. Karin examines how we process loss when our culture provides neither protocol nor terminology for our distress. She interviews Christine Infanger of Thirty Roses about the tragic, sudden passing of her 30-year-old fiancé. In addition to the pain of losing the love of her life, Christine dealt with an onslaught of ridiculous and absurd comments from well-intentioned friends. Dr. Karin and Christine leave listeners with recommendations for how to approach those who are grieving in a kind, sensitive manner.

Dr. Karin always says, "Marriage is great, but only if it's a great marriage." So how do we keep the sparks alive? In this episode, Dr. Karin and her husband, Dan, discuss Helen Fisher's research on lasting attraction. She looks at couples whose brain chemistry evidences they're still "in love" despite spending 20+ years together and raising children. Dr. Karin leaves listeners with science based Love & Life hacks for keeping the sizzle in your marriage! #marriage #sex #inlove #lastinglove #couples #therapy #psychology #anthropology www.drkarin.me

Let’s talk about marriage! On this episode, Dr. Karin invites her husband, Dan, to join her in discussing nine research-based ways to assist you in cultivating a happy, healthy marriage that will go the distance. Dan leaves listeners with a Love & Life hack for how to make any man happy!www.drkarin.me

British breakup coach, Laura Yates, joins Dr. Karin to share strategies for breaking up in the healthiest way possible. They delve into the challenges of splitting up in the age of social media and Laura leaves us with two Love & Life Hacks for renewing and reclaiming your life when a relationship has ended.www.drkarin.me

Dr. Karin gets personal talking about one of the most painful breakups from her 27 years of dating. Crushed when Dylan left Chicago, Karin channeled her pain into songwriting. She shares details of the breakup and plays You Made Me—the edgy, angst-ridden song it inspired. She leaves listeners with a Love & Life hack for how to “take charge of the pain!”www.drkarin.me

Dr. Karin answers listeners' questions on this episode of Love & Life. She helps Rebecca process her frustrations with married friends and assists newly divorced Mindy in navigating her way through the singles' scene. Dr. Karin then addresses Carly's question about the challenges of dating in the "Digital Age."

In this episode, Dr. Karin shares three research-based strategies to help us feel better about ourselves by focusing on our thoughts. She delves into the phenomenon of "Facebook Depression", discusses Dr. Carol Dweck's theory of mindsets, and explores the connection between ruminating and mood. Dr. Karin leaves us with 3 Love & Life Hacks you can immediately implement to increase your self-esteem today!