The Psych Monologues

In this episode, Dr. Mitsch recounts the history of The Psych Monologues, and tells the development of SGI, and the vision for the future that is unfolding. Listen to this episode to hear some momentous news for the future of SGI and the Psych Monologues. It will be well worth 33 minutes of your time!

Dr. Mitsch explores the next stage of the spiritual journey which is referred to as the "Discipled/Mentored Life."  Listen in as he discusses the key characteristics, how to make progress in this stage of development, and the importance of choosing your mentor wisely since he/she will help you set the foundation of the rest of your journey.  

Dr. Mitsch explores the internal landscape of depression, and how it impacts our spiritual journey.  Listen in and find insight and encouragement for those who are struggling with depression (and those are who are not).  

Continuing our series on the spiritual journey, Dr. Mitsch explores the characteristics and the issues that interfere with our growth during this part of our journey.  Recognizing God as part of our lives or reintroducing ourselves to God is an important first step of the journey.  What issues do we bring with us that interfere with the continuing journey with God?  Listen in and find out!  

Dr. Mitsch continues the series on Broken People of the Bible focusing on the story of the a woman experiencing a 12 year hemorrhage that had marginalized her in her culture, and left her hopeless and looking for healing.  She turns to Jesus, and finds a remarkable display of compassion and grace.  Her story is our story struggling with shame, and our approach to God in the midst of it.  How does Jesus respond that displays God's response to our shame and our need for healing?  Listen and find out!

What would Jesus do with your grief whether it was from loss for other reasons or loss from death?  The grief we experience comes from many different experiences not the least of which is grief from death.  Is there something we can learn from someone just like us who is grieving and interacted with Jesus just as we would?  Check it out... the next in the Broken People of the Bible series - Jesus and grief.

We are tempted to look for external solutions for internal problems, and we meet with problems and wonder why.  Dr. Mitsch explores this temptation of ours, and how much it sabotages our best efforts to manage the anxiety in our lives. 

Dr. Mitsch continues his series on "Barriers to God" and looks at another "a" word - Anxiety. Do you have questions about anxiety and the role that it plays in your life or others, and what impact it has on your relationship with God? Tune in and be encouraged.

Dr. Mitsch introduces his listeners to the importance of silence and solitude, and "pulls back the veil" on the silent retreats that he leads.  Do you ever wonder what happens on a silent retreat, and what are the important issues that come up as a result?  Hear it all here!

In this episode, Dr. Mitsch explores a new but ancient pandemic with which we are all afflicted but act as if it doesn't exist.  What is it?  Listen in to find out!

What words come to mind when someone mentions God or Jesus?  Angry?  Vengeful?  Manipulative?  Loving?  Compassionate?  Our words and phrases connected to God reveal a lot about us.  Listen in to find out why.  

Dr. Mitsch continues his series on the broken people of the Bible with the story of the demon possessed man.  He explores the implications of Jesus' interaction with the man, and how remarkably it relates to our own "demons" that we fight.  Often we will choose our known "demons" over an unknown angel provided by God Himself.   "Man of the Tombs" by Bob Bennett

Do you know how you are growing spiritually?  That question is one we rarely think about when things are going well, but it's often a bigger concern when we are stuck.  Dr. Mitsch starts a new series examining what the spiritual journey actually looks like, and what the challenges are when we first start out.  

How often do we say that we know something, but it has nothing to do with the choices we make or how we live our lives?  Have you ever wondered why we do that?  What's the point of knowledge if it doesn't touch our lives in some way?  Of course, some knowledge does but more importantly there is knowledge we have that we say is important but it never enters into the decisions we make.  Listen in to hear about "the why" and "what do I do now?" for both challenge and (hopefully) inspiration.  

Dr. Mitsch initiates a new series called "Broken People of the Bible" this week with episode 128.  He takes time to breathe life into a story that many people know or with which they are familiar.  Is there something here for us to learn about our own spiritual condition and what insight might the paralytic's story offer for us as we follow Jesus?

It is a very common experience to be angry at God for a variety of reasons.  That anger is enough to separate us from Him, but is it enough to separate Him from us?  Dr. Mitsch looks at one of the key barriers in our relationship with God - our anger with Him.  Where does it come from, what is the cost, and what are the steps to address it.  

What kind of people populate your life?  What kind of person are you?  Dr. Mitsch looks at a topic that is rarely discussed.  When we engage friends and family over personal issues, are you likely to start your comment with a "At least..." and provide a perspective about the issue your friend is facing that compares what he/she has experienced to something far worse?  What kind of people do you need in your life?  Who will walk with your faithfully and consistently?  This episode explores what we can do to be people who are comfortable with both a mountaintop or a valley.  

Dr. Mitsch explores how pervasive the language of power has changed us, our relationships, and even how we think about ourselves and God.  Listen to a thought-provoking podcast that will challenge you to consider changing your language from power to love.  

In this episode, Dr. Mitsch looks at the final crescendo to forgiveness and repentance and that is reconciliation.  He explores what reconciliation is and what it isn't including the key elements which are displayed in the story of the prodigal son.  

Continuing from the forgiveness episode(#122), Dr. Mitsch talks about what it means to forgive an institution like the church.  He also explores what repentance actually looks like, and the differences between superficial and genuine repentance.

In this episode, Dr. Mitsch confronts and unravels the distortions and myths that we have around the aspect of forgiveness in our relationships.  Both the social convention of forgiveness and genuine forgiveness are explored and explained.   Dr. David Stoop's book was mentioned in this episode and can be found here.

In episode 121, Dr. Mitsch explores the key for healthy relationships - boundaries.  If you hope to have healthier relationships in 2023, then this is a great episode to start with!  The three characteristics of boundaries, and the patterns that create problems in relationships are discussed and a way to concretely address boundaries throughout the year is also mentioned.   Watch the next episode on the video podcast, click here. Subscribe to "Setting New Boundaries".

To begin a new year with The Psych Monologues, Dr. Mitsch takes on the issues in relationship between the generations that include whether or not we will connect with another person, or just simply focus on how they think.  Also, check out the new video podcast that can be found here.

Dr. Mitsch tackles both an important but also painful subject that people often experience around the holidays - grief.  While many sing gleefully about "home for the holidays" there are those in our world (and maybe us) who don't feel the same way about the holidays because they just remind us who is NOT there.  While the topic sounds like a "downer" for the holidays, it's important to give a voice to those who are experiencing grief with the absence of important people in their lives.  

Dr. Mitsch tackles a very familiar topic not only from his career in helping people, but also his teaching career.  He tackles the issue of how comfortable shame is for us.  Shame is an underestimated but overly familiar feature of most of our relationships with ourselves and with others.  Without a clear understanding of it, we can do little to live fully in the grace that God offers us.  

Dr. Mitsch takes time out to talk about three different aspects of our functioning.  What we know, what we do, and who we are.  Our emphasis in each of these areas has everything to do with how we relate to Jesus, to others, and even to ourselves.  Join in to the exploration of understanding how our beings directly influences how we know, and what we do.  

Dr. Mitsch dives into a topic that we love to talk about, but struggle to live with any degree of authenticity.  How are you at accepting grace in your life?  

Do you live life in an integrated or disintegrated way?  What does that even mean?  Why is it all that important.  Listen further as Dr. Mitsch takes this podcast to highlight the cost of living disintegrated lives, and the potential benefits of seeking integration in our lives and relationships.  

Strange title, right?  Dr. Mitsch takes some time to reflect on his relationship with a new golden in his home, and the parallels he sees in his relationship with the dog and his relationship with God.  We are surrounded by lessons to be learned even from our animals that include learning about grace, love, and presence.

Dr. Mitsch has an exciting announcement to share about the ministries of Stained Glass International, and "pulls back the veil" on the silent retreats that he leads for Next generation Christians.  

Mystery.  The funny thing about the word is that is evokes the very thing it purports to describe.  The word itself prompts one to experience mystery is what it actually means for the Christian life journey.  Dr. Mitsch takes some time to talk about the importance of mystery not because it exists in our world, but because of what it is calling us to experience.  Listen in and find out the connection between mystery and trust!

Dr. Mitsch takes a moment out of schedule of topics to reflect on how grief has a way of revealing our expectations on loss, and how we typically respond to it.  After the loss of his trusty companion, Koda, he reflects about his loss and the important aspect of grief that all listeners can relate to.  It is sobering, enlightening, and encouraging all at the same time.  Our call to connection is... "be here now."  

Do you value integrity in your life?  If so, why?  Dr. Mitsch takes some time this episode to look more closely at this quality of people and consider why it is so important.  What does it mean?  What will we lose if we seek it?  What do we gain?  These are just some of the questions that are addressed in this week's episode of The Psych Monologues.

Why is acceptance so hard for us to do?  What are the obstacles that get in our way?  Why is it so important for our ability to change?  This are a few of the questions Dr. Mitsch attempts to answer in our quest to engage our spiritual journey fully.  

Dr. Mitsch takes some time to look more deeply into the motivations, the movements within the deconstruction of one's faith, and what happens on the other side of that process.  

Dr. Mitsch proposes a provocative question:  do you engage your world with either/or thinking or both/and thinking?  What's the difference between those, and why is it important in our thinking about ourselves, God, or others?  

Dr. Mitsch introduces a new word for your vocabulary, and a challenge to consider how to participate in the transformation of your own heart that leads to a life(beliefs and practices) that matches and is guided by a whole heart.

Dr. Mitsch returns to the microphone after a summer hiatus to discuss the reality of the fact that we all live in the shadowlands, and how it feels when we bid someone we love good-bye.  There are a variety of things to learn and reflect on about the shadowlands we live in and what kind of people we will be as we experience life with both losses and joys. 

Why are we so committed to punishment as the primary means of change in our spiritual development?  Dr. Mitsch explores how this has developed in us, and the key strategies we seem to be committed to in changing our behavior.  He also explores how to embrace the grace that is our antidote to shame and punishment.

When you are interacting with another person, are you more prone to look for the "right" answer, or the "real" answer?  Dr. Mitsch explores how the true path of spiritual journey can be found in living in real time with others, ourselves, and God and that is the "right" path.  

Dr. Mitsch asks the question, "Do you generate joy, or experience it?"  So often, we feel compelled to focus on "positive thoughts" in our denial of the reality in which we live.  Is there a way to live with reality as it is while opening ourselves to experiencing joy as it is revealed to us?

Dr. Mitsch asks the penetrating question: What God do you worship?  The God you talk about, or the one you actually relate to?  We often split our relationship with God by talking about Him one way, and then relate to Him another way.  

Join Dr. Mitsch as he looks back over two years of The Psych Monologues podcast.  From the earliest episodes which were motivated to keep in contact with his graduating students affected by the global pandemic, to today and a podcast committed to the intersection of faith, psychology and spiritual formation. Listen again to the most downloaded episodes over the 100 episode history!

Somewhere along the way, we've gotten the impression that there is something fundamentally wrong about being human.  How does being human figure into our spiritual journey, and how do we embrace our humanity as we travel this journey?

Why are we so committed to punishment as the primary means of change in our spiritual development?  Dr. Mitsch explores how this has developed in us, and the key strategies we seem to be committed to in changing our behavior.  He also explores how to embrace the grace that is our antidote to shame and punishment.    

What does it mean to experience God's presence?  What does being present with others have to do with God's presence?  These are but a few of the questions addressed in this week's podcast.  Also, get a look into the Spring 2022 Silent Retreat.  

So, what do you think of when you hear the word obedience?  I bet you haven't thought of what has happened in modern Christian-thinking and even in our larger culture in regards to obedience.  Dr. Mitsch examines what has been left out of our understanding of obedience in our relationship with God.

What do boundaries have to do with relationships with yourself, God, or others?  Does it have any relevance to my spiritual development?  These are a couple of questions Dr. Mitsch tackles as he explores the importance of good boundaries as we seek to develop healthy relationships with others and with God.  

Dr. Mitsch takes time to explore the thing we hate the most - our insecurities.  What can our insecurities tell us, and how can they lead us into a deeper relationship with others and with Jesus?

What do you think of when you hear the word lament?  For most people, they may have never heard it before.  Dr. Mitsch focuses his thoughts and observations on the importance of lament in our lives to gain greater ownership of ourselves, and greater connection with others.  

Dr. Mitsch takes time to consider the effects of our fear of emptiness and what impact that has on our relationships and our view of ourselves and God.  Emptiness could be an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Jesus and others.