A Christian Lawyer Addresses Sexual Abuse by Church Leaders
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
Release Date: 01/30/2024
What No One Tells You About Marriage and Staying in Love
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
What does take to really build a marriage that thrives, not just survives? In this episode, Pastor Mike Novotny discusses with Dr. Carol the foundational principles for building a lasting and healthy marriage, particularly during the first year of marriage. From issues like faith, communication, sex, finances, chores, in-laws, and more, Mike delves into one of the most common — and most overlooked — sources of conflict in marriage: colliding expectations. Mike also opens up about his struggle with pornography, explaining how embracing vulnerability and living out the principle of...
info_outline
Performance, Presence, and the Parts We Hide: A Faith-Based Path to Healing
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
What if the inner conflict you feel isn't a sign that something is wrong with you, but a signal that healing is possible? In this powerful edition of our monthly feature Dr. Carol talks with Zion and Avery Montgomery to explore how sin, evil, and trauma fracture us internally and shape our emotions, relationships, and spiritual lives. Drawing from both Biblical truths and the psychological framework of Internal Family Systems (IFS), this conversation highlights how Jesus makes us whole as He brings healing and integration to every wounded or hidden part of the heart. Avery shares his...
info_outline
What Nobody Tells You About Waiting for Sex Until Marriage
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
In a culture that often treats sexual abstinence before marriage as outdated, unrealistic, or merely rule-following, Dr. Carol sits down with author, professor, and researcher Dr. Emily McKnight, lovingly known as Dr. Em, for an honest conversation about why waiting for sex before marriage still matters, and why it’s about far more than behavior. Dr. Em shares her own journey from sexual brokenness to conviction-led abstinence, and how that season shaped her relationship with God, her sense of identity, and ultimately her marriage. Together, they explore the deeper purpose of sexual...
info_outline
Your Questions About Intimacy, Sex, and Relationships Answered
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
In this honest and hope-filled Q&A episode, Dr. Carol tackles some of the most tender and complicated questions surrounding faith, sexuality, betrayal, intimacy, and emotional healing. From pornography and painful marriage dynamics to shame, loneliness, and the longing for deeper connection, this conversation explores what it means to be fully human while following Jesus. Along the way, Dr. Carol addresses an often-overlooked question: If Jesus was fully human, what does that mean for understanding desire, embodiment, and intimacy today? Drawing from both Scripture and neurobiology, this...
info_outline
A Healed Heart: The Christian Approach to Trauma Recovery
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
In this enlightening episode, Dr. Carol and Beth Broom dive deep into the complexities of trauma and its profound impact on relationships, particularly within the Christian community. Beth shares her unique perspective, distinguishing between traumatic experiences and the internal responses that shape how we process pain including how to rebuilding trust. Together, they explore the Christian Trauma Healing Network and the SAFE model—an innovative framework designed to offer accessible resources for trauma survivors and their supporters. The conversation reminds us of the importance of...
info_outline
Right Brain, Left Brain, Whole Brain
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
What if the reason you still feel stuck spiritually isn’t a lack of information, but a lack of integration? In this monthly feature, Dr. Carol, Avery Montgomery, and Zion Montgomery explore why so many sincere followers of Jesus may know the right answers intellectually yet still struggle with fear, shame, disconnection, or recurring unhealthy patterns. Together they unpack the difference between a faith that lives only in the left brain—focused on logic, information, and performance—and the kind of whole-brain connection that actually leads to transformation. Because becoming like...
info_outline
From Awkward Side Hugs to Authentic Touch: Building Healthy Church Relationships
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
What if the church's approach to relationships between men and women has been doing more harm than good? In this episode, we sit down with author Bronwyn Lea to unpack the ideas behind her book Beyond Awkward Side Hugs — a thoughtful challenge to the rules-heavy, fear-driven culture that has left many Christians, especially singles, feeling like second-class members of the body of Christ. Bronwyn makes the case that healthy, embodied community isn't built on caution tape and rigid boundaries, but on an inner transformation of character that allows men and women to relate to one another...
info_outline
One Woman's Journey Through Betrayal, Loss, and Reconstructed Faith
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
Vaneetha Risner grew up believing that faithfully following Jesus would ensure a stable, fulfilling life. So when her marriage collapsed, it didn't just break her heart; it shattered the framework upon which she had built her identity. In this deeply personal conversation, Vaneetha opens up about the layered grief of divorce — a loss she describes as a kind of death that the church too often meets with judgment instead of compassion — and how that pain sat alongside other devastating trials, including contracting polio as a child, losing an infant son, and a later post-polio diagnosis. ...
info_outline
Tired, Restless, and Searching: The Spiritual Reality Behind Modern Life
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
Have you ever felt a quiet, persistent restlessness — a sense that no matter how good life gets, something still feels off? In this episode, Niki Kirby unpacks the powerful biblical theme of “exile” from her book The Garden of Exile, revealing how the human story—from Eden to eternity—is one of displacement and longing for true home. She reframes modern discomfort as a spiritual ache for shalom, inviting listeners to see their discontent not as something to numb, but as something that points to God’s greater restoration story. Drawing from Scripture, Niki shares how we can...
info_outline
Why Doing More Isn’t Changing You (and What Will)
Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol
What if the life you’ve built—doing the right things, saying the right words, holding it all together—isn’t actually bringing the transformation your soul longs for? In this new monthly feature of Relationship Prescriptions, Dr. Carol is joined by Zion and Avery Montgomery for an honest, deeply personal conversation about the shift from performance to presence. They explore how real change begins not with striving, but with becoming secure in your identity in God, and how unresolved trauma, both big and small, quietly shapes the way you relate to yourself, others, and Him. Through...
info_outlineTragically there are too many times when a spiritual leader uses their spiritual authority to perpetrate sexual harm and abuse on individuals under their care. The harm such victims experience is deep and long-lasting. And when these individuals seek help, the church's response has too often only added to their pain.
In this sobering but enlightening episode Dr. Carol talks with Christian lawyer Boz Tchividjian about clergy sexual abuse in the Protestant church - a cause he has devoted a good share of his career to. Boz has worked for decades on behalf of those who have experienced sexual abuse, assault, and harrassment, and brings both courage and grace to this important conversation.
Find out more about Boz Tchividjian's work on his website.
If you have been harmed sexually in a religious context, please check out Restored Voices Collective.
Check out Dr. Carol's article When You've Been Harmed in the Name of God
Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. You can leave a confidential comment here.