Held Together: Healing Childhood Trauma-Bonus episode: Post-Traumatic Growth
Restored: Where Psychology Meets Grace
Release Date: 04/21/2026
Restored: Where Psychology Meets Grace
Subscribe for access to the Restored Reflection Journal Library: Healthy relationships ask something of us. We make room for another person’s needs, allow ourselves to be influenced, compromise, support, and sometimes sacrifice. But how do we stay deeply connected to the people we love without disappearing inside the relationship? In this final episode of The Relationships That Shape Us, Dr. Malorie explores interdependence—the middle ground between “I don’t need anyone” and “I can’t be okay unless you’re okay with me.” Healthy connection isn’t complete...
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Want to go deeper with this episode? Subscribe for access to the Restored Reflection Journal Library, where you'll find episode-specific prompts designed to help you reflect more deeply on what you're learning. Reflection Journal Library: Listen to Restored: Sometimes our strongest reactions in relationships aren't only about what's happening now. They're also shaped by what we've learned to expect. In this episode of The Relationships That Shape Us, Dr. Malorie explores schemas—the deeply learned patterns of beliefs, memories, emotions, bodily sensations, and expectations that help us...
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Want to go deeper with this episode? Subscribers have access to the Restored Reflection Journal Library, with companion prompts designed to help you reflect on what you're learning and apply it to your own life. Some relationships end clearly. Others remain in our lives—but become something very different from what they once were. A friendship loses its closeness. A family relationship shifts. Someone grows in a different direction. The person is still there, but the relationship you knew no longer exists in quite the same way. That kind of loss can be surprisingly difficult to grieve...
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Want to go deeper with each episode? Subscribe to receive access to the Restored Reflection Journal Library, with guided prompts designed to help you continue the conversation beyond the podcast. Reflection Journal Library: Forgiveness is often presented as a destination we should reach as quickly as possible—especially for Christians. But what happens when we move too quickly from “That hurt me” to “I forgive you” without giving adequate attention to everything in between? In this episode of Restored: Where Psychology Meets Grace, Dr. Malorie explores forgiveness as...
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Want to go deeper with this episode? Subscribers have access to the Restored Reflection Journal Library, with guided prompts designed to help you continue reflecting on each episode in your own time. Divorce doesn't always come with a clear villain or a simple explanation. Sometimes there was abuse or betrayal. Sometimes one person never wanted the marriage to end. But sometimes two people married young, grew and changed, became increasingly disconnected, or simply reached a point where the marriage ended—and afterward, the questions aren't so easy to answer. In this episode of Restored:...
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Go Deeper with the Restored Reflection Journal Library Subscribe to Restored for access to the Reflection Journal Library, where you'll find companion journals designed to help you reflect more deeply on each episode and apply what you're learning to your own life. What happens when both people in a relationship are growing—but somehow they begin growing apart? We often assume that becoming healthier individually will automatically make our relationships healthier. Sometimes it does. But as we become more self-aware, develop stronger boundaries, stop people-pleasing, and become...
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Go Deeper with the Restored Reflection Journal Library If today’s episode resonates with you, subscribers have access to the Restored Reflection Journal Library, with companion journals designed to help you reflect more deeply on each episode and apply what you’re learning to your own life. Access the Reflection Journal Library: Family relationships can hold some of our deepest love—and some of our deepest hurt. You can be confident, capable, and grounded in most areas of your life, only to spend a little time with family and suddenly find yourself slipping back into a...
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Go Deeper with the Restored Reflection Journal Library If today's episode resonates with you, continue the journey through the Restored Reflection Journal Library. Subscribers receive exclusive access to the complete library of companion reflection journals, designed to help you move beyond listening and into meaningful personal growth through guided reflection, practical application, and prayer. Access the Reflection Journal Library here: Why do some relationships leave us feeling emotionally safe, while others leave us feeling anxious, guarded, or exhausted? In this opening episode...
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Subscribe to receive the companion reflection journal and additional resources for every episode: Reflection Journal Library: We spend so much of our lives pursuing happiness. The next accomplishment. The next promotion. The next milestone. The next thing we hope will finally make us feel fulfilled. But what if happiness and meaning aren't the same thing? In this episode of Restored: Where Psychology Meets Grace, we explore one of the most important questions we can ask: What makes life meaningful? Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, Viktor Frankl's profound insights on meaning, and the...
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Subscribe to receive free reflection journals and additional resources for every episode: 🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast app: What does it actually mean to be emotionally healthy? Many of us imagine emotionally healthy people as those who are always calm, rarely anxious, and somehow immune to life's challenges. But that's not what psychology, neuroscience, or Scripture reveal. In this episode of Restored: Where Psychology Meets Grace, we explore what emotionally healthy people actually do differently. Emotional health isn't about avoiding pain or never struggling. It's about...
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As we close the Held Together: Healing Childhood Trauma series, we end with something hopeful:
The possibility that healing does not just bring relief…
Sometimes, healing brings transformation.
In this bonus and final episode, we explore the concept of post-traumatic growth—what it means to not only survive trauma, but to experience meaningful growth through the healing process.
This episode is not about pretending trauma was good or minimizing pain. It is about understanding that while trauma wounds us, healing can shape us into people who are more aware, more grounded, more compassionate, and more resilient than before.
In this episode, we discuss:
• What post-traumatic growth is—and what it is not
• How healing changes the brain and nervous system through neuroplasticity
• Why growth does not erase grief
• How to hold both pain and progress at the same time
• Practical tools to support continued healing and emotional growth
• How God can bring purpose from pain without ever calling the pain good
We also reflect on the stories of Joseph and David to explore how Scripture shows us that God does not waste pain—even when healing takes time.
If you have ever wondered whether something beautiful can come from your healing journey…
This episode is for you.
Disclaimer:
This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. Listening to this podcast does not establish a therapeutic relationship. The content shared is not intended to diagnose, treat, or provide individualized psychological care. If you are experiencing significant emotional distress or mental health concerns, please seek support from a licensed mental health professional or qualified healthcare provider.