This episode is cross-posted from Here, Not There, by Colleen Ramser, where she turns the tables and interviews me about the work we do and the upcoming Attaching to God Summit, focused on Deepening Relationships. Below are Colleen's show notes.

What if the gap between what you believe about God (head) and what you feel (heart) has something to do with the way your brain learned to protect you? Geoff Holsclaw explores how attachment theory, relational neuroscience, and theology can deepen our relationship with God and change the way we read Scripture, experience prayer, and understand God’s presence. Together, Colleen and Geoff discuss how attachment patterns can shape faith and relationships—and why knowing that God is loving doesn’t always mean we feel close, safe, or seen. Their conversation offers a thoughtful, hopeful look at moving beyond spiritual clichés toward a more embodied and relational faith.

This episode also highlights the Attaching to God summit this fall, October 13-15 (free!), where you can dive deeper into what it looks like to deepen your relationship with God, self, and others. Colleen will be featured talking about restoring wholeness after spiritual abuse.

Join 5000 others for the 3rd Annual Attaching to God Summit, focused on Deepening Relationships.

Register for FREE (and get Swag Bag gifts sent to your email).

Stay Connected:

• The FREE Attaching to God Summit is happening (Oct. 13-15).
• Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort.
• Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources.
• Support our ministry with a one-time or regular gift.

Does security come from the outside? Or is security something we can cultivate from within as we become more and more anchored in God’s unshakable love?

Geoff Holsclaw talks with therapist and psychologist of religion Dr. Allison Cook about her new book, The Secure Soul: Finding Inner Strength and Connection When Trust Doesn’t Come Easily. They talk about internal family systems (parts work), and how the soul adapts to disconnection by creating "shadows". Drawing on her own story of believing in God yet feeling a “brick wall,” she connects embodied experiences of love, attachment, and neuroscience to spiritual formation.

Dr. Alison Cook is a therapist, psychologist of religion, bestselling author, and host of the top-ranked The Best of You podcast (and has also published a book by the same title, along with . Widely recognized for her ability to bridge faith and psychology in a way that is both deeply practical and spiritually alive, Dr. Alison has spent over two decades helping people move from feeling disconnected to feeling secure, grounded, and loved. And she is coming out with her new book, The Secure Soul: Finding Inner Strength and Connection When Trust Doesn't Come Easy.

Join 5000 others for the 3rd Annual Attaching to God Summit, focused on Deepening Relationships.

Register for FREE (and get Swag Bag gifts sent to your email).

Stay Connected:

• Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort.
• Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources.
• Support our ministry with a one-time or regular gift.

Mental health resources increasingly focus on the self as the antidote to psychological suffering, offering strategies for prioritizing self-care and self-esteem. Yet as people focus more on the self, their suffering may actually worsen. Clinical psychologist Joshua Knabb argues that when people focus less on the self and more on God, their mental and spiritual health may improve.

Clinical psychologist and California Baptist University professor Dr. Joshua Knabb joins the Attaching to God podcast to talk about his new book, Worship and Awe in Christian Psychology: How Centering God Transforms Mental and Spiritual Health.

In this episode, Dr. Knabb contrasts Buddhist mindfulness with Christianity’s relational telos of communion with the Triune God, talks about learning to relate differently to suffering rather than trying to eliminate it, and connects Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to desert spirituality themes like watchfulness and staying in one’s “cell.”

Join 5000 others for the 3rd Annual Attaching to God Summit, focused on Deepening Relationships.

Register for FREE (and get Swag Bag gifts sent to your email).

Stay Connected:

• Check out our Attaching to God 6-Week Learning Cohort.
• Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources.
• Support our ministry with a one-time or regular gift.