About this episode
What if understanding how your brain works could help you partner with God for deep emotional and spiritual healing? In this episode, licensed therapist and author Tina Smith unpacks her book Renewing Our Minds in Love and shows how neuroscience, attachment, and Scripture all fit together in God’s design for wholeness. Tina and John talk about what trauma actually is (and isn’t), why attachment and early relationships matter so much, how triggers work in the brain and nervous system, and why many believers feel condemned or “stuck” even while trying to renew their minds. She also explains the “hand model” of the brain, how love literally rewires neural pathways, and why over-spiritualizing mental illness has quietly hurt people in the church. They dive into practical tools for:Navigating family dynamics and toxic environments (especially around the holidays)Setting boundaries without burning bridgesHaving hard conversations without labels, name-calling, or shutdownLeading in church and ministry with curiosity instead of quick fixesIntegrating therapy, inner healing, and deliverance in healthy, balanced waysIf you’ve ever wondered why you react the way you do—or why change feels so slow despite prayer and Scripture—this conversation will help you see your story, your brain, and your healing through a much kinder, more hopeful lens. Guest: Tina Smith — licensed therapist; founder of SELA Counselling & SELA Treatment Center; creator of Sword & Grace Coaching; author of Renewing Our Minds in LoveHost: John Gallagher — Talks with Gallagher Timestamps (chapters — adjust to your final edit) 00:00 Welcome, intro & Tina’s story and background04:10 Why Tina wrote Renewing Our Minds in Love and what she was seeing in clients09:20 Where the church often unintentionally keeps people stuck in their mental health14:05 Trauma, attachment & early relationships — why they shape how we see God and others18:40 What is trauma really? Tina’s working definition beyond the buzzword23:15 How unhealed childhood experiences show up later in work, marriage & leadership27:40 The “hand model” of the brain — fight, flight, freeze, fawn and how God wired us32:30 Triggers, smells, songs & body sensations: when your nervous system remembers37:55 Glasses of trauma: how we filter the world, intimacy, and even church through past pain42:20 Holidays, toxic spaces & boundaries: staying loving without staying unsafe47:00 Fruits of the Spirit as a practical mental health framework (not just a Bible list)51:25 Love vs. fear in the brain: how love literally rewires neural pathways55:40 The power of words: shaping identity, safety & neural pathways in others1:00:05 How to have hard conversations without labels, blame, or “you always…”1:04:10 Anger as the tip of the iceberg: what’s really underneath (rejection & abandonment)1:08:00 How l
