Erica and Ana sit down with Dr. Jody Vernam—former president of CSI’s Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho chapter and current core faculty member at Liberty University. In this episode, Dr. Vernam shares her journey into leadership within the counseling profession and offers valuable insights and specifics for those aspiring to become college counselors. Tune in for a thoughtful conversation filled with inspiration and to taste Dr. Vernam's humility and wisdom. Episode reference: APA: Rhoads, E., & Barend,...
May 22, 2025•43 min•Ep. 48
Hello everyone! We are sorry for the delay, but much has happened! Erica successfully defended her dissertation and is now teaching at Liberty! Congratulations, Dr. Rhoads! In this episode, Erica and Ana discussed the journey with the editors of the book and how the project was conceived. We explored the key concepts about which the editors are most proud. We also discussed how a Christian professional counselor can achieve congruence in incorporating spirituality into counseling while upholding...
Oct 15, 2024•53 min•Ep. 47
During this interesting conversation, Erica and Ana were delighted to hear from Dr. Daniel how fascinating, effective, and therapeutic group work is! As we are made in God's image (3 in One), group work addresses our need for relatedness and exposes how we relate with each other. We also explored how to making meaning from experiencing pain, and developing cognitive complexity in ourselves and our clients/students. APA: Rhoads, E., & Barend, A. (Producers). (2023, November 16). Ep. 46: Group...
Nov 20, 2023•47 min•Ep. 46
Erica and Ana interviewed Dr. Joy Mwendwa, who is an embodiment of joy! In this interview, they discussed practicum anxiety and specific steps Master students can take to address this normative reaction to the counselor education experiential process. They also explored Dr. Mwendwa's teaching philosophy and the importance of humility and presence through the pedagogical process. We hope you enjoy! Joy is also a Licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia and a Licensed Counseling Supervisor wher...
Sep 13, 2023•45 min•Ep. 45
Erica and Ana begin their podcast hosting experience interviewing Dr. Mary Deacon, who is a professor who has inspired both of them as they develop into the leaders God has designed them to be. Dr. Deacon has been teaching at Liberty for 12 years, she was the CACREP liaison, director of three of our master’s programs, and assessment coordinator. We hope Dr. Deacon's view of leadership will also inspire you. To visit Dr. Deacon's page, click here . Recommended APA citation example: Rhoads, E., &a...
May 17, 2023•45 min•Ep. 44
In this final episode of RENAR Voice, Robert and Jeff say goodbye and thank core professors and chapter leadership for their support and encouragement. What began as an idea to interview a professor (Episode 1) turned into two years of episodes featuring Liberty professors, the Special Feature track with experts outside Liberty, and the first passes of the Client Voices track offering some personal testimonies of being in the client's chair. Robert and Jeff reflect on the experience of isolation...
Oct 17, 2022•20 min•Ep. 43
On this final guest episode of RENAR Voice, Robert and Jeff sit with counselor and professor Dr. Lisa Sosin who serves as the director of Liberty's PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision program. Dr. Sosin leads Robert and Jeff through a prayerful and intimate exploration of the challenges a Christian faces associating with professional organizations especially amid endorsed contradictions to what Christians believe about sexuality, gender, marriage, and human life. Dr. Sosin draws on the Go...
Oct 17, 2022•49 min•Ep. 42
Counselor (TX), Christian sex therapist, and Liberty University alumna and assistant professor Dr. Brittany Lashua joins Robert and Jeff to discuss female sexual desire. She touches on topics related to specific dynamics both within a woman and with her spouse, as well as pornography, trauma, emotional intimacy, how sexuality is more than just genital, and much more in this packed 54-minute episode! For more from Dr. Lashua, follow her on Instagram @brittlashua and @sameteamforever - the marriag...
Jun 27, 2022•54 min•Ep. 41
Counselor (VA) and Liberty alumna and assistant professor Dr. Kristin Hauswirth joins Robert and Jeff to discuss her work as a counselor within correctional facilities and adult detention centers. She shares what drew her to the work and her background in forensics, offers insight into the unique dynamics of this somewhat overlooked and marginalized population, and discloses stories from her experience as a woman within this environment. Visit Dr. Hauswirth’s faculty page here . * Spotify users ...
Jun 13, 2022•38 min•Ep. 40
Ana Barend is a former professional surfer, world-class competitor, two-time Brazilian champion, World Surf League chaplain, and is a wife, homeschooling mother, and doctoral student in Counselor Education and Supervision at Liberty University. She joins Robert and Jeff to tell her story as a world-touring professional athlete and pioneer of women's professional surfing in Brazil. She shares how her own counseling education slowly revealed long-standing struggles with self-worth, inferiority, co...
May 23, 2022•37 min•Ep. 39
Can I be OK not knowing? Can I sit in the uncertainty? Can I stop my constant checking behaviors? Can I find deliverance from the false promise of relief that my rituals never satisfy? Counselor (VA and WV) and Liberty alumnus and assistant professor Dr. Brandon Waggoner joins Robert and Jeff to discuss obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), scrupulosity, and exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. He compares OCD to a monster that constantly asks "But what if it's true" and suggests that ...
May 09, 2022•47 min•Ep. 38
Fr. Isaac Mary, CFR joins Robert and Jeff to share his experience receiving counseling as a man who is a Catholic priest - what led him to it, his resistance to counseling, his experience of the therapeutic process, and his life since. He discusses performance and perfectionism, looking for healing without knowing what he needed, possible misdiagnosis, understanding his emotional life, the experience of growing in wholeness toward authentic self-gift, and how the therapeutic relationship ultimat...
Apr 25, 2022•46 min•Ep. 37
Clinical psychologist (CT & NY) and Jeff's internship supervisor Dr. Tim Lock joins Robert and Jeff to discuss the hardship, misconceptions, and challenges of forgiveness. He discusses forgiveness and validation, self-forgiveness, and cases from over 20 years of clinical experience. He also reflects on forgiveness regarding clergy sexual abuse, and failures of ecclesial leadership. For Dr. Lock's new book Choosing Forgiveness: Unleash the Power of God's Grace, click here . Visit Dr. Lock at ...
Apr 11, 2022•51 min•Ep. 36
Counselor and Liberty associate professor Dr. Kuhnley joins Robert and Jeff to explore Fred Rogers as embodying counseling theories, empathetic relating, and the transforming power of meeting hostility with non-defensiveness. She sheds light on the longstanding mentorship he enjoyed from child psychologist Dr. Margaret McFarland, after whom Daniel Tiger's little sister is named. And with an alternative way of ending our episodes, enjoy witnessing Dr. Kuhnley employ with Robert and Jeff a bit of ...
Mar 28, 2022•34 min•Ep. 35
From parental wounds including infidelity and divorce, early experiences of God, eight years of seminary and life as a Franciscan friar in the South Bronx, broken attempts to pursue holiness, the experience of being a client, meeting his wife who was miraculously born at 21 weeks, and delivering babies on his couch, and his experience online at Liberty as a Catholic, our cohost and chapter's founding secretary/treasurer Jeff Mazzone shares his story with cohost and founding president Robert Swit...
Mar 21, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 34
Dr. Imhoff returns to the podcast to reflect with Robert and Jeff on what happens when counselor educators pour themselves into their students despite the relationship building often missing from online learning. Dr. Imhoff shares stories from his own journey through graduate and doctoral studies, and the lasting impact he experienced from specific mentors who intentionally invested in him. Visit Dr. Imhoff's faculty page here . * Spotify users - visit for episodes pre-dating Ep. 23 Recommended ...
Mar 07, 2022•46 min•Ep. 33
It's St. Valentine's Day, so let's talk about the wonderfully charming traits of narcissism that win us over quickly, but then leave us disappointed, unsatisfied, hurt, and confused. Counselor (MO), Liberty alumna and assistant professor Dr. Kerry Marsh joins us to talk narcissism. She sets the record straight about narcissistic traits as descriptive rather than just diagnostic, and then discusses the unsustainability of narcissism in relationships, why we love narcissistic people, how narcissis...
Feb 14, 2022•49 min•Ep. 32
Counselor (FL and NC), and Liberty University alumnus and assistant professor Dr. Chris Ostrander joins Robert and Jeff to discuss perceptions of pornography addiction and self-identifying in cases where criteria for addiction may not be present. Dr. Ostrander touches on reasons for usage, externalization, attempts at self-regulation and stress relief, sin and shame, where the distorted practice of religious beliefs may lead toward obsessive-compulsive patterns, usage among both males and female...
Feb 01, 2022•47 min•Ep. 31
Dr. Jesse Fox, counselor educator, author, associate professor at Stetson University, and president-elect of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) joins counseling students Robert and Jeff following his sharing to a counselor educator email listserv (CESNET-L) his co-authored letter to CACREP expressing concerns over the 2024 revisions possibly removing religious and spiritual competencies from counselor education standards. *Apologies for Jeff's ea...
Jan 10, 2022•48 min•Ep. 30
Counselor and supervisor (OH), Liberty University alumna and assistant professor, and CSI chapter president of Liberty's Rho Eta Nu Gamma Dr. Teresa Phillips-Harris joins Robert and Jeff to discuss the foundations of moral injury in combat veterans, and the similar dynamics of moral injury and self-forgiveness when dealing with sexual shame from past sexual behaviors, particularly prior to one's "B.C." days. For additional resources, check out Brené Brown's books Rising Strong and Gifts of Imper...
Dec 13, 2021•42 min•Ep. 29
Counselor (TN), school counselor, and associate professor Dr. Rick Albright joins Robert and Jeff to talk more about the seemingly intimidating populations counseling students face. Dr. Albright shares why even seasoned professionals may avoid adolescents and teens, what he's learned about how best to connect with them, how the counselor can effectively enhance their sense of self, and some insight regarding shifting needs - particularly in the area of gender. Today's episode is also RENAR Voice...
Nov 29, 2021•29 min•Ep. 28
Recorded the day after Halloween, counselor/supervisor (TX), registered play therapist/supervisor, and Liberty University assistant professor Dr. Christina Villarreal-Davis joins Robert and Jeff (and Jeff's two-year-old) to begin addressing some common student fears in counseling couples, families, and children. She discusses some nuances of shifting from individual counseling, red flags and pitfalls, and best practices for new clinicians. For more from Dr. Villarreal-Davis, visit her practice W...
Nov 15, 2021•42 min•Ep. 27
African American professors in Liberty's Department of Counselor Education and Family Studies Dr. Stephanie JW Ford and Dr. Tylon Crook join counseling students Robert and Jeff for a discussion on the interwoven dynamic of spirituality and mental health in African American communities. The conversation powerfully evolves into personal experiences of pain and hope following the nation's response to the killing of George Floyd, and the fruitfulness of keeping the conversation going when one feels ...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 26
Counselor (AR & OK) and supervisor, private practice owner, Liberty University assistant professor, and CSI Rho Eta Sigma chapter faculty advisor Dr. Deborah Braboy joins Robert and Jeff to discuss eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). She shares how EMDR can release clients from pain deeply rooted within the body, heart, and mind. Check out Anchored Hope Counseling for more from Dr. Braboy. * Spotify users - visit here for episodes pre-dating Ep. 23 Recommended APA citation ...
Sep 27, 2021•35 min•Ep. 25
Liberty alumnus and assistant professor, counselor in private practice, registered play therapist, and certified group psychotherapist Dr. Kevin Hull joins us to share stories of his use of play therapy with incarcerated fathers. Look for his article "Light in the darkness with the forgotten: Using play therapy in prison as a pathway to relationship and self-development" in the December 2021 issue of Play Therapy Magazine from the Association for Play Therapy. Visit Dr. Hull's website here and h...
Sep 13, 2021•43 min•Ep. 24
Jeff sits down with Robert to ask him about his recovery journey through addiction and his betrayal in his marriage of almost 20 years. Robert shares how it all brought him into a real relationship with the Lord, transformed him, and brought him into the counseling profession. Prior to becoming a counseling intern, Robert was a professional civil engineer for 20 years. Robert serves as the 2021-2022 Past President of our CSI chapter Rho Eta Nu Alpha Rho (RENAR), and is currently a counseling int...
Aug 30, 2021•42 min•Ep. 23
Counselor, Liberty associate professor, and current president of the Alabama Counseling Association Dr. Yulanda Tyre joins Robert and Jeff for a conversation on race. She shares her experiences as an African American woman in the context of development, leadership, opportunities, challenges, and discrimination. She discusses her views on reconciliation, and some bumps she has experienced along the way. Recommended APA citation example: Switala, R. P., & Mazzone, J. (Producers). (2021, August...
Aug 09, 2021•35 min•Ep. 22
Clinical psychologist and Franciscan University of Steubenville assistant professor Dr. Matthew Breuninger joins Robert and Jeff to discuss the integration of psychology, philosophy, and theology in examining wounds, healing, and radical encounters of God's love. Dr. Breuninger explains that healing does not necessarily mean removal of our pain, but being set free to love and serve the Lord with that pain. He explores the process of Christ's healing in the counseling room, and the role of the cl...
Jul 26, 2021•40 min•Ep. 21
Clinical psychologist and Franciscan University of Steubenville assistant professor Dr. Matthew Breuninger joins Robert and Jeff to discuss the integration of psychology, philosophy, and theology in examining wounds, healing, and radical encounters of God's love. Dr. Breuninger explains that healing does not necessarily mean removal of our pain, but being set free to love and serve the Lord with that pain. He explores the process of Christ's healing in the counseling room, and the role of the cl...
Jul 26, 2021•48 min•Ep. 20
Counselor, board-certified biofeedback practitioner, and registered yoga instructor Jenae Spencer joins Robert and Jeff to discuss biofeedback's ability to help shed light on what we experience at every level of our being as spirit, soul, and body. She shares how it helps inform clients and clinicians about what is occurring within the body in relation to stress, hypervigilance, triggers, trauma, and recovery. Jenae explains how the data gathered from biofeedback can indicate how one's nervous s...
Jul 12, 2021•32 min•Ep. 19
