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 personal journey from living with a performance-based identity to learning how to walk in authentic presence and intimacy with Him. The conversation also dives into the role of the inner child, explaining how younger, wounded versions of ourselves often continue influencing present-day behaviors and relationships. 


If you're carrying fractured places within yourself, this conversation will give you language, hope, and a next step.


 
For more about the Montgomerys: Follow @averymont and @ztmont on Instagram. Visit Zion's website Therapy with Zion for more information about Couples and Family counseling.


More from Dr. Carol Ministries:

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment.    
Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol provides a one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural- based perspective.  
 
Dr. Carol loves to hear from you! You can send her a confidential message here.

In a culture that often treats sexual abstinence before marriage as outdated, unrealistic, or merely rule-following, Dr.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 integrity and the kind of character it forms in us over time.


This conversation also tackles the real-world challenges of singleness, dating, desire, and early marriage. Dr. Carol and Dr. Em discuss how abstinence can cultivate communication, trust, friendship, and discernment long before the wedding day, and why sexual intimacy in marriage is a journey to grow into, not a finish line to cross. Whether you're single, dating, engaged, or wrestling with your own difficult sexual story, this episode offers hope-filled wisdom for pursuing sexual wholeness, resisting cultural pressure, and seeking God's best without settling for less.

Connect with Dr. Emily McKnight on her website, faculty page, Facebook, or Instagram
Find Dr. Em's book The Don't Before I Do

Find out more about Dr. Carol Ministries In-Person Intensives    
Interested in a one-on-one format? Find out more about individual coaching with Dr. Carol.       
Dr. Carol loves to hear from you! You can send a confidential message here.

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 episode moves beyond behavior management into the deeper work of wholeness. Dr. Carol explains why transformation requires more than head knowledge—it requires bringing your whole self into the presence of Jesus, including your emotions, wounds, fears, and desires. Whether you're struggling in your marriage, carrying hidden shame, or longing to experience God more deeply, this conversation offers compassionate insight and practical hope for healing, connection, and lasting change.

For further resources, check Dr. Carol's articles here:
Learning from How Jesus Handled His Need for Intimacy
7 Ingredients to Rebuilding Trust Between You and Your Spouse
How to Consecrate Your Sex Life to Jesus Daily
From Hurt to Whole: The Power of Making the Choice to Heal
Is My Marriage Toxic?
Being With Jesus in Ways that Bring Transformation
Find out more about Dr. Carol Ministries In-Person Intensives - Experience true healing and wholeness in a safe environment as you unpack your story around intimacy and relationships while inviting Jesus to be part of that story.    
Interested in a one-on-one format? Find out more about individual coaching with Dr. Carol.       
Dr. Carol loves to hear from you! You can send a confidential message here.

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 bringing our pain and emotions before God, framing this act as both a step of faith and wisdom.
You can connect with Beth Broom on her website, Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.      
Check out the Counsel for Life podcast Beth Broom co-hosts with Eliza Huie.     
Find out more about the Christian Trauma Healing Network


Find out more about Dr. Carol Ministries In-Person Intensives - Experience true healing and wholeness in a safe environment as you unpack your story around intimacy and relationships while inviting Jesus to be part of that story.    
Interested in a one-on-one format? Find out more about individual coaching with Dr. Carol.       
 
Dr. Carol loves to hear from you! You can send a confidential message here.

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 Jesus requires more than learning about Him; it requires being with Him.

Drawing from both neuroscience and spiritual formation, this episode explores how the right brain shapes identity, emotion, attachment, and experience, and why slowing down is essential for real healing and growth. The conversation offers practical ways to engage God more fully through prayer, Scripture, embodied practices, confession, and authentic community. If you've ever wondered why trying harder hasn't produced lasting change, this episode offers a hopeful invitation into a different way of relating to God, yourself, and others—one rooted not merely in knowledge, but in connection.

Find out more about Dr. Carol Ministries In-Person Intensives     
Interested in a one-on-one format? Find out more about individual coaching with Dr. Carol.       
Dr. Carol loves to hear from you! You can send a confidential message here.