The Allender Center Podcast

If you've heard us talk about Recovery Weeks, or you've been thinking about joining us, you might be wondering: What exactly happens during those six days?
Recovery Week is a focused, immersive experience designed to help survivors explore the ways their stories of past sexual abuse have shaped their lives.
In this episode, Dr. Dan Allender is joined by longtime Recovery Week facilitators Wendell Moss, LMHC, and Sue Cunningham, MA, MS, LPC, to offer you a glimpse into the experience.
They describe what to expect, particularly in the Story Groups. The work invites us to consider the difference between conviction and condemnation, and what it might mean to receive the truth of our stories without contempt. 
They also explore some of the surprises of Recovery Week: the laughter that emerges alongside grief, the friendships and camaraderie that grow, and the relief of discovering that you are not alone. Together, they discuss how compassionate witness can loosen the grip of shame and create space to encounter God as one who sees, grieves, and cares.
Listen in for a glimpse of what to expect, and why this experience can be both more difficult and more joyful than many participants anticipate.
To learn more about Recovery Weeks with the Allender Center, please visit:
https://theallendercenter.org/workshops 
This episode is centered around recovery from sexual abuse. It also contains explicit language. Listener discretion is advised.
About the Allender Center Podcast:
For over a decade, the Allender Center Podcast has offered honest, thoughtful conversations about the deep work of healing and transformation. Hosted by Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, this weekly podcast explores the complexities of trauma, abuse recovery, story, relationships, and spiritual formation. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache and hope that are rarely addressed so candidly in our culture today. Join the Allender Center Podcast to uncover meaningful perspectives and support for your path to healing and growth.
At the Allender Center, we value thoughtful dialogue across a wide range of voices, stories, and lived experiences. In that spirit, our podcast features guests and hosts who may hold differing perspectives. The perspectives shared on this podcast by guests and hosts reflect their own experiences and viewpoints and do not necessarily represent the views, positions, or endorsements of the Allender Center and/or The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.
Stream each episode, plus find transcripts, additional resources, and more at: theallendercenter.org/podcast
To become a supporter of the Allender Center Podcast, visit: https://theallendercenter.org/2025/11/podcast-support/
If you and your organization would like to partner with the Allender Center Podcast, please reach out to Clay Clayton at cclayton@theallendercenter.org

In 1988, Dr. Dan Allender led the very first Recovery Week. Nearly four decades later, these immersive experiences continue to offer sacred space for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to come together, face the impact of what happened, and find care and restoration for the profound heartache they've experienced.
But how do you know if Recovery Week is right for you? Do you need to do any preparation or pre-work before you arrive? And what if you're not sure your story is "big enough" or "bad enough" to warrant being there?
In this episode, Dan is joined by longtime friends and Recovery Week leaders and facilitators Linda Royster and Scott Gibson, who lead the Women's and Men's Recovery Weeks, respectively. Together, they talk about why this work is so sacred to them and offer a glimpse into the decades of experience and carefully developed process behind Recovery Week.
They also talk honestly about what it can feel like to consider stepping into a week like this: the fear, resistance, desire for a step-by-step plan, and uncertainty about what you're supposed to bring with you. 
Here's the truth: you don't have to arrive ready to resolve everything. Instead, Recovery Week invites you to begin with curiosity, honesty, and perhaps even a little kindness toward yourself.
Listen in to learn more about who Recovery Week is for, why it exists, and how to begin discerning whether it might be a place for you.
Next week, Dan will return with Wendell Moss and Sue Cunningham to give you an inside glimpse into what actually happens when you arrive at a Recovery Week.
If you've been thinking about attending a Recovery Week for Men or Women, or if you're just hearing about it for the first time, we invite you to learn more at:
https://theallendercenter.org/workshops
 
About the Allender Center Podcast:
For over a decade, the Allender Center Podcast has offered honest, thoughtful conversations about the deep work of healing and transformation. Hosted by Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, this weekly podcast explores the complexities of trauma, abuse recovery, story, relationships, and spiritual formation. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache and hope that are rarely addressed so candidly in our culture today. Join the Allender Center Podcast to uncover meaningful perspectives and support for your path to healing and growth.
At the Allender Center, we value thoughtful dialogue across a wide range of voices, stories, and lived experiences. In that spirit, our podcast features guests and hosts who may hold differing perspectives. The perspectives shared on this podcast by guests and hosts reflect their own experiences and viewpoints and do not necessarily represent the views, positions, or endorsements of the Allender Center and/or The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.
Stream each episode, plus find transcripts, additional resources, and more at: theallendercenter.org/podcast
To become a supporter of the Allender Center Podcast, visit: https://theallendercenter.org/2025/11/podcast-support/
If you and your organization would like to partner with the Allender Center Podcast, please reach out to Clay Clayton at cclayton@theallendercenter.org

Today's teenagers are growing up in a world of both unprecedented connection... and disconnection.
Teens have constant access to information, social media, gaming, pornography, and now AI. They can turn to a screen for advice, distraction, or even a sense of social connection. Yet many teenagers are feeling increasingly alone, while anxiety, depression, and self-harm remain prevalent concerns. 
At the same time, the adults in their lives are often overwhelmed, disconnected, and dysregulated, too. 
So how do we offer authentic connection to teenagers in the middle of all this?
Dr. Chinwé Williams joins Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen to explore what teenagers are facing and how the adults around them can respond. A therapist, author, and expert in adolescent and family wellness, Dr. Williams is also a parent of three, bringing both professional expertise and personal experience to the conversation.
You'll hear more about:
how to notice the need for connection underneath a teenager's difficult behavior

why fury to curiosity can change the way we respond when a teen pulls away, shuts down, or acts out

how small moments can build connection over time

how repair matters when we miss

how our own regulation and presence can help teenagers develop resilience

Whether you're a parent, teacher, mentor, grandparent, or anyone with a teenager in your life, this conversation offers a grounded look at what young people are facing, as well as very practical ways to stay connected to them in the middle of it.
About the Allender Center Podcast:
For over a decade, the Allender Center Podcast has offered honest, thoughtful conversations about the deep work of healing and transformation. Hosted by Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, this podcast explores the complexities of trauma, abuse recovery, story, relationships, and spiritual formation. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache and hope that are rarely addressed so candidly in our culture today. Join the Allender Center Podcast to uncover meaningful perspectives and support for your path to healing and growth.
At the Allender Center, we value thoughtful dialogue across a wide range of voices, stories, and lived experiences. In that spirit, our podcast features guests and hosts who may hold differing perspectives. The perspectives shared on this podcast by guests and hosts reflect their own experiences and viewpoints and do not necessarily represent the views, positions, or endorsements of the Allender Center and/or The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.
Stream each episode, plus find transcripts, additional resources, and more at: theallendercenter.org/podcast
To become a supporter of the Allender Center Podcast, visit:
https://theallendercenter.org/2025/11/podcast-support/
If you and your organization would like to partner with the Allender Center Podcast, please reach out to Clay Clayton at cclayton@theallendercenter.org

We spend a lot of time preparing for big moments: years of school, months of planning a wedding, or working toward a major event or big trip. 
But how often do we think about what happens after?
Dan recently came home from some significant events and found himself living that question in real time. 
In this conversation with Rachael, they explore the process of extraction—the vulnerable, often overlooked period after a season of intense effort comes to an end. 
What does our body, soul, and spirit need when the adrenaline wears off? How do we make room for grief, celebration, rest, and savoring? And how might exhaustion leave us more vulnerable to accusation, isolation, or spiritual warfare?
If you're coming down from something big—or have one on the horizon—this conversation offers a chance to slow down and consider what it might look like to care for yourself well on the other side.
About the Allender Center Podcast:
For over a decade, the Allender Center Podcast has offered honest, thoughtful conversations about the deep work of healing and transformation. Hosted by Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, this weekly podcast explores the complexities of trauma, abuse recovery, story, relationships, and spiritual formation. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache and hope that are rarely addressed so candidly in our culture today. Join the Allender Center Podcast to uncover meaningful perspectives and support for your path to healing and growth.
At the Allender Center, we value thoughtful dialogue across a wide range of voices, stories, and lived experiences. In that spirit, our podcast features guests and hosts who may hold differing perspectives. The perspectives shared on this podcast by guests and hosts reflect their own experiences and viewpoints and do not necessarily represent the views, positions, or endorsements of the Allender Center and/or The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.
Stream each episode, plus find transcripts, additional resources, and more at: theallendercenter.org/podcast
To become a supporter of the Allender Center Podcast, visit: https://theallendercenter.org/2025/11/podcast-support/
If you and your organization would like to partner with the Allender Center Podcast, please reach out to Clay Clayton at cclayton@theallendercenter.org

What do you do with the parts of yourself you'd rather not have?
Maybe you've learned to stay small, keep the peace, take care of everyone else, or work hard enough that you don't have to pay much attention to what's happening inside. Maybe you're deeply aware of other people's needs but have a harder time knowing what you need. Or maybe you've done a lot of personal work and still find that old wounds show up in familiar ways.
In this conversation, Dr. Alison Cook invites us to look at our inner lives with fresh eyes. She brings psychology, philosophy, and theology together to explore what it means to become more secure—not by getting rid of the difficult parts of ourselves, but by learning to tend to them well.
Join Dan, Rachael, and Alison for a thoughtful conversation about the inner work of becoming more secure, the ways our past can shape how we relate to ourselves and others, and what it might look like to make room for the whole of who you are.
Want to go deeper? Check out Alison's new book, "The Secure Soul," where she explores the wounds beneath our disconnection and offers a path toward greater safety, trust, and connection within ourselves, with others, and with God. Find out more and order your copy at: https://www.dralisoncook.com/the-secure-soul
*This episode contains brief explicit language. Listener discretion is advised.
About the Allender Center Podcast:
For over a decade, the Allender Center Podcast has offered honest, thoughtful conversations about the deep work of healing and transformation. Hosted by Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, this weekly podcast explores the complexities of trauma, abuse recovery, story, relationships, and spiritual formation. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache and hope that are rarely addressed so candidly in our culture today. Join the Allender Center Podcast to uncover meaningful perspectives and support for your path to healing and growth.
At the Allender Center, we value thoughtful dialogue across a wide range of voices, stories, and lived experiences. In that spirit, our podcast features guests and hosts who may hold differing perspectives. The perspectives shared on this podcast by guests and hosts reflect their own experiences and viewpoints and do not necessarily represent the views, positions, or endorsements of the Allender Center and/or The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.
Stream each episode, plus find transcripts, additional resources, and more at: theallendercenter.org/podcast
To become a supporter of the Allender Center Podcast, visit:
https://theallendercenter.org/2025/11/podcast-support/
If you and your organization would like to partner with the Allender Center Podcast, please reach out to Clay Clayton at cclayton@theallendercenter.org