In this episode of Extending Branches, Dr. Mike Courtney sits down with his wife, Doris Courtney, for the conversation he has been building toward for 20 years. After a series of affairs cost them their marriage, their finances, and their place in ministry, Doris was left living with her sister with no job and no idea what came next. This episode is not about what happened. It is about how she got through it.

Doris talks about becoming desperate, then becoming intentional. She shares the books, scripture, and music she used to crowd out the negative thoughts, the night she gave her sons back to God, and what she calls her transfer of trust, moving her identity and security off her husband and onto Christ. She also talks about the women across the country she counsels now, and why the hope is the same even when the outcome is not.

Extending Branches is a biweekly podcast from Branches, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people recover hope, find healing, and experience growth through Christ-centered mental and emotional care.

Thanks for joining us! You can find us online at branches.org.

In this episode of Extending Branches, Dr. Mike Courtney sits down with Tracey Robison, clinical director at Branches and his friend of more than 20 years, to trace the small decisions that shaped both of their lives. Tracey tells how a ninth-grade home economics assignment pointed her toward counseling, how a woman at her church insisted God wanted her at a conference she could not name, and how a 30-minute phone call with Doris Courtney led her to leave the private practice she thought she would keep until retirement.

They also talk honestly about trauma, including the things that happen to us that should not and the things we needed that never came. Tracey shares what changed in her counseling once she stopped relying on getting it right and started relying on God in the room, and how Branches has watched provision arrive at the exact number, over and over.

Extending Branches is a biweekly podcast from Branches, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people recover hope, find healing, and experience growth through Christ-centered mental and emotional care.

Thanks for joining us! You can find us online at branches.org.

In this episode of Extending Branches, Dr. Mike Courtney sits down with Brad White, men's minister and associate pastor at New Vision Baptist Church, for a conversation that starts as a reunion between two families who met around a lunch table decades ago. Brad shares how a call to ministry he felt as a teenager gave way to a career in aquatics and leadership with the YMCA, and how God used a wife's honest question, a pastor's phone call, and years of quiet preparation to bring him back to the work he was made for.

The second half of the conversation goes deeper. Brad talks openly about a pornography addiction that began in the fourth grade and followed him through college, engagement, and the first months of marriage, and about the day he finally told the truth to his father and his wife. He and Mike discuss why confession alone is not the finish line, what real accountability looks like, and how naming the patterns and planning for them can break a cycle that shame keeps intact. Brad is the author of A Little Book About the Big Lie of Pornography, linked below along with the resources he recommends for parents.

Extending Branches is a biweekly podcast from Branches, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people recover hope, find healing, and experience growth through Christ-centered mental and emotional care.

Thanks for joining us! You can find us online at branches.org.

In this episode of Extending Branches, Dr. Mike Courtney sits down with pastoral counselor and life coach Bill Robison to talk about the father wound: how a father’s presence, absence, words, and example can shape identity, confidence, relationships, and the way we approach fatherhood ourselves.

Together, they discuss the impact of unmet needs, the importance of taking responsibility, and how humility, forgiveness, and faithful presence can begin repairing what has been broken. Most importantly, they point to God as the perfect Father—the One who meets us in our pain, restores what was lost, and helps us build a new legacy of love, grace, and hope.

Bill and his wife, Tracey Robison, are also the authors of He Calls Me Daughter, a Scripture-rooted resource for women seeking healing from the father wound and a deeper understanding of God’s love.

Learn more: https://amzn.to/3RTcbmd

Extending Branches is a biweekly podcast from Branches, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people recover hope, find healing, and experience growth through Christ-centered mental and emotional care.

Thanks for joining us! You can find us online at branches.org.

In this episode of Extending Branches, Dr. Mike Courtney sits down with counselor Madison Grissom to talk about polyvagal theory: how our nervous systems respond to safety, stress, connection, and overwhelm. In simple, practical language, they explore why we may overreact, shut down emotionally, or feel anxious even when nothing obvious seems wrong.

Together, they discuss nervous system states, fight-or-flight, shutdown, glimmers, and the relief that can come from understanding how God designed us. Most importantly, they point back to Jesus as our refuge, our peace, and the One who invites us into safety, connection, and hope.

Extending Branches is a biweekly podcast from Branches, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people recover hope, find healing, and experience growth through Christ-centered mental and emotional care.

Thanks for joining us! You can find us online at branches.org.

In this episode of Extending Branches, Dr. Mike Courtney sits down with counselor Chandler Coley to talk about performance anxiety: what happens when pressure crosses the line from helpful focus into fear, panic, and self-doubt. Drawing from Chandler’s experience as a former athlete and his work as a counselor, they explore why teens and adults alike can tie their worth to a single moment, whether on the field, on the stage, or in everyday life.

Together, they discuss practical tools like deep breathing, noticing the inner critic, reframing anxious thoughts, visualization, and gratitude. Most importantly, they point back to the truth that our identity is not found in performance, success, or failure, but in Christ.

Extending Branches is a biweekly podcast from Branches, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people recover hope, find healing, and experience growth through Christ-centered mental and emotional care.

Thanks for joining us! You can find us online at branches.org.

Ever feel busy and productive—yet unsure what you’re actually aiming at? In this episode of Extending Branches, Dr. Mike Courtney sits down with Christian life coach Tim Bell to talk about why goal setting isn’t just another performance checklist, but a way to ask honest questions: Who am I becoming? What matters right now? Where is God inviting me to grow?

Using the classic “Charlie Brown bullseye” illustration, Mike and Tim unpack how goals can bring focus, hope, and forward movement, especially when you start with small, realistic steps. They discuss SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound), the importance of counting the cost, and how accountability with a coach can help you stay faithful to what God is building in your life.

Extending Branches is a biweekly podcast from Branches, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people recover hope, find healing, and experience growth through Christ-centered mental and emotional care.

Thanks for joining us! You can find us online at branches.org.

In this episode of Extending Branches, Dr. Mike Courtney talks with counselor Kaci Jacobellis, ALPC, about social anxiety in teens and how parents can help.

They explain the difference between normal social nervousness and diagnosable social anxiety, why adolescence can intensify fear of judgment or rejection, and how social media can add pressure through comparison. Kaci shares practical tools for parents, including staying curious instead of critical, helping teens challenge harsh self-talk, and using “scaffolding” so teens can take small, supported steps forward instead of avoiding social situations.

Extending Branches is a biweekly podcast from Branches, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people recover hope, find healing, and experience growth through Christ-centered mental and emotional care.

Thanks for joining us! You can find us online at branches.org.