What if the trust we struggle to give, to God, to people, even to ourselves, traces back to how our earliest needs were met? Counselor, author, and trainer Melinda Cathey joins Jesse to talk about how attachment shapes our ability to trust, why caregivers often have to start with their own stories, and what a corrective experience looks like for a child who has experienced stress, trauma, and adversity. This episode discusses faith openly: Melinda shares her Christian perspective and how attachment connects to trusting God, so it's a thoughtful, faith-forward conversation for anyone who loves a child who struggles to trust, or who has wrestled with trust themselves.
Key Takeaways
Belief and trust are different things. Belief is cognitive (do I think you're telling the truth?), while trust is relational and only grows through experience with someone who has proven safe.
The four attachment styles (Secure, Anxious Avoidant, Anxious Ambivalent, and Disorganized) shape how we relate to people and, for many, how we picture God. Change starts with awareness, then picking one skill to work on with a friend or therapist.
Children who have experienced trauma need corrective experiences, not just corrected behavior. Caregivers do this work best when they've looked honestly at their own wounds first.
Timestamped Outline
00:00 – Introduction: meet Melinda Cathey
00:01 – Moving to Russia in 1992 and co-founding a transitional care program for young adults aging out of orphanages
00:04 – The 10 to 15 percent of young adults she couldn't reach
00:05 – Discovering Dr. Karen Purvis and TBRI
00:11 – Why Melinda wrote Deeper Than Belief
00:12 – Belief vs. trust
00:16 – Faith and psychology: what each side gets wrong
00:22 – Why healing starts with the caregiver
00:27 – The attachment cycle and the four attachment styles
00:40 – Corrective experiences for kids with hard beginnings
00:45 – Dependency by design
00:49 – Changing long-held patterns: awareness, "lights on," and picking one skill
00:53 – An invitation for those with church wounds
01:00 – Prayer and therapy: both/and
01:06 – Advice for parents and pastors sharing faith with children who have experienced trauma
01:09 – Final thoughts and wrap-up
Guest Bio & Links
Melinda Cathey is a counselor, trainer, and author of Deeper Than Belief. After moving to Russia as a missionary in 1992, she co-founded The Harbor, a transitional care program for young adults aging out of orphanages, and now trains caregivers and ministry partners around the world.
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