Ep 43 - Welcome to another episode of the Say Goodbye and Imagine podcast. I'm Rose Ann Forte, your host, and I'm the author of the daily devotional called Plans He Has for Me, and the creator of the Choose Freedom program, which is a program that helps people change their relationship with alcohol and other toxic substances.

Today I'm super excited about my guest Dr. Karl Benzio, He's got a pretty incredible story and background that I'm excited to have him share with you.

If you are someone who's following this podcast and enjoying the show, please let others know about it, and like and subscribe to the channel. This is how people get to find out about the work that we're doing - helping people and getting some hope around, and showing what life can be like when they remove a toxic substance from it.

Dr. Karl is a board certified Christian psychiatrist whose expertise in decision making science has helped many patients transform their minds by practically integrating cutting edge psychiatric science with Jesus centered biblical truths.

With 35 years in the field, Karl has developed key insights and curriculum to empower people to renew their mind by becoming consistent, godly decision makers. His God given mission is to reignite the behavioral health revolution Jesus started to combat the behavioral health pandemic of anxiety, depression, addiction, and suicide.

When he's not treating, teaching, speaking, writing, performing, media interviews, he serves many churches and ministries, including the Children's Medical and Dental Association, Focus on the Family, Mental Health Collective, Liberty University, as well as many others.

Karl and I met a little over a year ago at the American Association of Christian Counselors. And with 7,000 people there I meet Dr. Karl Benzio, which has been a gift and a blessing as we got to know each other and our loves for marrying scripture and science for me in the world of addiction for you and the world of many other things.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes, only the views and opinions expressed are those of individual guests and do not constitute medical advice. Always seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding your health, medical conditions, or treatments. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast.

Connect with Dr. Karl here -

https://www.honeylake.clinic/

Ep 42 - This is the Say Goodbye and Imagine podcast! I’m Rose Ann Forte, the author of the daily devotional The Plans He Has for Me and the creator of the Choose Freedom course, designed to help people change their relationship with alcohol and other substances.

Welcome to part two of my interview with Dr.Parsons from Amen Clinics – Today we are going through the results of my brain scan. I want to share openly about what my history was and where I am. I wish I had the before scan because I know itwould have would have looked different.

before we start, I just want to tell you a little about Dr. Parsons. She graduated from medical school from Wayne State University in Michigan. She practiced in various settings including, um, consult liaison and medical floors and emergency departments, inpatient psychiatry, Uh, medical director for the largest community mental health center in Northern Arizona.

She is an addiction. She does addiction and recovery work, including detox, residential, and outpatient. She also runs a private practice with a primary focus on holistic care. And I said it last time, I'll say it again. I love it. And you're going to see some of that in action in this, uh, in this podcast. Um, Dr.

Parsons is passionate about helping to end the stigma of mental illness. Oh my goodness. Amen. Bless you for doing this work. Um, and again, before we start the content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individual guests and do not constitute medical advice.

Always seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding your health, medical conditions, or treatments. Never disregard professional medical advice. Or delay and seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast. And, uh, one last thing, if you are enjoying this podcast, make sure to like it, follow it and recommend it to other people because that's how people will find out about

Say Goodbye And Imagine shares the firsthand victories of those who have broken free from the psychological slavery of alcohol or other substances. Our greatest hope is to share these stories of triumph so you can draw inspiration and courage from their stories. But our podcast doesn't just offer hope—it showcases the real, tangible outcomes of lives transformed by faith and the collective strength of a community that believes in second chances.

Warning: our Say Goodbye And Imagine podcast is a little different. We don’t use words that create shame or a negative identity. So, in our podcast we don’t use vocabulary like alcoholic or alcoholism, alcohol addiction or alcohol recovery, recovery or recovering, sober or sobriety, addict or addiction, powerless or powerlessness, and other words that take away our identity in God. Since we are remade in the image of God, we seek an identity that is empowering through Him. Although we respect and honor groups like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), Celebrate Recovery, and sober rehabilitation centers, our topics tend to be very individual, focusing on the unique journey of each participant. What is not unique is the common thread of the power of the Holy Spirit at work in each episode.

If you desire to quit drinking or have been searching for ways to reconnect with God, then please tune in. Hear the amazing success stories of Christians just like you who decided to choose freedom from alcohol or other substances. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Rose Ann Forte is the host of Say Goodbye and Imagine. Rose Ann had reached a point in her own life when she realized that alcohol was stealing from her and understood that God had a much better plan for her. Today she is the bestselling author of The Plans He has for Me Daily Devotional. Through her podcast, blog articles, books, public speaking, Choose Freedom Program, YouTube and TikTok videos, and Choose Freedom coaching and church mentor programs, Rose Ann loves to share her experience of transformation with others and discuss the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s foundational principles behind renewing your mind.

EP 41 - This week's guest is Dr. Lisa Parsons, a psychiatrist from Amen Clinics. We discuss the effects of alcohol and sometimes other substances on the brain and how neurological pathways get changed around, and what we can do about those things to see peak brain health. I was stunned at the amount of things that substances to to our brain and our body.

And remember, the brain is the entire operating system for everything that functions in our life. We definitely want to know how what we put into our body is affecting this operating system. In this episode we talk about what the chemical impact is on this organ of ours and the effect on neurotransmitters. This is part one of two - part two is where we go over to the results of my own brain scan!

Because we are interviewing a doctor, I want to share that the content of this show is for informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed are those of individual guests and do not constitute any medical advice. Always seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding your health, your medical conditions, or treatments.

Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you've heard on this show.

Dr. Parsons graduated medical school from Wayne State University in Michigan, then completed her residency at Banner Good Samaritan in Phoenix Arizona. From there she has practiced in varied settings including consult liaison on medical floors and in emergency departments, inpatient psychiatry, medical director for the largest community mental health center in Northern Arizona, addiction and recovery work including detox, residential and outpatient. Through much of this, she also ran a private practice with a primary focus on holistic care and understanding the biological contributions that manifested as psychiatric illness.

She has completed training from Walsh Institute on nutrient therapies, functional medicine training with Integrative Medicine Academy, and has attended Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conferences several times. Her focus is consistently on uncovering the systemic causes of psychiatric illness, offering a holistic and foundational approach to mental wellbeing.

Dr. Parsons is passionate about helping to end the stigma of mental illness which opens doors for people to seek help and improves the quality of life for not only the person seeking help but also their friends/family.

https://www.amenclinics.com/team/lisa-parsons-md/

If you are enjoying Say Goodbye and Imagine, please follow and recommend to others; we want the word to get out there and we want stigma to go away. I'm,excited to talk about these things that are part of life.