🎙️ Episode 48 – Finding Meaning in Suffering: A Legacy Highlight with Jonathan Pageau

What if suffering wasn’t just something to escape—but an invitation to transform?

In this short but profound highlight from our full-length interview, symbolic thinker and artist Jonathan Pageau reflects on how symbolic stories, biblical patterns, and personal failures reveal deeper meaning—even in the darkest seasons.

We discuss:

• How symbolic thinking helps us cope with trauma
• Why every loss contains the seed of new creation
• The difference between humility and wallowing in shame
• How suffering can become a spiritual opportunity
• The power of attentiveness during breakdown and chaos

🔥 Whether you’re in a season of success or suffering, this is a powerful reminder that your story is not over—and that meaning is always possible.

👇 COMMENT BELOW:
Have you ever looked back at a painful season and realized God was at work?

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🦁 About the Lion Counseling Podcast
We help high-achieving Christian men overcome trauma, anxiety, and burnout through faith-integrated therapy and coaching. New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe and join the movement.

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🎙️ Episode 47: Why EMDR Therapy Works – Trauma, Anger, and the Brain Explained: EMDR Lesson #2

Why do traumatic experiences keep showing up years later—through anxiety, anger, addiction, or relationship conflict—even when you know you’re safe now?

In this episode, Mark Odland breaks down why EMDR therapy works by walking through two powerful, fictionalized case examples that reflect what many people experience in real life:
• A combat veteran struggling with rage, numbness, and addiction
• A married couple caught in painful, repetitive arguments that are never really about the dishes
Using clear language, vivid metaphors, and neuroscience-informed explanations, Mark explains how trauma becomes “frozen” in the brain—and why insight, logic, or willpower alone often aren’t enough to heal it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why traumatic memories feel like they’re happening again instead of staying in the past
How anger, numbness, and addiction function as survival strategies
What the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model says about trauma
Why the truth often gets stuck in the head but never reaches the heart
How EMDR therapy helps the brain reprocess trauma at its root
Why many couples fight about surface issues while deeper wounds drive the conflict
The difference between managing symptoms and actually healing old emotional injuries

📘 Get a FREE copy of Mark’s book, "Escape the Cage"
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👉 https://escapethecagenow.com/books/

📞 Interested in EMDR therapy or coaching?
Book a free consultation with Mark or his team:
👉 https://escapethecagenow.com/call/

Click here to watch a video of this episode.’
Click here to view the episode transcript.’
💬 Join the conversation
Which example resonated more with you—the veteran, the couple, or both? Comment below.
About the Lion Counseling Podcast

The Lion Counseling Podcast is for men who want clarity, strength, and freedom—from anxiety, trauma, burnout, anger, and the invisible pressures of life. Hosted by Mark Odland, LMFT and EMDR therapist, the show blends psychology, neuroscience, faith, and real-world wisdom to help men heal deeply and live fully.
New episodes drop every Tuesday.

🎙️ Episode 46 – Why You’re Not Motivated (And What Actually Works)

Most men think they fail at their goals because they’re lazy or undisciplined.

That’s wrong.

In this episode of the Lion Counseling Podcast, Mark Odland and Zack Carter break down the three real reasons men struggle with motivation—and why forcing discipline usually backfires. Drawing from real client stories, CBT principles, and practical coaching tools, this conversation moves beyond hype and into strategies that actually create momentum and staying power.

Instead of burning out on New Year’s resolutions, this episode will help you understand why motivation fails and how to rebuild it from the inside out.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
The 3 core reasons men don’t follow through on goals
Why starting “too big” kills motivation before it starts
The 25% Rule for building momentum (even when you feel stuck)
How forgetting—not laziness—derails most goals
Why “shoulds” drain motivation and what to replace them with
A powerful values-based framework for sustainable motivation
How successful men plateau—and how to restart growth without burnout

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Listen to the podcast here:
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📞 Want help applying this to your own life?
Book a free consult with Mark or Zack:
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📚 Mark’s Books
Escape the Cage
Taming the Tiger
Available here: https://escapethecagenow.com/books/

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💬 Comment Question:
Which of the three hits closest for you right now—too hard, forgetting, or not actually wanting it?

About the Lion Counseling Podcast
The Lion Counseling Podcast helps men break free from anxiety, burnout, trauma, and self-doubt so they can become the men God created them to be. Hosted by Mark Odland, LMFT and Certified EMDR Therapist, alongside counselor and coach Zack Carter, the show blends psychology, faith, and practical tools for real-life change.