Meredith joins the Rock Solid Families Team as the new Assistant Director and Coach. She received her Bachelor's Degree from Indiana University East in Psychology. After working in the public school system she recognized a desire to learn more about why so many kids are struggling. She went back to school at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, IUPUI, to get her Master's in Social Work. Meredith is now a licensed social worker and has experience and training in trauma therapy. She continues to desire to help people heal from their trauma and pain rather than only treating the symptoms. In this episode, Meredith discusses her career journey, the subjective nature of trauma, the difficulties of not always being allowed to apply her faith to her work, and how having a strong relationship with God can help people to heal from trauma.
“What I'm seeing a lot of the youth struggle with is identity. And they're not going to know their identity until they know Christ,” explains Meredith Scudder, the new Assistant Director and faith-based coach at Rock Solid Families. Meredith chose to get a Masters in Social Work after seeing firsthand the challenges facing elementary school students in special education. When God led her to take a position in the wilderness of Wisconsin, she expected to arrive to find her dream job. What she found instead was a new path and a transformed heart. Today, co-hosts Merrill and Linda Hutchinson welcome Meredith to the Rock Solid Families family and talk about her career journey, her experiences working with healing trauma in adolescents, and the importance of centering healing on the foundation of a strong relationship with God.
Listen to, or watch, the full podcast interview by Merrill and Linda Hutchinson with Meredith Scudder on your preferred podcast channel.
In this podcast, the co-hosts cover:
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Why Meredith chose to pursue psychology
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How working in Special Education opened Meredith’s eyes to the struggles kids are having academically, behaviorally, and emotionally and led her to get her Masters in Social Work
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What trauma is and why it is a subjective experience
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How Meredith ended up working in wilderness therapy in Wisconsin
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Why Meredith chose to leave what seemed like a dream job to better incorporate her faith
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How important a strong relationship with God is for healing from trauma
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Why some licensed therapy may actually be doing more harm than good
Podcast Quotes:
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“It felt like we were just kind of managing the symptoms. And there seemed to be a deeper rooted problem that wasn't being addressed.” (8:34-8:44 | Meredith)
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“Trauma looks a lot of different ways, and it's subjective.” (10:42-10:47 | Meredith)
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“I thought He was taking me there for my dream job and to advance my career. And turns out, He was taking me there for my own wilderness experience, to renew my mind, and transform my heart.” (12:15-12:31 | Meredith)
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“What I'm seeing a lot of the youth struggle with is identity. And they're not going to know their identity until they know Christ.” (19:16-19:28 | Meredith)
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“We see teachers and counselors all the time that talk about how restricted they feel by not being able to bring the way of God or Christ into their daily work.” (21:26-21:40 | Merrill)
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“There's licensed therapy out there that is, I believe, doing more harm than good with some of our girls and really reaffirming some of these lies that the enemy has planted in their mind.” (29:52-30:04 | Linda)
About the Podcast Guest:
To learn more about Meredith Scudder, visit the website (Rock Solid Families).
About the Podcast Co-Hosts:
To learn more about Merrill and Linda, visit their website (Rock Solid Families).
About Rock Solid Families Podcast:
Rock Solid Families is committed to helping educate, equip, and empower families to be all God created them to be! Merrill and Linda Hutchinson began Rock Solid Radio in October of 2018. They have over 70 years of combined experience in teaching, public speaking, counseling, ministry, and coaching. After much prayer, Merrill and Linda made the decision to step down from their full time positions in the church and public school to focus on strengthening families. Both believe that healthy schools, churches, and communities depend on strong and healthy families. This weekly podcast is made possible through the generous financial support of community partners. With the help of local sponsors and the word spreading through listeners like you, Rock Solid Families is helping to build stronger communities one family at a time!
Listen to, or watch, the full podcast interview by Merrill and Linda Hutchinson with Meredith Scudder on your preferred podcast channel.
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Published by: Dax Hamman