Skip to content

Navigating Mental Health Without Pseudoscience or Spiritual Bypassing | Dr. Alison Cook (Ep. 22)

November 9, 2026 · 45 min

Show notes

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Alison Cook, an Enneagram Three. We talk about why quick-fix solutions and spiritual bypassing can keep us from genuine healing, and how learning to honor difficult emotions can lead to greater emotional health. She also shares her practical framework of naming, framing, and braving our emotions so we can face hard situations with greater wisdom and courage.

Dr. Alison is a therapist and host of the top-ranked The Best of You podcast. She’s the bestselling author of I Shouldn’t Feel This Way and The Best of You, and co-author of Boundaries for Your Soul, which brings the popular Internal Family Systems model of therapy into a Christian framework. Widely recognized for her work at the intersection of faith and psychology, Dr. Alison helps people heal from past wounds, develop a strong sense of self, and build healthier relationships.

You can learn more about Dr. Alison Cook and get access to all her resources at https://www.dralisoncook.com/


0:00 Audio Intro

0:20 Welcome

2:11 Alison Cook's Enneagram Journey

6:31 The Enneagram & Internal Family Systems

9:01 The Problem with Quick Fixes

12:55 Name, Frame & Brave Your Emotions

22:02 What Is Spiritual Bypassing?

26:51 Honoring Difficult Emotions

28:56 Faith, Fear & Avoiding Pain

33:33 When Love Can't Fix Someone

37:35 Healing Takes Time

40:19 Resources from Alison Cook

43:01 Final Thoughts


━━━━━━━━

Join the Mental Health ‘27 Summit Waitlist (Feb 16-19, 2027)

Be the first to know when registration opens: typeish.com/summit/waitlist

━━━━━━━━

Get FREE Enneagram Self-Typing Guide

Download here: https://www.typeish.com/free

━━━━━━━━

Start Binging the Type·ish Podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/type-ish/id1867815632

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4hczBky5UIYxWaZypxdwyT?si=42d759b9c3c74816

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@typeishofficial

━━━━━━━━

Follow Type·ish

Web: https://www.typeish.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/typeishofficial

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gospelforenneagram

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@typeishofficial

━━━━━━━━

Music used with permission: 1EHGFXLKCSTV87DM, R1FX7HC5J8QQ4AG3, FKF90OE351KHV1DU


All episodes of Type·ish

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.