With U Podcast

Dr. David and Tara Van Dyke

Tara and David have been married for 30+ years and are the parents of four grown children. Tara is a certified birth doula and childbirth educator. David is a professor, director of a masters program in Marriage and Family Therapy, and a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. Together, they own With U Projects. They share a curiosity about the world and the people who live in it. By interviewing experts, sharing their perspectives and engaging in others’ stories, David and Tara explore human development, real relationships, and all the things in between…With U.

  1. Lessons from a Four-Generation Family Vacation

    08/21/2025

    Lessons from a Four-Generation Family Vacation

    What happens when four generations from four states gather for a four-day vacation? We recently traveled with family ages 10 months to 80 years for a holiday on Mackinac Island, Michigan. In this episode, we share what we learned about planning lightly, staying connected, and adjusting to a wide range of needs on a multi-generational trip. From ferry rides and horse-drawn carriages to rowdy meals and rainy-day picnics, we found that the best memories often came in unexpected moments.___Van Dyke Road Trip Stops Grand Haven Boardwalk https://www.michigan.org/property/grand-haven-boardwalk PJ Hoffmaster State Park https://www.michigan.gov/recsearch/parks/hoffmaster Bistro-Polaris Restaurant at Black Star Farms https://blackstarfarms.com/bistro-polaris/ Lower Peninsula https://www.dwhike.com/Hikes-in-the-Midwest/Michigan-Hikes/Lower-Peninsula-Hikes Michigan Slang - trolls and mitten state https://www.michiganpublic.org/arts-culture/2014-03-30/the-vocabulary-of-yoopers-trolls-and-fudgies https://www.michiganpublic.org/arts-culture/2015-12-17/when-did-we-start-calling-michigan-the-mitten-state Arnold Transit Company Ferry https://www.arnoldtransitcompany.com/ Mackinac Island https://www.mackinacisland.org/ Mackinac Bridge https://www.mackinacbridge.org/history/history-of-the-bridge/ Dobbers Pasties - Escanaba https://dobberspasties.com/ Mars Cheese Castle https://www.marscheese.com/ UP road trip https://www.uptravel.com/ Check out more photos at www.withupodcast.com ___ produced by Zach Van Dyke

    44 min
  2. Finding Strength in Your Birth Story

    08/14/2025

    Finding Strength in Your Birth Story

    Every birth story leaves a lasting imprint. Whether your experience was joyful, complicated, or deeply challenging, the way you remember and tell it shapes how you carry it into the rest of your life. You’ll hear why birth is more than a medical event, how to shift from trauma to transformation, and practical ways to reclaim your story as a powerful rite of passage. — To go deeper on this topic, check out the following resources: Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). " Posttraumatic growth: conceptual foundations and empirical evidence". Psychological inquiry, 15(1), 1-18.   Purol, M. F., & Chopik, W. J. (2024). Do many hands make light work? The role of romantic partners and close relationships in posttraumatic growth. American Psychologist, 79(8), 1214.   Ketley, R., Darwin, Z., Masterson, C., & McGowan, L. (2024). Women’s experience of post-traumatic growth following a traumatic birth: An interpretive phenomenological analysis. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 42(1), 126-137.   Brandão, T., Brandão, S., Prata, A. P., Silva, R., Abreu, W., Riklikiene, O., ... & Thomson, G. (2024). Posttraumatic growth in women after a childbirth experience: The influence of individual characteristics and intrusive and deliberate rumination. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy.   Mijalevich‐Soker, E., Ring, L., Joffe, E., Awad‐Yaseen, M., Steger, M. F., & Taubman–Ben‐Ari, O. (2025). Personal Growth Among Pregnant Women During War: The Role of Optimism and Meaning in Life. International Journal of Psychology, 60(4), e70087. Websites Birth Monopoly (Birthmonopoly.com) Prevention and Treatment of Traumatic Childbirth (PATTCH.org) Birth Tellers: Healing Birth Through Conscious Storytelling (Midwifery Today) Healing Birth (Healingbirth.net) Birthing from Within (Birthingfromwithin.com) Birth Story Medicine (Birthstorymedicine.com) Penny Simkin on the importance of birth memories (A Day You’ll Never Forget on YouTube) Transformed by Birth, by Britta Bushnell —  Produced by Zach Van Dyke

    59 min

Trailers

5
out of 5
24 Ratings

About

Tara and David have been married for 30+ years and are the parents of four grown children. Tara is a certified birth doula and childbirth educator. David is a professor, director of a masters program in Marriage and Family Therapy, and a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. Together, they own With U Projects. They share a curiosity about the world and the people who live in it. By interviewing experts, sharing their perspectives and engaging in others’ stories, David and Tara explore human development, real relationships, and all the things in between…With U.

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