by Rhett Smith | Jun 12, 2014 | Anxiety
One of the most important tools in helping anxiety is often one of the most underrated and underutilized. And that is breathing. And I think it’s often overlooked because we take breathing for granted. It’s something we do all day long without much...
by Rhett Smith | Jun 10, 2014 | Therapy Practice
Compared with finding a therapist in a big city, signing up for text-message therapy was a breeze. All I had to do was open an app on my phone, pick a username, and type my first message. Predictably, the first thing I wrote my new therapist was a question: “Hi....
by Rhett Smith | Jun 5, 2014 | Therapy Practice
When I ran a survey a couple of weeks ago, most of the survey results from therapists and graduate students expressed their concern and desire about “how to find clients.” Almost no one expressed an interest in the location of building a practice or the...
by Rhett Smith | Jun 4, 2014 | Marriage, Restoration Therapy
Four years ago I was presented with an amazing opportunity that changed the way I thought about marriage (my own and the couples I work with), and how I work with couple’s in a therapeutic context. I went up to The Hideaway Experience in Amarillo, Texas to...
by Rhett Smith | Jun 3, 2014 | Marriage, Restoration Therapy
“Somehow, even though we know that certain thoughts and behaviors are bad for us and are rooted in our own self-reactivity [negative patterns of coping], we return to those behaviors and usually find that these actions further assault our identities as human...
by Rhett Smith | Jun 2, 2014 | Marriage
It’s not unusual that I hear men in therapy say to their wife in session, “Stop nagging me.” I even came across this study and news story this month — Study: Nagging By A Spouse Could Shorten Your Life — The study states: But now a new...
by Rhett Smith | May 30, 2014 | Marriage
I think David Schnarch’s work on marriage and the concept of differentiation in relationships is life transforming. The idea of differentiation is not his, nor is it new. But his work Passionate Marriage has transformed my life in many ways, and continues to...
by Rhett Smith | May 29, 2014 | Anxiety
“The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950’s.” (Dr. Richard Leahy — quoted by Mick Ukleja in the article 7 Thinking Patterns That Contribute to Anxiety) Many of you know that I believe...
by Rhett Smith | May 28, 2014 | Anxiety
“If God had not meant for me to be anxious, then He would have called me to some other vocation that didn’t require weekly preaching, an activity that was a constant reminder of my ongoing struggle with stuttering. What if, instead, God wanted me to be...
by Rhett Smith | May 27, 2014 | Therapy Practice
[This is my fourth post in a series about building a thriving therapy practice. Check out the earlier posts here, here and here]. I have always loved helping people. It is something that I feel passionate about. I heard early on that it was a “calling” of...
by Rhett Smith | May 23, 2014 | Anxiety
“Looking back at our families of origin and remembering these details can be a scary process for many people. Sometimes we are not quite sure what we will discover or remember, and that can leave us feeling anxious. That is normal. When we look back, and really...
by Rhett Smith | May 22, 2014 | Therapy Practice
One of the things that my colleagues and I are constantly joking…and sometimes lamenting about — is that most graduate programs in therapy and counseling don’t teach you anything about the actual business application of what you have just spent the...
by Rhett Smith | May 21, 2014 | Anxiety
“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for...
by Rhett Smith | May 20, 2014 | Therapy Practice
Last week I started a new blog series on Building a Thriving Therapy Practice. I will be completely honest with you. I don’t consider myself the expert on this topic. No surprise there. I haven’t written any books on it. If that’s what you want, Lynn...
by Rhett Smith | May 19, 2014 | Anxiety
I firmly believe as I have stated in many places, that our anxiety is a great opportunity for our growth. One of the first chapters in my book is about this idea of “embracing anxiety.” I know that anxiety can come in many forms and whatever you are...
by Rhett Smith | May 16, 2014 | Therapy Practice
It is not unusual for me to get about 5-6 messages a month from people who want to meet up either in person, or on the phone, to talk about building a therapy practice. For whatever reason these people have found what I’m doing as a therapist in private practice...
by Rhett Smith | May 15, 2014 | Anxiety
I have had a long journey with anxiety. And I can honestly say that I’m thankful for the anxiety that I have wrestled with. I don’t think I could, or would have said that while in the midst of my journey. But at times I can step back from it, gain some...
by Rhett Smith | May 14, 2014 | Anxiety
“Learning to know anxiety is an adventure which every man has to affront if he would not go to perdition either by not having known anxiety or by sinking under it. He therefore who has leaned rightly to be in anxiety has learned the most important thing.”...
by Rhett Smith | May 13, 2014 | Anxiety, Depression, Mental Health
Since Mental Health month is this month, I want to encourage you in two ways: If you find yourself feeling anxious or depressed, I really encourage you to reach out and get the help that you need. If you know someone who is feeling anxious or depressed, I encourage...
by Rhett Smith | May 12, 2014 | Anxiety, Depression, Mental Health
Unless you have either experienced anxiety and depression yourself, or have sat present with those who have, then it’s pretty easy for us to make trite comments or give cliche answers to those around us. This is probably the single reason why I wrote The Anxious...
