by Rhett Smith | Mar 28, 2013 | Marriage
“Thanks to a series of influential research studies, the things people who succeed in intimate relationships do differently from those who fail have been discovered by researchers. One of the most important differences involves how people react when they...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 27, 2013 | Anxiety
“According to recent brain studies, we are literally stuck in a rut: As a result, we choose our most instinctual coping behavior when certain feelings arise. We often choose this path because it is also the direction that confronts us with the least...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 26, 2013 | Therapy Practice
One of the books that I have really enjoyed reading over the years because of my interest in the integration of theology and psychology, especially pertaining to pastoral counseling in the context of the Christian community is Theology and Pastoral Counseling: A New...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 25, 2013 | Anxiety
“One of the reasons we experience anxiety is that God is persistently trying to move us through the wilderness, because it is in the wilderness that we are most dependent up on Him.” (The Anxious Christian, pp. 45). About 15 years while I was reading...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 22, 2013 | Marriage
“Roll away your stone, I’ll roll away mine Together we can see what we will find.” I have had this lyric from Mumford and Sons playing around in my head for the last couple of months. Probably because those two lines remind me a lot of the concept of...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 21, 2013 | Anxiety
“Anxiety has been a part of our human condition from the earliest beginnings. When we experience anxiety we are in that space where a world of freedom and possibility is opened up before us by God. And in that space we have the choice to run and hide, covering...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 20, 2013 | Marriage
The topic of emotional infidelity is a very common one in therapy. Sometimes the topic comes up because one spouse has a friendship with someone of the opposite sex that their other spouse feels is inappropriate…lots of texting…hanging out at work too...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 19, 2013 | Anxiety
Every anxiety has a story attached to it. There are many stories to my anxiety, but The Story that I tell and that has most often come to define my struggle with anxiety is a story about “The Day I Became a Stutterer.” I write about this story in the...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 18, 2013 | Anxiety
While away on Spring Break this week with my family I received a text from a good friend telling me that the latest data from The Barna Group suggests that 60% of Americans struggle with anxiety. In their latest research, New Research Explores the Changing Shape of...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 14, 2013 | Therapy Practice
“Good therapists” tend to embody qualities that you would look for, perhaps, in a mentor: They believe in you and in the possibility of things going well for you, they want to hear what you have to say, and they redirect you from cynicism to hope and expectancy....
by Rhett Smith | Mar 13, 2013 | Intentional Living
In my newsletter this month I made a plea to my readers to simply “Be Present and Be Curious” with themselves and their relationships. Doing those two things can reap huge rewards in relationships such as connection, intimacy and understanding. And so...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 12, 2013 | Intentional Living
In the last couple of posts I’ve been talking about the importance of focusing on your breath as it relates to being more mindful — paying attention to your life. It’s a practice that is overlooked, but I think that is essential to being more attune...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 11, 2013 | Intentional Living
“Breathe…just breathe. Slow down and breathe.” I find myself repeating this phrase quite a bit in my life, but in two very different contexts. One is in my office when a client is about to be overcome by anxiety and they feel like they are about to...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 8, 2013 | Intentional Living
“Mindfulness is basically just a particular way of paying attention. It is a way of looking deeply into oneself in the full spirit of self-inquiry and self-understanding.” Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress,...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 7, 2013 | Technology
This is an interesting question that Jon Acuff raises for us who are parenting in the “digital age.” It’s a discussion that I have had with many parents in the parenting classes that I teach on technology, social media, and parenting. What thoughts...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 6, 2013 | Intentional Living
How much TV do you watch? How much internet do you surf? That’s one of the first questions I ask people when they tell me that they don’t have enough time to practice self-care in their lives. We looked at what self-care is and isn’t last week, and...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 5, 2013 | Intentional Living
Last week I began talking about this issue of self-care in our lives. But what usually happens when I talk about this issue is that we try to take on too much too quickly. We get all excited about changing our lives — not only for ourselves — but so that...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 1, 2013 | Intentional Living
In my work as a therapist I talk a lot about self-care. But self-care tends to be a confusing term for many people. We can define it in many ways, but a couple of definitions that I have referred to recently are the following: “The process of managing responses...
by Rhett Smith | Feb 28, 2013 | Anxiety
“Most of the things in life you truly care about are likely to be very ambiguous, and if you can’t foster some ability to make a place for ambiguity, you’re likely to be doomed to an act in the service of its elimination–which is really a fancy...
by Rhett Smith | Feb 27, 2013 | Therapy Practice
“How did you make that clear whiteboard?” There are a lot of questions I get as a therapist, but the above question is one I get a lot of from clients…and from other therapists. I would like to say that I came up with the idea myself, but I...
