by Rhett Smith | Jan 10, 2018 | Anxiety, Podcast
The new near can bring forth a lot of varying emotions from people. In my experience, a large number of people come into the new year very excited about change and all the potential possibilities that await them. It’s often a time to start anew. But there is...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 12, 2017 | Marriage, Podcast
One of the reasons many couples can’t solve conflict in their relationship is because they often get stuck thinking that their argument is really about the topic at hand (i.e. money, sex, parenting, work, inlaws, etc.). And as long as they believe that, then...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 2, 2017 | Podcast, Restoration Therapy, Therapy Practice
This is a very short podcast episode, but it’s a really important one. One of the most important tasks I have in the counseling room is to help people to discern between what their feelings and coping behaviors are. In fact, I spend a lot of time helping people...
by Rhett Smith | Apr 4, 2017 | Faith, Podcast
We live in a culture that continually inundates us with noise. That noise comes in all kinds of forms. Advertising, entertainment, technology, etc. Sometimes we are passive observers of it as we have little control over what billboards are placed in front of us as we...
by Rhett Smith | May 24, 2016 | Mental Health, Podcast
I’ve noticed over the last few months a growing anger and frustration within me. This has been very disheartening. Because I think if you were to ask my close friends and family, the word anger and frustration wouldn’t typically be associated with me. But...
by Rhett Smith | Nov 30, 2015 | Marriage, Podcast, Restoration Therapy
One of the tools that has changed my life in such an amazing way…that at times it’s really hard to explain…is learning the Pain and Peace Cycle in the work of Terry Hargrave in his Restoration Therapy model. In fact, in Episode 21 of this podcast I...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 9, 2015 | Podcast
It is not unusual for me to be sitting across from a man in my therapy office as he relays to me the story about when he first learned that it was not okay for boys to cry. It is usually a very powerful moment. I have heard men of all ages and backgrounds tell this...
by Rhett Smith | Jun 9, 2014 | Men
“If you cry again I am going to take you back home!” That is what I told my almost 4 year old son on Wednesday night around 8:00pm. We were riding bikes and he was in that overtired state where he could hardly contain his emotions. He was crying. He was...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 18, 2013 | Parenting
Let’s be honest, sometimes I just don’t know the right questions to ask my kids when I want to better understand what they are feeling. Heck, many times I don’t know what I’m feeling myself so it’s hard to elicit a response from others,...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 17, 2013 | Parenting
“It’s very important that kids learn about and understand their feelings. But it’s also true that feelings need to be recognized for what they are: temporary, changing conditions. They are states, not traits…… So we have to help them...
by Rhett Smith | Aug 12, 2013 | Parenting
Last week I posted on Strategy #2 of The Whole-Brain Child, which is Name it to Tame It: Telling Stories to Calm Big Emotions. But since I posted that blog I’ve had a few people ask me if I could expound on this strategy in more detail by giving an example. As I...
by Rhett Smith | Apr 25, 2013 | Men
I’m currently working on an article for the Fuller Youth Institute on boys and emotions — more specifically how we as a culture tend to sabotage boy’s emotions — making it unsafe for them to express them. As I’ve been editing this...
by Rhett Smith | Nov 16, 2012 | Men
“Helping boys and men learn how to be both tender and tough, strong and bighearted, is a new ideal that will take some time to digest. But, having worked with men day in and day out for decades, I know from experience that they can reclaim the language of...