by Rhett Smith | Apr 22, 2018 | Depression, Restoration Therapy
The Depression Equation I am a big believer in the equation that insight + practice = transformation. In fact, in an earlier post on anxiety I shared the same equation, highlighting Angela Duckworth’s work on the concept of deliberate practice in her work. In...
by Rhett Smith | Apr 22, 2018 | Depression, Restoration Therapy
Reframing Depression “What if this depression you are experiencing is helping inform you about your life? What if we listen to it together, it may give us some clues about what is going on with your life. Maybe it will give us some direction about what kind of...
by Rhett Smith | Apr 22, 2018 | Depression, Restoration Therapy
What Is Underneath Depression Like anxiety, one of the most difficult aspects of depression is trying to figure out what are the underlying roots of it. But without properly identifying its underlying roots it’s possible that one may see depression simply as a...
by Rhett Smith | Apr 22, 2018 | Depression, Restoration Therapy
When serving in ministry there are many opportunities to come in to contact with people who are depressed. I say this, because churches are often what I refer to as the “gatekeepers” in mental health, therefore, those employed or volunteering in ministry...
by Rhett Smith | Jan 17, 2018 | Intentional Living, Podcast
One of the things that happens at the beginning of every year, or at the start of a major transition, is that you see people setting goals. If you were like me you probably thought about all the goals you wanted to achieve in the New Year, and you might have even...
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 | Nov 30, 2017 | Marriage, Podcast
Often when I’m working with someone in session I try to think of visual and tangible ways that they can remember some of the things that we are processing together. And what I have noticed a lot about relational interactions is that there tends to be this...
by Rhett Smith | Nov 9, 2017 | Marriage, Podcast
Over the last several years my wife and I have begun a new journey in our life. That journey has involved a couple of elements: 1) Trying to incorporate more adventure into our marriage (i.e. trips, taking on challenges, etc.); 2) Working on ways to partner together...
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 | Sep 21, 2017 | Anxiety, Podcast
I talk a lot about anxiety on this podcast. And sometimes anxiety can seem vague or too theoretical, unless one really has experienced. And even then, just talking about it can seem like an intellectual exercise. But today I had a personal experience that really makes...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 21, 2017 | Anxiety, Podcast
I have recently been thinking a lot about the intertwining of vocation and anxiety. What I mean by that is that it seems that part of the journey towards finding vocation is that anxiety is often along for the journey. In my writing and speaking on anxiety, and in my...
by Rhett Smith | Aug 3, 2017 | Intentional Living, Podcast
Sometimes I have thoughts that I have been processing and I just want to explore out loud with others. In this case, the others is you. So in this episode I explore what it looks like to wrestle with taking the next step in your life, and how you discern what the next...
by Rhett Smith | Aug 3, 2017 | Marriage, Podcast, Restoration Therapy
A couple of weeks ago, my colleagues and I at Thriiive Practices did a lecture for the Meadow’s lecture series on emotional regulation. What is emotional regulation? It’s essentially one’s ability to control or manage their automatic, reactive...
by Rhett Smith | Jul 19, 2017 | Intentional Living, Podcast
I read a lot of books, but I don’t consider myself the best book reviewer. Even though I read with pen in hand and underline and take notes throughout my books, I’m not great at writing about the details. But what sticks out to me are those big ideas in a...
by Rhett Smith | Jul 19, 2017 | Podcast, Restoration Therapy, Therapy Practice
One of the things that I hear as a counselor a lot, typically near the end of an intake session with a client, is the question, “How is this going to look?” The question can be asked in a variety of ways, but what is implicit is usually either some form of...
by Rhett Smith | Jul 17, 2017 | Anxiety, Podcast
This past May I had the opportunity to speak at Pepperdine University for the annual Bible Lecture’s series. It’s primarily a gathering of a combo of lay and professional ministry leaders, and as this event I was able to talk to them about one of my...
by Rhett Smith | Jun 5, 2017 | Marriage, Podcast
Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to share with the ReEngage Ministry at Hope Fellowship the topic of forgiveness. It’s such an important topic not only in all of our lives, but especially in the context of marriage where one’s ability to forgive...
by Rhett Smith | May 24, 2017 | Leadership, Podcast
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak to a group of employees for Marriott Hotels here in the local Dallas area. It was a great opportunity to help others understand how to have healthy relationships in and out of the work place by beginning to take care of...
by Rhett Smith | Feb 23, 2017 | Marriage, Podcast
This last weekend I led a class on fostering intimacy in marriage to a group of premarital couples. I love doing this work, but intimacy can be a complicated issue. When we think of intimacy in our culture we often think of sex, or at least physical intimacy to say...
