Welcome to Episode 43 of the RT Dialogue.

In this episode we wanted to spend some time talking about the Core Concepts of Restoration Therapy.

A couple of weeks ago we were hanging out with the Hargraves and some other members of the RT Community, and Terry put up a slide listing the core concepts:

1. Emotional Regulation -- Self Versus Co
2. Human Identity and Safety
3. Pain Chart, Peace Chart
4. Pain Cycle -- Primary Emotion to Reactive Emotion
5. Peace Cycle -- Primary Emotion to Choice Actions/Virtue
6. Four-Steps -- recapitulation of old self/new self
7. Forgiveness-Four Station of Insight, Understanding, Giving Opportunity for Compensation, Overt Forgiving

What is not on this list, but Terry mentioned as probably becoming a part of it -- the Stop, Turn, Slow intervention we are refining. And Lance wondered on the podcast if "usness" would be considered a core concept (we will have to ask Terry about that).

One of the things that makes RT unique as well, is that it is a totally integratable model.

We had a lot to discuss this episode, and never got to the Forgiveness concept, which we are saving for a later episode in a few weeks.

But when you think about what makes RT, RT -- it's these core concepts. If you aren't doing these core concepts in your practice, then you aren't doing RT.

Hope you enjoy the episode.

Welcome to Episode 42 of the RT Dialogue. We had a great time and a deep and meaningful conversation with our guest Ryan Forsell on this latest episode. Ryan is a Fuller Theological Seminary graduate (2017), Level II RT trained therapist, and has a private-group practice in Sierra Madre and online. He is deeply passionate about men's work, and integrating outdoor wilderness experiences working with men.

I (Rhett) was introduced to Ryan like 15-16 years ago through his youth pastor who is a friend of mine, and it's been cool to see his journey over all these years.

But for this episode we decided to do something different after the episode was recorded -- and that was record a short message prior to the episode. We had used the word disclaimer in a private conversation, but it's not really even a disclaimer, because there is nothing to deny of taking responsibility for. But it's more of a notice ahead of listening.

This was the first episode we waded into territory that is controversial in some therapeutic communities, and accepted in others -- the use of psychedelics in therapy. So we just wanted to give listeners notice about it ahead of time.

All that being said, our conversation was deep and meaningful and we look forward to having Ryan back on. And we hope to be a podcast that can both talk about the core tenets of Restoration Therapy -- and what makes RT, RT, in our theory and practice -- praxis. And we also want to thoughtfully engage with people practicing therapy in different ways and who are outside the RT community. We got both in this episode.

There are lots of topics that therapists are often afraid to engage in, even in our own rooms -- politics, sexuality, faith, psychedelics -- just to name a few. And if there is anything we have learned from being a part of the RT community, it is that we want to be safe and loving people to all those we encounter.

Thanks for trusting us with these conversations and we know that we have many exciting episodes ahead.

Mentioned in the Episode

The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling by James Hillman

Michael Meade

Robert Bly

Roy Baumeister

The Red Book by Carl Jung

Psychedelics and the Soul: A Mythic Guide to Psychedelic Healing, Depth Psychology and Cultural Repair by Simon Yugler

Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps by Richard Rohr

Deep Water Men

Welcome to Episode 41 of the RT Dialogue podcast, with our special guest Megan Kuder.

Megan is the founder of Be Well Counseling Atlanta, and a part of our Restoration Therapy community. 

Mentioned in the Episode

Ignatius House in Sandy Springs

Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom by Henri Nouwen

In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri Nouwen

Welcome back to the RT Dialogue with Rhett Smith and Lance Ahl. We are really thankful that you have joined us on this journey.

In this episode we return to our first guest, Michael Cox, who was with us in our second episode. Michael is a dear friend and colleague, and it's always great to connect with him.

Michael wears a lot of professional hats -- running a practice, co-leading marriage intensives, RT Level 1 training, podcast host, and much, much more.

I hope you enjoy this episode as we bounce around a bit, talking about working with adolescents and their families, the challenges of running a practice, his new book project, etc.

Mentioned in the Episode

The HEARTWORK Podcast | Spotify | Apple | YouTube

We are excited to welcome back to the podcast, Dr. Miyoung Yoon Hammer, Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at Fuller Theological Seminary.

We had Dr. Hammer on podcast Episode 33, and were eager to have her back on because we just ran out of time to talk with her about all the things we wanted to discuss with her.

In this episode we dive deeper into issues around diversity, multicultural and cross-cultural, through the lens of Restoration Therapy.

Mentioned in the Episode

Kintsugi

Advances and Techniques in Restoration Therapy by Terry Hargrave, Nicole Zasowski and Miyoung Yoon Hammer

Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church by Soong-Chan Rah

Re-Visioning Family Therapy: Addressing Diversity in Clinical Practice by Monica McGoldrick and Kenneth V. Hardy

[FYI: we re-uploaded this episode w/different bumper music, as it created issues with Spotify and licensing]

Welcome to Episode 38 of the RT Dialogue Podcast. We wanted to do something different in this podcast, so we had on special guest RO Smith.

Spotify | Apple | YouTube

RO has been serving in ministry most of his life and was on staff with me (Rhett) at Bel Air Presbyterian Church back in the early 2000’s. He’s currently on staff at ⁠Point Loma Presbyterian Church⁠ as their Digital Content Creator and Worship Leader. Over the years RO has been asking me questions about the Restoration Therapy model. And this last year while on runs, he has been listening to the podcast with even more curiosity and interest. So back in September RO trained with ⁠Meghan Eaken ⁠in the ⁠RT Coaching model⁠ and came away from that inspired and with even more to talk about. He was raving about how great Meghan was in teaching the model!

So we wanted to sit down with RO and just have a conversation about coming into RT and questions he might have. We feel like it’s really important to hear questions from people at the beginning of their RT journey, as there are insights they have that sometimes we overlook when you have been in the model for a long time. We hope to have RO back on soon (and others new to the model) since it feels like we just got started with the questions.

Also, huge thank you to RO who started volunteering his time a few months ago to help us with the sound quality of the podcast.

Welcome to Episode 38 of the RT Dialogue Podcast. We wanted to do something different in this podcast, so we had on special guest RO Smith.

RO has been serving in ministry most of his life and was on staff with me (Rhett) at Bel Air Presbyterian Church back in the early 2000's. He's currently on staff at Point Loma Presbyterian Church as their Digital Content Creator and Worship Leader. Over the years RO has been asking me questions about the Restoration Therapy model. And this last year while on runs, he has been listening to the podcast with even more curiosity and interest. So back in September RO trained with Meghan Eaken in the RT Coaching model and came away from that inspired and with even more to talk about. He was raving about how great Meghan was in teaching the model!

So we wanted to sit down with RO and just have a conversation about coming into RT and questions he might have. We feel like it's really important to hear questions from people at the beginning of their RT journey, as there are insights they have that sometimes we overlook when you have been in the model for a long time. We hope to have RO back on soon (and others new to the model) since it feels like we just got started with the questions.

Also, huge thank you to RO who started volunteering his time a few months ago to help us with the sound quality of the podcast.

Such a fun conversation in this episode with Dr. Marical Felan who is a Level II Restoration Therapist, splitting time living and doing therapy between California and Texas.

In this episode we spend a lot of time talking about theological integration and the unique background that Marcial brings to Restoration Therapy with all of his experience in ministry and organizations like Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship Ministries and serving on staff with Dr. David Jeremiah at Shadow Mountain Community Church. As well as discussing some of his favorite interventions such as reparenting and the two-screen/split screen.

It was really fascinating listening to his journey to RT and all the varying connections over the years. Just a reminder of how deep and rich the foundation of Restoration Therapy is and the community that Terry and Sharon Hargrave have built and fostered over the years.

Mentioned in the Episode

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson

Becoming Dallas Willard by Gary Moon

Breathing Under Water by Richard Rohr

The Fix by Ian Cron

Steps by John Ortberg

Why I Believe by Dr. Henry Cloud

We welcomed back Ron Deal to the podcast to discuss an important topic that seems to be on everyone's mind (at least in the RT world) -- and that is the paradigm shifting move from emotional coregulation to self-regulation. And Ron helped us dive deep into the topic.

If you have never met Ron before, he is the President of Smart Stepfamlies and Senior Director of Family Life Blended. We also had him on this podcast way back in Episode 7. Oh, and lest we forget -- Co-Author of The Mindful Marriage along with his wife Nan, and Terry and Sharon Hargrave.

We covered a lot of ground in this conversation about coregulation and self-regulation, but some of the themes that emerged were:

• Significant paradigm shift of RT towards self-regulation vs coregulation
• AI as the new coregulator
• The virtue of self-control as critical to emotional self-regulation
• Emotional self-regulation as practice of discipleship
• Ron's scuba diving metaphor for self-regulation vs coregulation
• and much more

(see our RT Dialogue Substack for the handout mentioned in episode}

Mentioned in the Episode

Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer

Self-Regulation and Self-Control by Roy Baumeister

The Mindful Marriage by Ron and Nan Deal

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

It will come as no surprise to anyone when we say that we are in the midst of a very difficult time in world history. The world is in a very volatile state politically, and the cultural climate is full of tension. And as therapists, this can be complicated terrain to navigate, especially when in the context of one therapy day we interact with clients coming from all different perspectives.

With this in mind, we wanted to bring Terry and Sharon Hargrave onto the podcast to help us better understand the role of Restoration Therapy in shaping us into the type of therapists (and people) who can bring peace into all of this pain.

Terry and Sharon obviously need no introduction in this community. They are the founders of Restoration Therapy and Relate Strong, and so much more. And most importantly, they have trained many of us professionally and walked alongside of us personally.

In this episode we look at their model of how we move from reactivity to polarization to entitled extremism (see the RT Dialogue Substack for the handout Terry talked about during this episode), and the critical role emotional self-regulation plays in volatile times like these. We discuss the work of the therapist using this model, as well as practical ways we can all walk this out everyday in our personal lives.

Mentioned in the Episode

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen

Exclusion and Embrace by Miroslav Volf

Restoration Therapy by Terry Hargrave and Franz Pfitzer

The Road to Character by David Brooks