RT Dialogue

Welcome to Episode 86 of the RT Dialogue. Thank you for joining us on this journey and tuning into this episode.

I (Rhett) have been looking forward to this conversation for a long time with my good friend John Dyer, who is Vice President for Enrollment Services and Educational Technologies/Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, author, and coder/deep thinker on technology and our relationship to it, -- that's how I would describe him in many ways -- but most importantly he is not only one of the smartest people I know, but he is a really thoughtful and loving friend.

I first met John via Twitter back in 2008 when my family and I first moved to Dallas from Los Angeles (remember those days of connecting on Twitter?). We connected over a lot of shared interests, mostly our curiosity and engagement around the intersection of theology/technology. We were part of a group of other like minded people who started gathering regular online and in person to discuss this topic, and we quickly started hosting events like #churchtechcamp, and eventually John and I partnered up to lead parenting workshops at the intersection of technology and psychology for churches.

John is the author of From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology (and it's updated version), People of the Screen: How Evangelicals Created the Digital Bible and How it Shapes Their Reading of Scripture, Ecclesiology for a Digital Church: Theological Reflections on a New Normal, et cetera.

He is also the creator and translator of the Y'all version of the bible (not many of my friends have translated the entire bible!). You can check out some of his other projects as well, like Best Commentaries.

I think this gives you a feel for what type of thinker John is, and why I thought it was so important to have him on the podcast to talk about technology, AI, and how that is impacting us, our relationships, and more specifically how we should be thinking about it as therapists. I also appreciate how John thoughtfully engages the integration of all of this with the Christian faith.

I know you will enjoy this episode, and it's important topic that we are going to be dealing with more and more in our therapy rooms and personal lives.

Mentioned in the Episode

Jacques Ellul

Marshall McLuhan

Neil Postman

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert Putnam

About RT Dialogue

Welcome to RT Dialogue with co-hosts Lance Ahl and Rhett Smith, LMFT. This podcast is about making connections, building community, and learning and practicing the model of Restoration Therapy together. Each episode features conversations with Restoration Therapy practitioners, leaders, and friends of the RT community about how the model shapes therapy, coaching, leadership, and everyday relationships.

Episode links and resources:
You can find all links mentioned in each episode on our Spotify and Substack pages.

Connect with the hosts: Rhett Smith and Lance Ahl

Learn more about: Restoration Therapy

Listen and subscribe on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Substack.

Welcome to Episode 85 of the RT Dialogue, with special guest, Kim Agramon-Bai.

Kim is a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate at Table Family Therapy, providing therapy in person in Pasadena, CA and online throughout California and San Francisco. This was a really great conversation as we explored her journey to Restoration Therapy through Fuller Theological Seminary, and some of the things that make her unique in her therapist role -- Filipino heritage and working with client in English, Tagalog and Taglish. As well as her passion for sports and helping athletes as they navigate success, failure and questions of identity.

I (Rhett) met Kim and her husband at a Relate Strong event at Pepperdine in June, and so it was fun to reconnect on the podcast and learn about her, and from her.

Mentioned in the Episode

Situated: Find the People and Places that Bring Out Your Best by Angela Duckworth

The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction in a Chaotic World by Brad Stulberg

U2 -- Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of

Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times by Soong Chan Rah and Brenda Salter McNeil

Absolute Truths by Susan Howatch (i.e. use of intermingle)

About RT Dialogue
Welcome to RT Dialogue with co-hosts Lance Ahl and Rhett Smith, LMFT. This podcast is about making connections, building community, and learning and practicing the model of Restoration Therapy together. Each episode features conversations with Restoration Therapy practitioners, leaders, and friends of the RT community about how the model shapes therapy, coaching, leadership, and everyday relationships.

Episode links and resources:You can find all links mentioned in each episode on our Spotify and Substack pages.

Connect with the hosts: Rhett Smith and Lance Ahl

Learn more about: Restoration Therapy

Listen and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Substack.

Welcome to Episode 84 of the RT Dialogue. Thank so much for joining us. We really appreciate all of your continued support.

This is an episode and conversation we have been looking forward to for awhile, as it felt like a bit of coming full circle moment.

In this episode we welcome the new Director of Relate Strong, Noe Rivera. As many of you are aware of, Relate Strong is built on the principles of Restoration Therapy, and Sharon Hargrave served as its first director. Followed by Dee Dee Mayer, who is now the new Chaplain at Pepperdine University. The roots of RT and Relate Strong are deep and intertwined.

Noe is a Level II Restoration Therapy therapist, and wears many different hats from solo practitioner, to a passion for helping missionaries with mental health (Missionary Mental Health⁠⁠), as well as helping ministry leaders navigate transitions (Ministry Transitions⁠).

Noe has a fascinating story about his journey to Fuller Theological Seminary and his entry into Restoration Therapy -- he also shares a great Terry Hargrave story.

Relate Strong

Relate Strong Workshops and Trainings

Boone Center for the Family

Ministry Transitions

Missionary Mental Health

Welcome to Episode 83 of the RT Dialogue. We appreciate your joining us.

On this episode we welcome Sammy Chaves, who is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist at Fuller Psychological and Family Services. Sammy grew up in Colombia, Uruguay, and the United States, and brings a rich diversity to his work, and into this conversation. He is bilingual both in that he speaks Spanish and English, but also in the sense of what my mentor and Fuller professor Ray Anderson used to discuss -- bilingual in one's ability to integrate theology and psychology into theory and practice -- that is, into praxis.

We enjoyed getting to talk about his experience growing up, and the journey to therapy, and into Restoration Therapy. We also had a rich discussion on vocation. Thanks for the conversation Sammy, and thanks for being a part of this amazing RT community.

Mentioned in the Episode

What it Means to be a Man: God's Design for Men in a World Full of Extremes by Rhett Smith

Bolivar: American Liberator by Marie Arana

Angels with Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina by Jonathan Wilson

The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients – A Classic Psychotherapy Text on Mental Health by Irvin Yalom

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen

Gracias! A Latin American Journal by Henri Nouwen

Fathered by God: Learning What Your Dad Could Never Teach You (Embark on the Path to Authentic Manhood and Discover the True Meaning of Masculinity) by John Eldredge

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer

Welcome to Episode 82 of the RT Dialogue!

Thank you so much for tuning in to the episodes. We appreciate all the support.

We are very excited in this episode to have the very dynamic couple, Gil and Brenda Stuart. They have a fun and interesting road to Restoration Therapy (doesn't it seem like a lot of roads to RT lead through Ron Deal). Gil and Brenda are therapists and coaches who bring their expertise to a lot of different areas -- counseling, coaching, speaking, writing, etc., and it was a lot of fun to have them on the podcast.

One of the first connections we had with the Stuarts was getting to know them through their new book, Lilly's Pads, which is a "children's adventure book encouraging 'kids of all ages' to be self aware and kind."

It is really great to see all the creativity in the RT community, and it was especially fun to hear the Stuarts talk about the influence of RT, and how deeply rooted it is in Lilly's Pads.

Check out this episode, and then head over and support their work and buy the book -- and explore all the ways you can be a part of the Lilly's Pads community.

Welcome to Episode 81 of the RT Dialogue Podcast. We are so thankful that you listen to the episode.

In this episode we connect with RT Level II Therapist, and Consultant, Mary Lee Evans who lives and practices in Florence, South Carolina.

Mary has been a part of the RT community for a long time and it was fun to dive into her work, what she is passionate about -- and focusing a bit on Stop, Turn, Slow. We loved her train metaphor that she uses in her work, and we had a good time exploring how that shows up in session.

Mentioned in the Episode

Restoration Therapy Level I and Level II

Restoration Therapy: Understanding and Guiding Healing in Marriage and Family Therapy by Terry Hargrave and Franz Pfitzer

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance by Alex Hutchinson

Welcome to Episode 80 of the RT Dialogue. We are so thankful for you joining us on this journey.

In this episode we welcomed Dr. Dave Morgan from Lipscomb University where he is a faculty member in the Marriage and Family Therapy program.

This was a great episode as we got learn more about how Dr. Morgan thinks about therapeutic models and the training of students in preparation for therapy work. He also has a special interest in integration which we discuss in this episode. Honestly, we covered so many things that I hope you find all the show notes below helpful.

Mentioned in Episode

Friedman's Fables by Edwin Friedman

Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue by Edwin Friedman

Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin Friedman

Murray Bowen -- Family Systems

Terry Hargrave

Virginia Satir

Ron Deal

Linda Metcalf

Structural Family Therapy

Scott Miller -- Feedback Informed Treatment

Minton Family Therapy

Ivan Boszermenyi-Nagy

Contextual Family Therapy

George Fox University

RT Dialogue Episode 79 with Kaivon Asgharian

RT Dialogue Episode 67 with Justin Metz

2 Corinthians

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't by Jim Collins

What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative by Jim Collins

Extraordinary Relationships: A New Way of Thinking About Human Interactions by Roberta Gilbert

The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples by John Gottman

Finding our Way Home: Turning Back to What Matters Most by Mark McMinn

Welcome to Episode 79 of the RT Dialogue!

[ Sign up for RT Summit | Sign up for new Anxiety Intensive with Rhett and Lance]

We have been on a bit of a summer break in July, which has been really great, but also excited to ramp back up for the remainder of the year. And this was a really great episode to launch us out of summer and into the school year with.

In this episode, we had the privilege of conversing with Kaivon Asgharian, who is a graduate student at George Fox University, and interns at Hale Counseling NW. Kaivon is up in the PNW and came to RT like so many do in that part of the country -- via Dr. Richard Shaw (thank you Dr. Shaw).

We loved Kaivon's enthusiasm for Restoration Therapy, and all the great questions he had regarding it. There were so many beautiful insights that emerged during the interview because of Kaivon's curiosity and willingness to ask really great questions...and some hard questions.

We dived into a lot of topics, and circled back to the conversation on emotional self-regulation and co-regulation, specifically in light of Kaivon's experience working with trauma and learning more about interpersonal neurobiology. We loved this conversation and learned a lot.

Mentioned in the Episode

Parent from Peace Journals (we talked with Rob Hayes back in Episode 46)

Lilly's Pads (Gil and Brenda Stuart)

Jean Baker Miller

Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl

Carl Jung

NARM

Dr. Dan Siegel

C. S. Lewis

World War II with Tom Hanks

Minton Family Therapy

Welcome to Episode 78 of the RT Dialogue.

In this episode we welcomed therapist Nathan Ely. Nathan is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary, a Level II RT Therapist (as well as many other trainings and certifications), and he specializes in spiritual abuse and recovery -- a topic that we really wanted to address on this podcast. It's an issue that is very prevalent and one that many of us therapists come into contact with in our practices.

We barely scratched the surface in our time with Nathan, but we plan to have him back on the podcast again, and he offers classes on the topic of spiritual abuse and recovery, as well as offering a class on demand. So we highly recommend you check out his work as it's a valuable resource.

Mentioned in the Episode

Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church by Diane Langberg

The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe by Richard Rohr

The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control by Steven Hassan

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Religious Refugees: (De) Constructing Toward Spiritual and Emotional Healing by Mark Gregory Karris

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast series by Mike Cosper

Shiny Happy People documentary series

Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church by Rachel Held Evans

Welcome to Episode 77 of the RT Dialogue.

[NOTE: The video recording malfunctioned and was unable to capture Amanda -- so this episode will be published all audio, which is probably how most of you access it.]

We were so excited to welcome Amanda Tipps to our podcast and it did not disappoint. She brings a lot of energy and insight into the RT world and it was fun conversing with her. Amanda is on staff at Hill Country Bible Church's counseling center which is an amazing group of people. They hosted this last April our Texas RT Gathering where Amanda brought out some of her sourdough baked goods for us to eat.

We really enjoyed this conversation and covered a wide range of topics from Amanda's work with teenagers, to navigating anxiety and depression in our lives. I (Rhett) am also really envious that she gets to practice therapy in a really cool community there in the counseling center at Hill Country Bible Church -- what an amazing group of people they have. And we are really looking forward to more Texas gatherings and seeing (hopefully all of them) at the Restoration Therapy Summit in Malibu this March.

Mentioned in the Episode

5 Days to a New Self by Terry and Sharon Hargrave

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer

Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis

What if It's Wonderful: Release Your Fears, Choose Joy, and Find the Courage to Celebrate by Nicole Zasowski

Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World by Henri Nouwen

Arresting Anxiety: Experiential Training Model for Utilizing Intensive Restoration Therapy (Lance's Ahl's DMFT dissertation)

Dr. Erik Salwen