Ben and Rhys muse on how being counselors presents advantages and peculiar hurdles to being fathers, and how fatherhood in turn affects how we show up in the rooms as counselors. Along the way, we reflect on hopes and fears for our daughters and sons and what kind of people they will be as they will face in the big wide world.

Rhys Pasimio – [email protected]

Ben Poling - benpolingcounseling.com

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

We’re dads! We’re married! We’re healthy and educated. We even own houses! Technically we have completed society’s cis-hetero-normative script for our lives.

That means we have our inner and outer lives under control and feel powerful and invulnerable and have no sign of weakness anywhere…right?

Wrong!

We love our families, but sometimes being a father is miserable and lonely.

Our Father’s Day gift to any dad who listens is the freedom to be imperfect, vulnerable, flawed, and lonely. Believe it or not, you are more normal than you think!

Our hope is that we can labor through the glorious and wonderful trials of father hood together, but making connections and asking for help, one awkward and vulnerable conversation at a time.

Happy Fathers Day!

This episode of SMART Counsel features the following professionals:

Rhys Pasimio - newpatterncounseling.com

Aaron Kelsay – [email protected]

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

Rhys Pasimio explores a parallel between the experiences of betrayal trauma and systemic racism, and issues a challenge to those who have inflicted harm to consider and own the impact of their actions, and practice a deeper form of empathy.

This episode of SMART Counsel features the following professionals:

Rhys Pasimio – [email protected]

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

“We have to attend to what’s lost when we make changes, even when the changes are good.”

At the onset of the Corona Virus, the counseling community migrated en masse to providing primarily, and sometimes exclusively, telehealth services. Rhys Pasimio and Aaron Kelsay reflect on this transition, what our therapeutic relationships have gained, and what we have lost.

This episode of SMART Counsel features the following professionals:

Rhys Pasimio – [email protected]

Aaron Kelsay – [email protected]

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

How does counseling work when there are two counselors and a horse? Or even 3 horses? What can we learn from observing horses and how can horses help us move through anxiety and restore a sense of empowerment?

Today I caught up with Bethaney Clark and Alycia Smith, a team of therapists with a counseling practice just east of Portland, Oregon. We talked about what equine therapy is, what it offers, who it helps. Clark and Smith shared their vision for being a resource for the whole community by being a core resource for other helping providers.

This episode of SMART Counsel features the following professionals:

Rhys Pasimio – [email protected]

Bethaney Clark & Alycia Smith– cheriishcounseling.com

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

These days things are weird and strange, says everyone. We feel disconnected, and most of us have experienced some sort of loss as a result of the Virus and Social Distancing. Many of us have been more anxious and pre-occupied.

How do we manage these all encompassing and ongoing stressors? More particularly, how do those of us in Helping roles, of any sort, maintain our own center, calm, and health? Individuals in Helping Professions have long been known to be at high risk for Burnout and Compassion Fatigue and the current situation may have only heightened that risk. What should we do?

Hannah Green from Second Growth Counseling joins Rhys and Ben and shares some insights and ideas for how to maintain a healthy self while still actively caring for others. We discuss boundaries, expectations, and replenishing activities. Through it all we affirm that your experience is real and your needs are important!

This episode of SMART Counsel features the following professionals:

Rhys Pasimio – [email protected]

Ben Poling - benpolingcounseling.com

Hannah Green– secondgrowthcounseling.com

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

What are the barriers to lasting change? Turns out some of the biggest are internal, and have to do with relationships.

Rhys Pasimio and Ben Poling have a conversation with CSAT colleague Stephen Grant and discuss how change happens. We talk about First and Second Order Change, (changing behaviors, then changing motivations and internal values) and Grant introduces the concept of Third Order Change - Changing relationships to self, others, the world, and God. Along the way, we give nods to Internal Family Systems Theory.

Grant also gives a brief introduction to ART – Accelerated Resolution Therapy, and changing the way we experience memories, particularly trigger memories.

This episode of SMART Counsel features the following professionals:

Rhys Pasimio – [email protected]

Ben Poling - benpolingcounseling.com

Stephen Black– gracefallcounseling.com

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

It’s here! SMART Counsel’s first ever CROSSOVER EPISODE!!!

Rhys Pasimio from SMART Counsel and Stephen Black from TCK Care have teamed up to bring you a most fabulous and thought provoking discussion about social media!

What is a responsible use of Social Media? Contrarily, what is irresponsible use of Social Media? Rhys and Stephen tackle the topic. We talk about the benefits of networking and connecting, learning and research, advocating and raising awareness of marginalized and vulnerable people, and DIY self-promotion for artists, business owners, and people with opinions. We also talk about how the social media world lends itself towards obsession, addiction, “The Instagram Effect” and how we hide our true selves, the un-reality of virtual life, and what happens to relationships when they exist entirely online.

This episode of SMART Counsel features the following professionals:

Rhys Pasimio - newpatterncounseling.com, [email protected]

Stephen Black– tckcare.com/connect

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

Rhys and Nick venture into a conversation about Feminism! We explore what feminism is, how it benefits women, and how it benefits men. We reflect on our own experiences and challenges with growing up as men surrounded by toxic masculinity and how adopting some feminist ideas is leading to healthier and more self-aware lives. Along the way, we call out some trends in both the church and the counseling world on how power is managed, how knowing is understood, and how we relate to people, and offer some ideas and hopes for how we can all continue growing together.

This episode of SMART Counsel features the following professionals:

Rhys Pasimio - newpatterncounseling.com

Nick Brechbiel – [email protected]

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

Need a break from the Corona Virus? Let’s talk about culture and diversity!

The counseling relationship is marked by a stark power differential that is only made starker by differences in race, class, gender, education, sexual orientation, physical ability, and many other factors. How do we consider the power differential and work for what is best for the other person, while neither dismissing their problems, nor perpetuating systemic oppression? What are the cultures to consider, and who are the vulnerable people? Aaron Kelsay shares his experience of providing addiction counseling services to clients of diverse racial and class backgrounds. We consider how to consider the impact of our Whiteness and discuss striving for a mindset of cultural humility versus trying to master cultural competency skills. Along the way, we question established treatment structures, such as the 12-Steps, that came from privilege and tend to support privilege. We advise against use of jargon without first spending time in relationship earning the right to speak. Through it all, we challenge each other, and other professionals with power to be mindful of the space they occupy, and to always seek to learn from others and be willing to grow and change.

This episode of SMART Counsel features the following professionals:

Rhys Pasimio - newpatterncounseling.com

Aaron Kelsay – [email protected]

Please visit www.patreon.com/smartcounsel to learn how you can support the podcast. Thanks!

The Master’s in Counseling program at Multnomah University and New Pattern Counseling present this podcast as a resource for aspiring and current professionals, as well as members of the greater community. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Multnomah University or its faculty or New Pattern Counseling.

Aaron’s recommended reading list:

By Author James Cone: “

“The Cross and the Lynching Tree.”

“A Black Theology of Liberation.”

By Author Cornell West:

“The Rich and the Rest of Us.”

“Race Matters.”

“Prophesy Deliverance.”

By Author W.E.B. Dubois:

“The Souls of Black Folk

By Author John Brown Walter Rodney:

“How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.”

“The Russian Revolution: A View from the Third World.”