RT Dialogue

Welcome to Episode 52 of the RT Dialogue podcast. This was a real treat for us in getting to interview Dr. Tamara Powell, Assistant Professor of Teaching Practice at the University of Colorado at Denver . Rhett has known Tamara since 2002 when she started checking out the college ministry he was pastoring at Bel Air Church in Los Angeles. Over the years they have conversed on a lot of topics -- on...

Welcome to the New Year everyone! And a new season of the RT Dialogue with Lance Ahl and Rhett Smith. We are glad you have joined us. [FYI: There were some internet connection issues in this episode, but it was a great conversation.] We kick off the new season with Restoration Therapist Hatty Lee . Hatty is the founder of Oak and Stone Therapy which has practices in Pasadena and Los Angeles. She i...

Welcome to Episode 50 of the RT Dialogue Podcast! We want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have listened this year. We launched this podcast on February 16, 2025 with the hopes of connecting the RT community. We wanted to bring on different people within the community who were practicing RT, as well as dive deeper into the model. It's been a fun adventure for us, and we are eager to...

Welcome to Episode 49 of the RT Dialogue. As we near the end of the year we wanted to take an episode to reflect on a few of the books that we find ourselves referencing a lot in therapy over the years. Honestly, we could have spent hours on this episode and covered dozens and dozens of books, over so many topics. So maybe in future podcasts we will pause and talk about other books that are import...

Welcome to Episode 48 of the RT Dialogue. In this episode we had the privilege of talking with Dr. Erik Salwen who is a Level II RT Therapist and who is also Level I RT Trainer . He is the Associate Professor of Counseling Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary and is in practice at College Station Christian Counseling in College Station, TX. Erik is passionate about the "theology of RT&qu...

Welcome to Episode 47 of the RT Dialogue Podcast. As we wind down towards the end of the 2025 year we wanted to chat briefly about a question we both receive quite a bit -- which is how to build a referral network as a therapist? Rhett has been in his private practice for 15 years while Lance is on year 10. So we have some thoughts and ideas that have been helpful for us that we want to share. But...

Welcome to Episode 46 of the RT Dialogue Podcast. We are so thankful that you have joined us on this journey, and if you like what you hear we encourage you to do us a favor. You can: recommend the episode to others leave a review for us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts (good reviews help others find it) subscribe to the RT Dialogue Substack for the podcast and other pertinent information in the Resto...

Welcome to Episode 45 of the RT Dialogue Podcast. This was a really fun episode, and if you are able to – we recommend you watch the video version if possible (i.e. props involved). In this episode we spent time with Nancy Frigaard , Jennifer Smith , and Lorenzo Cantoja . Nancy is doing a ton of amazing work, and among that, she is owner/clinical director at Freedom Family Counseling in Arizona (s...

We were really excited to have Sharon Hargrave and Dee Dee Mayer on Episode 44 of the RT Dialogue. Sharon as many of you already know, is the founder of Relate Strong , and Dee Dee Mayer is the Senior Director of The Boone Center at Pepperdine University -- this is just to name a couple of things these amazing women are currently involved in, or have contributed to. On this episode we wanted to ha...

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: Emotional Regulation -- Self Versus Co Human Identity and Safety Pain Chart, Peace Chart Pain Cycle...

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 wi...

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...

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 a...

[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...

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. Ov...

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'...

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...

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 th...

Welcome to episode 34 of the RT Dialogue podcast. We are so thankful that you could join us and listen to our latest conversation with our good friend, and RT therapist, Migum Gweon. If you enjoy this podcast, please take a minute to leave a comment wherever you listen (Spotify, Apple, YouTube, etc.). And we want to give a special shoutout to our friend RO Smith who has bee helping us with our sou...

This episode has been a long time coming and we are so excited to present to you Dr. Miyoung Yoon Hammer. Dr. Hammer is Associate Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy and Chair of the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy at Fuller Theological Seminary . She is also the co-author of Advances and Techniques in Restoration Therapy , and has written a lot of beautiful articles on a number of...

Welcome to episode 32 of the RT Dialogue Podcast with our special guest, Dee Dee Mayer. Dee Dee is the Senior Director of Relate Strong at the Boone Center for the Family at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. The Boone Center for the Family is a remarkable organization and it provides a lot of resources to help equip individuals and organizations -- as it says on their website, "The Boone C...

In this episode we are back with Dr. Tanner Hargrove (see bio below) and his wife Jet. The two of them are a dynamic duo, and pulled off the lion's share of the work for the RT Summit in Amarillo, TX this last February. We wanted to pick their brain on all things hospitality -- from creating a hospitable experience for a conference, to the importance of hospitality for The Hideaway Experience...

So we are back with Dr. Tanner Hargrove and his fourth intervention which is multi-versed in its use. This is a five-part series, so make sure you check out all five this week as they become available: ⁠⁠Destructive entitlement intervention⁠⁠ ⁠Personal responsibility intervention⁠ Trust intervention Control intervention Multi-Versed intervention Short Bio Tanner wears many hats: ⁠⁠⁠therapist⁠⁠⁠ ,...

So we are back with Dr. Tanner Hargrove and his fourth intervention around control. This is a five-part series, so make sure you check out all five this week as they become available: ⁠⁠Destructive entitlement intervention⁠⁠ ⁠Personal responsibility intervention⁠ Trust intervention Control intervention Multi-Versed intervention Short Bio Tanner wears many hats: ⁠⁠⁠therapist⁠⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠⁠clinical direct...