by Dr. Carla Smith, LMFT, LCSW

Mental Health Awareness Month is in full swing and it’s encouraging to see so many people speaking out about breaking the stigma of mental illness. It’s no secret people who struggle with mental illness often do so in silence or behind closed doors. Even though mental illness is something many people struggle with, assumptions and a general lack of awareness negatively influence the way our society treats them.

Kevin Love, power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, recently wrote an eloquent article about his experiences during and after a panic attack. He describes, in detail…

by Katie Woodruff, MAMFT

Armchair Expert

“…a podcast that celebrates the messiness of being human.”

Dax Sheppard is my new hero. With over 10 years of sobriety, high levels of introspection, and killer comedic timing, he is in a unique position to engage celebrity guests in honest and somewhat taboo conversations. His favorite topics are the effects of childhood, dealing with insecurities, therapy, and sobriety. We suggest listening to the inaugural episode with wife Kristin Bell, which shows the couples ability to work through real life annoyance using therapy tools and ultimately display genuine affection for the other.

Rating: PG-13 for language

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By Rachel McCrickard

Motivo is seeking to create a new standard in the therapy profession. We reached out to one of our first customers to find out how Motivo is creating an easier path towards licensure.

Rachel: How did you hear about Motivo?

Craig: After receiving my training and degree while living in Kentucky, I moved to a semi-rural section of Georgia. I discovered that I did not have any connections or contacts to the counseling profession in my area. With Atlanta being an hour away, and Atlanta’s active north side being even further, I could not find a Georgia…

by Katie Woodruff, MAMFT

John Gottman is one of the most influential researchers and purveyors of couple’s therapy. With over 40 years of research on 3,000 couples, he and his team have accomplished the most extensive study ever done on marital stability and divorce prediction. Research done in the “Love Lab.” involves interviewing couples while they are being physiologically monitored for heartbeat, perspiration, blood pressure, etc. Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book, Blink, that Gottman can tell with high accuracy (95%) if couples will divorce after watching them for an hour. After 15 minutes he can tell with 90% accuracy…

by Katie Woodruff, MAMFT

In a recent conversation with New York Times editor Dean Baquet, Jay-Z gives a major nod to the power of therapy. Interpreting this interview as a scripted drama, the setting is an executive office at the Times building in present day America, the main characters are two highly successful black men and the plot is a conversation about “therapy, politics, marriage, and being a black man in Trump’s America.” It even comes with a score, “The Story of OJ” by Jay-Z.

Nestled into the very center of the interview, Jay Z mentions the impact therapy has…

by Dr. Carla Smith, LMFT, LCSW

I went. I saw. I saw again… and then again.

Audiences can’t get enough of Black Panther and I, for one, am among them. The action, the music, the predominately black cast, the black superhero, the beauty of Wakanda, the technological genius… and, those WOMEN!!

My goodness, the women…

I couldn’t help but write a piece on the things that make Black Panther the most unique and one of the best Marvel stories ever told (in my humble opinion).

There are three new narratives this movie embodied:

- One of…

By: Rachel McCrickard, LMFT

Millions tuned in to the 2018 Grammy Awards this year to to see performances from popular artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

But it was another performer who captivated our attention at Motivo. The musician: Logic.

This 27-year-old rapper, singer, songwriter and music producer gave an incredibly moving rendition of his suicide awareness anthem “1–800–273–8255,” titled after the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. He was joined by co-collaborators Alessia Cara and Khalid.

In case you missed it, see it here:

Logic’s message was intentional. He has openly expressed…