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Anxiety August 12, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

When a Fear Becomes a Phobia

We can all identify certain things we are afraid of. Public speaking, snakes, heights, spiders, social situations, enclosed spaces, flying, clowns, and injections (think flu shot) are among some of the most commonly reported fears. When it comes to these fears, there’s a spectrum of fright intensity that ranges from intense dislike to total avoidance of anything that has to do with the thing or the situation that causes the fearful emotional response. In the most severe cases, contact with anything associated with the anxiety-provoking stimulus can cause an extremely anxious response or panic attack that usually leads to doing whatever necessary to separate oneself from the place or situation. This is called a phobia. Read more

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Grief Grief August 7, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

When a Furry Friend Departs this World

A few months ago, something I had been dreading for years happened. Our 14 year old dog, Pierre, died. Despite his age, it was something that was relatively unexpected. Over the course of a few days his health quickly deteriorated and my wife and I sat by his side in the emergency vet and painfully watched him go into cardiac arrest and die after a procedure that we hoped might buy him a little bit of extra time with us. Although it was something we thought we had been mentally and emotionally preparing for over the years, it hit us much harder than ever expected. Read more

Therapy About Therapy July 24, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Risks and Benefits of Therapy

People decide to start therapy for a wide variety of reasons. Whatever the reason, though, it usually boils down to wanting better – or at least wanting to feel better. Therapy can be very effective in helping people accomplish just that. Therapy can be a place to learn about yourself, to gain perspective, and to learn new ways of thinking about and interacting with the world. Because of this, therapy isn’t generally thought of as a “risky” kind of thing to do. Even though it’s much more likely that therapy will be beneficial, it does bring about a certain amount of risk that should be considered – if for no other reason than to understand that it might not be easy. I’ll first outline what a few of those risks are and then close with the benefits (that I think highly outweigh the potential of any risks involved). Read more

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Therapy Advice • Counseling • Therapy July 8, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Looking for Advice? You might be Disappointed.

I remember being corrected very quickly on the first day of my first graduate-level Intro to Counseling Course – back when I was a wee-little aspiring Therapist – when I used the word “advice” to refer to something that might be offered to a client during a therapy session. “We don’t give advice”, I was told by my professor. She then went on to explain all of the reasons why…I got it…but it prompted a huge shift in the ideas I had about therapy and how it is we go about promoting and facilitating change in the lives of others. Read more

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Self-improvement anger • personalization June 22, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Q-TIP: Quit Taking it Personally

We all know (or have known) someone who easily loses their cool in traffic – or who might be inclined to punch someone in the face if just looked at the wrong way. We all probably also know someone who doesn’t really seem triggered by anything. They’re able to brush off even the harshest of dirty looks, bad drivers, and insults. Read more

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Question and Answer About Therapy • Frequently Asked Questions May 28, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Ask a Therapist Anything – Part 3 of 3

This is part 3 of 3 in my “Ask a Therapist Anything” series. Here, I answer questions about the general agenda for sessions, what kind of an environment is most conducive to opening up, and whether or not I’ve been to therapy myself.

If you missed Parts 1 and 2, you can check them out here. See Part 1 or Part 2 “Ask a Therapist Anything”. Read more

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Question and Answer About Therapy • Frequently Asked Questions May 15, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Ask a Therapist Anything – Part 2 of 3

This is part 2 of 3 in my “Ask a Therapist Anything” Series. Here, I answer questions about the difference between a Therapist and Counselor, how many sessions the average person needs, why I don’t take insurance, and how as a male Therapist I feel about my ability to work with females.

If you missed part 1, check out Part 1 of 3 – Ask a Therapist Anything.
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Therapy About Therapy • Frequently Asked Questions May 10, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Ask a Therapist Anything – Part 1 of 3

I recently reached out to family and friends on Social Media giving them the opportunity to “Ask a Therapist Anything”. In my Blog posts I strive for as much transparency as possible and try to provide people with a glimpse into the often mysterious/private world of Therapy. I’ve written about why people decide to go (or not to go) to therapy, benefits of therapy, a little bit about what actually happens in my office, and more. I wondered, though, what questions people have about therapy that I may not have considered. The response I got when providing people with the opportunity to ask me anything was great….and I want to go ahead and jump right in to answering the questions. Although many of my answers are broadly true as it relates to therapy in general, keep in mind that the answers to these questions are from the perspective of one Therapist alone – ME. Ask the same questions to another Therapist and the answer might be a little bit different. Follow this 3-part series to hear the answer to the question about whether or not I’ve been to therapy myself along with a long list of other questions that I hope you’ll find intriguing. Read more

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Therapy About Therapy • Find a Therapist April 30, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Finding the BEST Therapist in Tampa

Spoiler Alert: Although I know a lot of GREAT Therapists in Tampa, I won’t be recommending any single best Therapist for you in this blog post. Why, you ask? Well If I did have to make that recommendation, then my bias alone would force me to recommend myself 🙂 – and it might not be true FOR YOU. That’s because the best Therapist just so happens to be the Therapist that is best for you. Read more

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Benefits of Exercise Anxiety • Depression • Exercise • stress • Stress Relief April 24, 2019 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

My 100 Mile March – And all of the Benefits Noticed

At the end of February, I decided to set some pretty aggressive goals for March. Goals varied in nature, but were linked to areas of personal growth, professional development, and overall improvement of my health. One of my goals was to run 100 miles in March by starting off each day with a jog early in the morning. I’m already a pretty regular runner, but usually had only ever averaged about 2 miles per day (or 60 miles each month) and rarely ever ran more than a few days in a row, so this was upping my normal routine by more than a mile each day and motivating me to avoid skipping any days. Read more