Welcome! I'm so glad you're here.
I'm Dr. Bev Smallwood, and for 45 years I've had the great privilege of working with people in their hardest moments and their most hopeful ones — as a licensed psychologist, a leadership coach, a speaker, and a writer. Every conversation, every keynote, every chapter I've written comes back to my personal purpose in life: to bring out the best in people so that they can become all God designed them to be.
A long, long time ago (long enough that I'd rather not put a number on it), I was an elementary school teacher who thought she had her path pretty well figured out. Then God nudged me back to school, and the rest is the kind of plot twist that I now help other people navigate.
In 1984, I founded The Hope Center, and it's been my professional home ever since. From there, the work has carried me further than I ever imagined — into television, radio, podcasts, and print interviews across the country, into nine countries through speaking and mission trips, and into the pages of my book This Wasn't Supposed to Happen to Me. My next book, All the Rage: How to Deal with Angry People without Becoming One Yourself, is on its way — a topic, I'm told, with no shortage of relevance these days.
So much of my work begins with people who are feeling broken. Sometimes it's because life dealt them a setback they never saw coming. Sometimes it's because of their own mistakes, the ones that still keep them up at night. And sometimes it's because they've been operating on mistaken ideas about how life works — beliefs about themselves, other people, or God that simply don't hold up under pressure. Whatever brought them to that place, what they're really looking for is another chance, this time with the right tools in hand.
That's where the four pillars of my work come in. I think of them as the rhythms of moving out of brokenness and setbacks into a flourishing, ever-growing life:
Four Pillars of Dr. Bev's Work
Heal with Hope
Before anything else changes, the heart needs tending. Healing begins when we name what hurts, release what we've been carrying alone, and discover that hope is not wishful thinking. I t's a practice grounded in truth.
Cope with Confidence
Life keeps coming. Once the deeper healing has begun, you need real, usable tools for the everyday pressures — anxiety, conflict, change, the curveballs nobody warned you about — so that you can meet them steady, not shaky.
Live with Purpose
When you stop merely surviving, you start asking the bigger questions: What am I here for? What matters most? What do I want this next chapter to look like? Purpose turns recovery into direction.
Lead with Wisdom
We take a personalized approach to medicine. Our team of experts will work with you to create a customized treatment plan that takes into account your unique needs and circumstances. Say goodbye to one-size-fits-all medicine.
A meaningful part of my calling, whether I'm working with organizational leaders, service providers, pastors, or everyday folks, is helping the helpers. I help leaders in various industries develop the personal and relationship skills that enable them to lead purpose-focused, energized teams through uncertainty, crisis, and change. I often work with healthcare professionals who are experiencing frustration, exhaustion, and burnout — the healers who give so much often need healing themselves. I equip ministers with counseling skills and teach practical classes to people of faith, because the people holding up others sometimes need a hand, too. When I'm off the clock, you'll often find me at a local homeless shelter or nursing home, where some of the best teachers I've ever met happen to live.
Family-wise, I'm Mom to a son and a daughter, grandmother to four grandchildren who keep me laughing, and the (slightly outranked) third-in-command behind two dogs: Baby, a shih tzu with strong opinions, and Barnabas, an Old English Sheepdog who is roughly the size of a large piece of furniture.
Whatever brought you here — a hard chapter, a hopeful one, or just curiosity — I'm glad our paths have crossed. Make yourself at home.
