Dr. Michael Ruth — Anxiety and How to Conquer It & Grace in the Ashes
Christian Psychology & Spiritual Formation
Dr. Michael Ruth writes at the intersection of theology, psychology, human development, and spiritual formation, helping readers turn everyday struggles into stepping stones for spiritual, emotional, and relational growth. He is an author, counselor, and psychotherapist in East Tennessee, where he grew up. His private practice, Growth Resources Counseling Center, is now in its 36th year — built and sustained all that time by word of mouth alone. For as long as he can remember, his passion has been to learn all he can and then share what he learns, through his writing and with his clients. His clients often tell him his books read just like a session with him: warm, compassionate, and able to break down complex psychospiritual concepts into pieces that deliver both healing and strength right where it’s needed most.
In Anxiety and How to Conquer It, he tackles the psychological architecture of anxiety, how moral compromise fuels it, and the unique struggles of the anxious Christian, pairing cognitive-behavioral insight with biblical wisdom.
In Grace in the Ashes: The Soul’s Journey Through Grief, he turns to a different kind of struggle — the grief that touches every life, not only through death but through any form of loss. The book walks readers through why grief runs so deep, “working the stages” falls short, and how faith and psychology work together toward healing.
Mike holds a PhD from Oxford Graduate School, where his dissertation, The Virulent Personality: A Proposal for the Clinical Classification of Pathological Evil as a Psychiatric Disorder, earned him the Chalice Award for outstanding doctoral research. When he’s not writing, Mike enjoys long talks with his wife, especially over the barbecue, a good book, great music, and time in the Smoky Mountains he calls home.
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