Dr Mariki Smith

Dr Mariki Smith loves helping people, whether as a practicing psychologist, or in presenting and preparing programs which help people to improve themselves and their circumstances. Mariki is a registered psychologist with more than 25 years experience as psychologist. She has a MA (Psychology) and PhD (Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence in Marital Adjustment). Apart from her full-time psychology private practice, she is co-director of the Free State Institute for Mindfulness (FSIM) and Inner Zone (Pty) Ltd. She also manages support groups for mood disorder, a CPD accredited continuous emotion focused therapy study group for therapists, and a mindfulness group at a local Psychiatric Hospital. She is a regular presenter of work sessions and at conferences. Her focus is on mindfulness and emotion focused therapy, and she has presented mindfulness work sessions inter alia on behalf of the University of the Free State, the FSIM, and at the 2019 SA Pain Conference in South Africa. The focus on Mindfulness and Emotion Focused Therapy has developed into what is at the heart of mindfulness practice and learning at the FSIM and 360smartly.com, namely emotion focused mindfulness or EFM. "Mindfulness is a way of life, simply, with full conscious awareness of NOW, without judgment or critique. We must re-wire our minds to achieve this way of life." Dr Mariki Smith

When we Need to Silence our Self-Judgment

By / May 25, 2021

When we start living in our “minds” instead of our lives because of buzzy-ness, we judge our inner world as good or bad, right or wrong… We then start to avoid spending quiet leisure time on our own because the sense of emptiness may be so intense that it is just too painful to be in our own company. But, as spending quiet time is one of the most important ways (aside from physical exercise and connection with others) to deal with stress – according to the Centre for Studies on Human Stress – we might as well learn how to do that. It is good to keep in mind that we are bigger than our emotions and thoughts.

Embrace the Givens of Life

By / May 25, 2021

  “Givens can be embraced with an unconditional yes to that which is, without subjective protests, an acceptance of the conditions of existence… acceptance of my own nature as I happen to be.” – Carl Jung In our daily busy lives we regularly need to step back and become aware of our inner and outer …

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Mindfulness – Befriend your Loneliness

By / May 25, 2021

We all feel lonely sometimes – whether we are actually alone, or with other people. I remember presenting a case study during my Masters in Psychology, about my therapy with a young teenager with Tourette Syndrome. As part of strengthening her social skills, I taught her the technique of “How to meet, greet and keep …

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Competing Optimally in Life – Wisdom from Sport

By / May 25, 2021

Professor Justus Potgieter The essence of competing optimally is described by Professor Justus Potgieter in his book about mental toughness is golf and although he did not plan it so, he also describes how to be mindful: “Compete in the here and now Your mind can be in one of three places at a particular …

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