God Knows You're Stressed: Simple Ways to Restore Your Balance

Anne Bryan Smollin, C.S.J., (1943-2014) was an international lecturer on wellness and spirituality. Her dynamic public speaking style and natural gift for entertaining sent her far from her Albany, New York, home base to lecture on humor and its effect on wellness, aging, spirituality and stress. A Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 53 years, Smollin earned a bachelor's degree in education from The College of Saint Rose, a master's degree in counseling from the State University of New York at Albany, and a doctorate in counseling psychology from Walden University. She became the first elementary school guidance counselor in Albany, New York, working on early intervention with the school's students, parents, and teachers. In 1975, Smollin set out on the road to bring her message to even more people. As an educational coordinator for an Albany Consultation Center, Smollin presented parental effectiveness training workshops along the East Coast. She also worked as an adjunct professor for six colleges and institutes, teaching courses on humor as a tool to communicate and as a method in stress management. Smollin served as the executive director of the Counseling for Laity center in Albany, which offers guidance for married couples, families, adults, and adolescents, for 33 years until her death.