Category: recovery
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The Best Advice I Ever Got About Being a Therapist
Elizabeth Heaney MA, LPC “Hey, what’s the best advice you ever got about being a therapist?” I get that question from younger therapists when I teach grad counseling students, supervise interns, and facilitate case consultation groups. Over the course of 40 years in clinical practice, I’ve had some outstanding mentors, and my skills have developed…
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Observing Juneteenth and Supporting Mental Health Equity
APA Leadership This weekend, we acknowledge and observe Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the day that the end of slavery was announced in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. Juneteenth has been celebrated by the Black community since the late 1800s. Now, pending President Biden’s signature, expected this afternoon, it will be a federal holiday…
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6 things you can try to overcome not being motivated
Steven C. Hayes Ph.D. *The original title of this blog is “When You’re Just Not Feeling Motivated” but we are talking about 6 strategies that is a proper motivation for you. Some days, you are just not feeling it. You don’t want to get out of bed. You don’t want to make that difficult call,…
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Narrowing Down The Choices: What Treatment Is Best for Me?
Claire Wilcox M.D. If there’s one consistent truth in behavioral health treatment, it’s that one size does not fit all. Cookie-cutter treatment often doesn’t work, even if an accurate diagnosis has been made and standard-of-care interventions are applied. In the case of major depressive disorder, for example, numerous options are available. In terms of pharmacotherapy,…
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11 Tools to Cope With Burnout and Overwhelm
Ravi Chandra M.D., D.F.A.P.A. Burnout is a major and growing problem. The pandemic and stresses of multiple cultural traumas, including the quest for racial justice and equity for all, including sexual and gender minorities, have taken a great toll. The National Academy of Medicine has produced a report on health force well-being, and the American Psychiatric Association estimates two out of five psychiatrists…
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5 Self-Soothing Techniques
Tchiki Davis, Ph.D. Self-soothing is defined as an individual’s efforts or capacity to calm themselves while in a state of emotional distress (Wright, 2009). It is a key aspect of well-being as it helps us stay regulated and calm (take the well-being quiz here to learn more about your well-being). We learn many of our self-soothing patterns…
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Addiction Counseling
Empowering paths to recovery and healing. Rubin Khoddam Ph.D. Approximately 20 million Americans aged 12 or older battled a substance use disorder in 2020. Addiction counseling is a specialized form of therapy designed to address the underlying causes of addiction. Addiction counseling can increase self-awareness, strengthen coping mechanisms, and help prevent relapse. Addiction is a…
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Here’s How to Stay Happier as You Get Older
Those who see aging as an evolution, rather than a loss, stay healthy longer. Loren Soeiro, Ph.D. ABPP Were you born between 1982 and 1994? If so, that makes you a millennial; it also means that you’ve likely just entered your 40s. For many people, this may also mean you’ll start to feel old —…
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Surgeon General Warns That Social Media May Harm Children and Adolescents
By Matt Richtel, Catherine Pearson and Michael Levenson The nation’s top health official issued an extraordinary public warning on Tuesday about the risks of social media to young people, urging a push to fully understand the possible “harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.” In a 19-page advisory, the United States surgeon…
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Calm Your Mind With Micro-Meditation
L. Kenneth Zweig M.D. I’m sure you’ve heard about the benefits of meditation and probably had someone suggest you try it. Meditation is touted to help relieve stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as improve attention, memory, sleep, and energy. I’ve heard this mantra (cue “groan”) for years, but never really got into it myself. That is, until I heard…