Tag: mental health
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Small Steps to Improve Your Mental Health in 2023
By Hannah Seo – NYT Hyosun Hwang This year may not have been the sea of calm you had hoped for after the tumult of 2020 and 2021. The pandemic continued; war broke out in Europe; we experienced natural disasters and troubling shortages; and more viruses stoked fears. But 2022 was also a year of…
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Ten Things You Can Do for Your Mental Health
University of Michigan Try these tips to keep your balance, or re-balance yourself.* 1. Value yourself: Treat yourself with kindness and respect, and avoid self-criticism. Make time for your hobbies and favorite projects, or broaden your horizons. Do a daily crossword puzzle, plant a garden, take dance lessons, learn to play an instrument or become…
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National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month 2023
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services OMH Minority Mental Health Disparities Snapshot National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is observed each July to bring awareness to the unique struggles that racial and ethnic minority communities face regarding mental illness in the United States. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how…
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Recognizing Our Barriers to Self-Compassion
Bernard Golden, Ph.D. “Taking this program will be transformative.” That’s what I was told when I registered for Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy (SCIP), a 10-month program offered to psychotherapists by the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, which was founded by Chris Germer and Kristin Neff. I had previously become acquainted with their work through reading their books and attending…
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Why We Get Bored and How to Overcome It
Patricia Lockwood, Ph.D., and Jo Cutler, Ph.D. People seek out novelty and excitement. We explore, discover, and create. At the same time, we all experience moments of boredom. Whether it’s during a long meeting, a tedious task, or a lazy afternoon, boredom can have negative effects on our mood or energy levels and leaves us feeling…
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Why Mattering Matters
Susan J. Noonan MD I recently came across an interesting project based at Temple University that I believe resonates with many people, including me, and is particularly relevant to those who experience social isolation, loneliness, depression, and suicidality. The project comes from the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities and is entitled “You Matter… But What…
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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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4 Surprising Ways to Maintain a Youthful Brain
Scott C. Anderson “If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” That quote, which has been attributed to Eubie Blake, resonates well enough to have been repeated by Mickey Mantle, Mae West, and Erma Bombeck, among others. But is it true? Can aging be…
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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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The Power of Writing to Heal
Writing has been instrumental in my healing process since I first stepped into a writing workshop in 2007. I was trying to heal from a major depressive episode that forced me to resign from my first social work position and required six inpatient admissions over a span of 18 months. I also endured a course…