David Susman

Workplace Bullying: How to Survive and to Thrive

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An Interview with Janice Gilligan White I was very pleased to be given the opportunity to interview Janice Gilligan White about the topic of workplace bullying. Janice holds a BA in psychology from Montclair State University and is affiliated with both The Workplace Bullying Institute and End Workplace Abuse. She is currently a blogger for targets of workplace abuse and is committed to spreading awareness, knowledge and the resources available so others can be spared the shock and damage of …

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10 Ways to Use “Compassionate Language” Related to Mental Health Conditions

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I’ve written quite a bit about how important our use of language is regarding mental health conditions and the people who have lived experience with mental health issues. Appropriate, respectful, “person-first” language helps to empower, heal, and validate people, while discriminatory, prejudiced, and disrespectful language can hurt, demean and stigmatize. Given my strong interest in this subject, I was thrilled to come across an extremely helpful guideline called “10 Ways to Combat Discrimination with Compassionate Language,” which was developed by …

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Please Tell Me What You Think About My Blog

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Hello dear readers, So I’ve been blogging here for a few years now. I’ve covered a lot of territory, a few hundred posts, mostly related to mental health, wellness, and advocacy. If you’re not familiar with my content, you can find a categorical index of all my blog posts right here. Please feel free to check check them out. Then come right back because I have a couple of questions for you. Ok, thanks for coming back. (Or maybe you …

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No One is Beyond Help

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Catherine Rose Liberty This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked eating disorder recovery coach Catherine Rose Liberty about her journey and her current activities. Here’s our interview: DS: Tell us about when you first started becoming aware of concerns related to your mental health. How did these issues continue to affect you before you sought treatment? CL: Growing up I never …

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How to Be a Great Board Member

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As you probably know, I’m a big fan of public service and advocacy activities. I’ve written at some length about different ways to get more involved in advocacy. Serving on the board of an organization can be another great way to exercise your advocacy and public service muscles. While my personal board experience has been primarily with non-profit organizations focused on health or mental health, these suggestions can also apply to just about any type of board. The first and …

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10 Healthy Tips to Make Your Theme Park Trip Even More Magical

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Not long ago, our family enjoyed a wonderful trip to an iconic theme park. As a psychologist, I’m invested in mental health, wellness, and self-care strategies for all types of settings. So I started noticing several “psychologically healthy” choices we made during our visit that helped make the experience more fun and enjoyable for all of us. I thought you might like to see my list of 10 of these tips so you can consider using them for your next …

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Just Keep Going

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Stories of Hope: An Interview with Erin Bahadur This is part of a series featuring individuals who share their life experiences with mental health issues. Recently, I asked writer and personal trainer Erin Bahadur about her journey and her current activities. Here’s our interview: DS: Tell us about when you first started becoming aware of concerns related to your mental health. How did these issues continue to affect you before you sought treatment? EB: I think the most obvious issue …

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10 Reasons Mental Health Professionals Should Have a Social Media Platform

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After having been in the social media space for several years, I’ve gotten to know a lot of great mental health advocates, and many of the most active ones come from the incredibly important perspective of having personal life experience with mental illness. I’ve also featured dozens of these first-person voices through my “Stories of Hope” series. In contrast, it sometimes seems like there aren’t as many active advocates on social media who are mental health professionals. These would include …

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