Serious Mental Illness

A 10-Step Plan to Fix Our Mental Health System

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To say we are in a time of great unease and uncertainty is an understatement. We are stressed, oppressed, bullied, harassed, victimized and our mental health is often stretched to the limit. As many as 1 in 4 of us will deal with a mental health challenge at some point in our lives. Record numbers of people with severe mental illness are warehoused in jails and prisons or lie cold and homeless on our streets. The number of suicides increases …

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How to Help People That Have Challenging Behaviors

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I’ve often been asked to address how to help a person with a mental illness or a substance misuse issue who is very symptomatic and who may be displaying unusual, disruptive or challenging behaviors. This is an important topic to address because the situation can be very uncomfortable and the person’s behavior may be unpredictable and could become potentially harmful to themselves or others. Let’s take a look at this issue and begin to understand some basic strategies to manage …

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Thinking Outside the Box to Treat Serious Mental Illnesses

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Chances are you may not be familiar with cognitive enhancement therapy, or CET. It’s a rehabilitation-focused approach which has been shown to improve thinking, memory, attention and other brain functions among individuals with schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses such as severe depression, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder. According to Ray Gonzalez, Executive Director of the Center for Cognition and Recovery in Cleveland, Ohio, CET is “physical therapy for your brain,” since it targets many of the common cognitive (thinking) difficulties seen among …

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Psychiatric Advance Directives: A “Living Will” for Mental Health Treatment

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It’s likely you’ve heard of a “living will,” a legal document that outlines one’s preferences for their medical treatment in the event of a serious or terminal illness which renders them unable to express their wishes. But did you know there’s something like a “living will” for mental health care? It’s usually called a “psychiatric advance directive” or a “mental health advance directive.” It’s an important tool to know about, especially if you or someone you care about may be …

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How to Support Someone During a Psychiatric Hospitalization

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If someone you care about has been hospitalized related to a mental health condition, you may have found this situation confusing and overwhelming, and you may have felt you weren’t well-equipped to handle it. This can be even more stressful if it’s the first time you’ve ever faced this challenge. I worked for many years with patients and their families in psychiatric hospitals and I’ve found several tips and strategies that can make this difficult time perhaps just a little …

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Why ‘Engagement’ is Better Than ‘Compliance’

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People who are living with mental illness or substance misuse often have difficulty following through with the recommendations suggested by their health care professionals. A frequent example is not taking medications as prescribed, which can mean missing doses or discontinuing the medicine altogether. Other typical scenarios include not keeping follow-up appointments, not completing homework assigned in therapy sessions, and not being mindful of self-care practices such as exercising, eating a healthy diet or getting enough sleep or rest. There are …

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