10 Tips to Become a World-Class Listener

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For over 25 years I taught graduate students how to provide counseling and psychotherapy to address a wide array of mental health and emotional conditions. I was always quick to tell the students that one of the most important keys to helping people is to become a great listener. Unless you first really listen to someone and gain a clear understanding of their situation, history, current concerns and future goals, you won’t be a fully effective helper. I’ve become increasingly …

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What Are Your Communication Values?

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When I first jumped into public writing and social media many years ago, I didn’t give much thought to specific values guiding my work. I just knew I wanted to talk about how to help others improve their mental health and wellness, drawing from my many years of experience as a clinical psychologist. But after a short period of time, I stopped to consider what the overall values are which drive my communications. Here’s what I came up with, and …

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10 Simple Things You Need to ‘Get’ for Better Health

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We’re all looking for the same things: peace of mind, health, happiness, and contentment. And probably a little more wisdom wouldn’t hurt either. It’s easy to become overwhelmed from the barrage of self-improvement messages from health and wellness experts, such as “sculpt those six-pack abs,” “overhaul your diet,” or “get a new attitude.” While some (but certainly not all) of this advice can be sound and helpful, let’s not forget some of the very simple steps we can take on a …

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7 Points of Hope to Reclaim Your Life from Mental Illness

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If you or someone you care about has been affected by mental health concerns, trauma, mental illness, or addiction: …you may feel hopeless, overwhelmed, and exhausted. …you may not fully understand what you are going through. …you may think life is unfair or that you are being punished. …you may believe it’s all your fault or blame someone else for your difficulties. …you may withdraw from others and keep your struggles a secret. …you may be afraid or ashamed to …

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Take the Advocacy Aptitude Quiz

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What do Martin Luther King, Jr., Bill and Melinda Gates, Susan B. Anthony, and Rosalynn Carter all have in common? They are all known for their outstanding advocacy, in the areas of civil rights (King), world hunger and poverty (Gates), women’s rights (Anthony), and mental health (Carter). Although these famous icons have helped bring about positive change on a national or global scale, all of us can be effective advocates for many different causes to improve society and the human …

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8 Reasons Why People Don’t Get Treatment for Mental Illness

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It’s probably no big surprise that many people with mental health issues don’t readily seek treatment for their concerns. But how widespread is this pattern? A report by the World Health Organization reviewed rates of psychiatric treatment usage across 37 research studies. The findings are unbelievable. Between 30 and 80 percent of people with mental health concerns never receive treatment. From this analysis, the average non-treatment rates for specific disorders were: schizophrenia (32%), bipolar disorder (50%), panic disorder (55%), major …

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Deciphering Your DSM Diagnosis

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If you’ve ever heard the terms “OCD,” “PTSD,” or “ADHD,” you probably know they’re all abbreviations for mental health diagnoses. Respectively, they stand for “obsessive-compulsive disorder,” “post-traumatic stress disorder” and “attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.” No wonder we tend to use the abbreviations since the complete descriptions are quite a mouthful. These diagnostic terms (and over two hundred others!) are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, Text Revision, better known as the “DSM-5-TR,” but often referred …

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How Do You Diagnose a Mental Illness?

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I’m often asked a lot of questions about how mental illnesses are diagnosed. What’s the diagnostic process? How is a specific diagnosis determined? Are diagnoses helpful or harmful? Let’s try to address some of these frequently asked questions now. How are mental illnesses diagnosed? The word diagnosis is defined in two different ways. It not only means “the act of identifying a disease, illness, or problem by examining someone” but it also refers to “a statement or conclusion that describes …

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