Kids can teach us many things if we let them: how to play and have fun, relax more, get dirty, avoid homework yet also persevere, be compassionate and open-minded, and how to improve our emotional regulation. Today we are blessed … read more
Category: Optimizing Mental Health: Self-help, Exercise, Wellness, and Resilience
Pulling weeds and psychotherapy: What do self-exploration, self-discovery, and gardening have in common?
As winter dredges on I find myself beginning to think about spring and the joys of planting a garden. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year, where life grows out of everything that appears dead. Buds pop … read more
To good to be true? An effective goal setting process you can sustain even when motivation is lagging. Learn how!
It’s hard to sustain effort over time. Sometimes it’s easier to get started than it is to keep going. This happens all the time with New Year’s Resolutions…if you belong to a gym you are well aware of the crowds … read more
Writing SMART Goals Makes Achieving Your Dreams Possible.
Without setting goals, we may never achieve what it is we dream. Dreams are an endpoint and don’t include the steps to take to get there. The goals we decide to work on take thought and planning to increase the … read more
Achieve Your Dreams! A Series on the Importance of Setting Goals
Goals are part of every aspect of life and achieving them comes down to priorities and proper planning. Without setting goals and objectives, life becomes a series of chaotic events that feel out of your control. This series will walk … read more
Feeling stuck in life? Instructions from a psychiatrist on how to live the life you love
As cliche as New Year’s resolutions sound, they are an important reminder to stop and take the time to reassess our dreams and life goals. If we are feeling stuck in life, or even uninspired, we have the opportunity to … read more
Want to Motivate Behavior Change in Others? Apply Motivational Interviewing Techniques to General Life
Motivation is the fuel needed for change. Without it, it is difficult to create the inertia to move past status quo. People often gravitate to what is known rather than the unknown and live in a state of being comfortably … read more
A Preschool Book Reveals the Secret to a Happy Life for Us All…Yup, It’s That Good
Well done, author Michael Hall. I am impressed. Red: A Crayon’s Story takes the complicated subject of living authentically and successfully sums it up in a story about a mislabeled crayon who discovers the secret to a happy life. In … read more
“Embrace the Suck” How the Power of Positive Thinking Can Turn Your Day Around
Tonight, on the way home from work I was sitting in stopped traffic, wet from being caught in a downpour, and feeling hungry. I wasn’t super excited about my predicament until I noticed the bumper sticker on the car in … read more
What is Self-Respect?
WHAT IS SELF-RESPECT? In my profession, I see lots of people who feel broken. Some have been struggling for years with depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc…. but others are broken because they are afraid to be themselves. I wish I had … read more