How well do we understand mental illness?

by Menninger Clinic February 7, 2012

I guess the answer to that question depends on whether you are asking about understanding mental disease or mental illness. Just to clarify: Disease is a diagnostic term used to classify a pathological condition. Illness is more contextual. An illness is the subjective experience that arises from living with a disease. There are many published accounts […]

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Experiences with the paranormal: Differentiating between spirituality and psychopathology

by Menninger Clinic January 30, 2012

Have you ever made a wish that came true? Or considered Fate or Providence to be at play when someone or something entered your life at an opportune time? What about dreaming about an event that intriguingly played out in real life? Have you ever mourned the passing of a loved one, only to inexplicably […]

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Joining forces to heal the invisible wounds of war

by Menninger Clinic January 17, 2012

  With the war in Iraq over, our troops are returning home to their families and communities and attempting to re-integrate themselves into civilian life. It is not an easy task, especially for the increasing number of military with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury and combat-related depression. Many appear to be fine physically, […]

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Mentalizing and machines: Imagining the future of psychotherapy

by Menninger Clinic January 10, 2012

As I read Dr. Allen’s recent blog post “What’s Next? Psychotherapy by iPad?,” I had a few thoughts. I was reminded of the seemingly natural gradiosity that we humans possess in believing that there are certain behaviors that only we can do, or that we do best. I recall reading When Elephants Weep: The Emotional […]

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Top tips for coping with New Year’s

by Menninger Clinic December 31, 2011

So here we are wrapping up 2011. If you believe the TV commercials, movies and all the rest, celebrating the New Year is the best party of the year, one that everyone wants to attend. But surely not everyone can always be in the frame of mind for a party on December 31. I wondered about […]

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All I want for Christmas is the end of stigma

by Menninger Clinic December 22, 2011

‘Tis the season for giving and getting. For many in the military, this “season” has been 10 years in the making. Now that the war in Iraq is officially over, the wishes of many loved ones across the country are coming true with the return of thousands of our brave warriors. While their return will no doubt […]

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What’s next? Psychotherapy by iPad?

by Menninger Clinic December 15, 2011

Current trends in the delivery of mental healthcare bring this question to the fore. We have long known that psychotherapy is a limited resource, plainly inadequate to meet mental health needs. This limitation is true not only of individual psychotherapy but also of all forms of psychotherapy combined: individual, group, couples and family. Not only […]

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Facing the joys and challenges of the holidays

by Menninger Clinic November 30, 2011

  This time of year creates different reactions in people. Most of us are blessed to have family and friends with whom to share the holidays, and are able to celebrate all the things for which we are thankful. It is a joyful time: We travel to be with people we miss and share traditions […]

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What the Occupy Wall Street movement can teach us

by Menninger Clinic November 18, 2011

  It has been more than a month since the demonstrations in New York began, and protests have spread to cities across the country. Occupy Wall Street started as a movement about economic inequality in the country, with the demonstrators’ common refrain, “We are the 99 percent,” referring to the gap between the top one […]

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Depression + anxiety = anxious misery

by Menninger Clinic October 31, 2011

In my last post, “Why can’t we just be neurotic?” I complained about problems applying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders1 (DSM) to patients who suffer with a combination of severe depression and intense anxiety. That is, sometimes we are forced to diagnose depression over anxiety when patients have both. Where do we […]

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