Sometimes the problem is…ME?

by Menninger Clinic March 9, 2010

The good news and bad news about the fight against stigma is that we’ve come a long way but have a long way yet to go. The dark days of the Salem witch trails and huge, prison-like institutions for the “insane” are thankfully behind us, yet we continue to struggle with marginal insurance coverage for […]

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Practicing what we preach: the mental health of mental health professionals

by Menninger Clinic March 5, 2010

“We are the tools of our trade,” declared Laurie Pearlman and Kay Saakvitne in their book Trauma and the Therapist. Plainly, our capacity to provide mental health care rests on our own mental health. No doubt, we are in an emotionally hazardous occupation. Therapists who treat traumatized patients are subjected to vicarious trauma as they […]

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22 ways to develop a more positive attitude

by Menninger Clinic March 2, 2010

I came across this list of keys to leading a more positive lifestyle from the National Health Service of Scotland. I then went through the list to see how many I actually follow: Talk about your feelings. Nope. Write it down. Nope. (Although it occurs to me I am doing this exercise, so….) Keep active. […]

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What’s become of sin?

by Menninger Clinic February 26, 2010

Karl Menninger was a title maven. When I served as editor of the Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, I routinely went to his office with a list of ponderous titles of manuscripts we had accepted for publication. He went through them one by one, tightening them up and putting them into plain English. His book […]

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Why I love Dr. Drew: part 1

by Menninger Clinic February 23, 2010
Thumbnail image for Why I love Dr. Drew: part 1

I have a confession to make. I love watching Dr. Drew. (If there’s anyone left out there who doesn’t know, Dr. Drew is Drew Pinsky, MD, a noted addiction medicine specialist and faculty member at USC’s medical school. Whether he’s being interviewed on CNN or appearing on his VH1 shows Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew […]

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Biomania: a protest

by Menninger Clinic February 19, 2010

I’ve adopted the term biomania to refer to what I see as excessive enthusiasm for an exclusively biological approach to understanding and treating psychiatric disorders. As a psychologist who practices psychotherapy, I share enthusiasm for neurobiological understanding, and I am grateful for effective biological treatments that help patients make good use of psychotherapy. I am […]

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In praise of treatment

by Menninger Clinic February 15, 2010

If you are a well-known personality, rumors follow you everywhere, some true, some not so true. As an open and curious society, we are in the habit of attempting to analyze people’s lives from afar and in public. This spectator sport sells magazines, fuels talk shows and satisfies a certain voyeuristic need.  Celebrities sign up […]

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Why everyone’s an armchair psychologist

by Menninger Clinic February 11, 2010

You read countless news stories about human deeds, ranging from horrific—snipers, arsonists, suicide bombers—to heroic—rescues of all sorts, an airline pilot landing safely on a river. Quite often, you can’t help wondering:  What were they thinking and feeling? You speculate. You’re an armchair psychologist. We all are, professional psychologists included. What makes it possible To […]

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Q: Mind or Body? A: Yes!

by Menninger Clinic February 3, 2010

One of the leading organizations in the fight against stigma regarding mental illness is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). It stresses that mental illnesses are medical conditions: “Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary […]

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A new golden rule for our times

by Menninger Clinic January 29, 2010

“I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!” Fans of Saturday Night Live will recognize this as the signature quote of Stuart Smalley, the woebegone counselor created by Al Franken (now U.S. Senator Franken!). The brilliance of comedy such as this is that it captures a fundamental truth, in this case, […]

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