Emotional Healing 101
Every Psychological approach has its own theory of healing. Take Behavioral Psychology, for example, here it is believed that doing the correct behaviors will heal you. The 12 Steps of AA is based on this. Reality Therapy is one behavioral approach where the focus is creating a plan of action and follow it to a tee. This helps individuals focus on doing the right behaviors to heal. More or...Learn More
Bridging the Aisles
I have hesitated writing about my viewpoints on the political atmosphere in this country for many reasons. First of all, I am a therapist and not a Political Scientist. I don’t have any knowledge of politics at all but have sure been learning an earful through my clientele. Secondly, I am in this profession to empower people in making the best choices they can for themselves. People are the...Learn More
Relapse Prevention
Relapse prevention, just the name itself leads to relapse because the mind focuses only on the word Relapse. To coin a more proper term, perhaps “Sobriety Maintenance”, though the term Sobriety can have negative overtones. Is there another way to describe the process of stopping addiction and living life healthy and functional? Oh, I’ve heard the slogan: “Just say no!” or the phrases from AA...Learn More
Depression Treatment Workshop
Basic Steps Mental Health is conducting another Zoom Meeting to help people get through the difficulties in their life through self-help tools. A little knowledge can go a long way, a lot of knowledge can help you thrive. Our program teaches people the Spiritual Psychology approach. No, it is not some voodoo, but a clinical approach that mixes and matches 10 of the top Psychological...Learn More
Teaching the Old Dog New Tricks
When I was in graduate school, they asked us to create our own theory of healing. With 200 plus students, you can only imagine the responses. I didn’t take it seriously, wanted to be my silly self and took in my life-sized stuffed bear as a prop. Luckily my fellow students were kind as I sang out The Bear Necessities of Healing. Twenty-some odd years later I have thought in depth about this...Learn More
The Mental Health Minute
In being asked to be on KRKO Radio and share my psychological knowledge, I felt excited, like a little kid! I grew up watching the TV show Frasier and always thought it would be fun to be a radio talk show host in Seattle myself. Okay, so this isn’t a radio talk show, but still, a minute seemed like a good start. Helping people seems natural to me and the thought of reaching more people at a...Learn More
How to Choose One of Our Programs
Choosing the type of treatment you go through is very important because there are many factors to consider. How much time can you devote to treatment, are there financial and insurance constraints? Bottom line, the real issue is properly addressing the problems you are dealing with. I have a friend that is a dentist and he tells people that you can play with it and go the cheap route or you...Learn More
Stretching Your Comfort Zone
With the pandemic continuing and people basically sequestered at home, it is easy to get into repetitive habits that can be hard to break. After months of doing the same patterns, doing something different, to shake up the routine, can be difficult, but is an important part of maintaining good mental health. However, this takes energy and if you haven’t pushed yourself in a long time, you...Learn More
The Benefits of Intensive Outpatient Treatment
If you need treatment for an addiction or a mood disorder and have been considering attending residential treatment, there is another option – Intensive Outpatient Treatment. Let’s be honest, it can be humiliating packing up your bags, leaving home, and being confined in a facility that limits your phone calls, computer access, and freedom. Oh yes, some of the residential facilities are very...Learn More