News and Insights

The aim of this organization is to teach people the skills to help themselves. At Basic Steps Mental Health, we understand that we cannot fix anybody, that that isn’t our job, the real fixing comes from each person. However, without the proper tools and mindset, any tools learned will fail. In the book “Self Helping” by myself, I step a person through many tools that help us on four levels:...

I recently read the book Buddhism 101 by the Dalai Lama and noticed a lot of similarities with psychology. What struck me was their belief that everything in life is just an illusion. Something happens, it goes through our filter, and we make it either good or bad. Therefore, fine-tuning our filter to how the Buddhists urge – seeing each person’s “loving essence” can free us from frustration,...

Whether it be from an illness, ailment, or something life-threatening, the most important healing aspect is you. We are very powerful Beings and it is our thoughts that can heal us or destroy us. Working through something serious can be used as an opportunity to heal yourself not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The first step is getting in touch with your body,...

Do people heal? This question was asked of me when I started working at a luxury treatment facility in Malibu. The nighttime supervisor only saw warehousing of clients and no recovery up to that point. My reply was, “Just watch.” Unfortunately, my clients were healing too quickly and this didn’t fit my boss’s treatment philosophy, so I was let go. I guess it is a bad business model to...

This is a subject I hold true to my heart. This is what brought me to therapy and this road I am currently on. Is anxiety bad? No, far from it. Anxiety alerts the system that something is wrong. Anxiety is a great teacher if you are willing to learn from it. Oh yes, our society tries to shut anxiety down. Drinking, other substances, and even Psychiatric medicine can numb its call, but if you...

A crisis takes place when problems are too much for you to handle. Often people experience panic attacks at this time where the heart races, you feel short of breath, and think you will faint. There are a special set of tools you can use at this time to calm yourself down. At times of crisis, our brains don’t have access to logical thought so please keep things simple. Here are the top ten...

When I write mental health articles, I try to stay as neutral as possible. For therapists, we treat people that often have opposing viewpoints to our own, and for me personally, I learn so much from the other person’s point of view, which makes each day rich and an opportunity to search my own self for my rationale in taking certain positions. Often, I post the first draft of something I’ve...

What is an addiction? An addiction is something that you are compelled to do and find it almost impossible to stop. I know this isn’t the clinical definition, but simply put this explains it. Not all addictions are bad. Addiction to exercise, a healthy diet, personal growth work, education, and helping out humanity are positive addictions. At the extreme, as in most things, even the great...

If you suffer from depression, it can be debilitating. No energy, no motivation, feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless. Even when I was working with megastars in Malibu who was well known around the world, even they would feel this way. One day I was shocked when one told me, “I want what you have – your peace”. How do we get the peace we desire? How does energy come back? How does...

On May 1st, 2021 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 PM we are going to conduct an open discussion on the problems that confront you. Learn some innovative techniques, get some things off your chest, and get support from others that are on the call. This is a departure from the normal format Basic Steps Mental Health normally provides. On this day we go into the trenches with you, see what is going on in...