News and Insights

It takes effort to be happy. Basic Steps Towards Happiness is obtained through desire, effort, and overcoming the internal and external forces that create unhappiness. What makes you happy may work one day, but the next… not so much. In knowing the tools to improve your mood can make all the difference in the world to brighten your mood and bring enjoyment to your life. What Blocks You From...

It can be humiliating to pack up your bags, leave your home, and be confined in a residential treatment program, locked away from the world and stuck in an environment with other people who don’t want to be there. Let’s face it – who wants to undergo treatment for addiction or their mental health because it shows everybody “I have failed in my efforts”. Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)...

Do you know how to help somebody? It would be easier if they allowed us to help that is for sure. The truth of the matter is, we have no control over another person – that’s their job. It is a frustrating fact for us professionals who want to help but in all actuality realize we can’t fix them at all. The real opportunity for us is to fix ourselves. This was the premise of my graduate school....

When you hide away from others to avoid ridicule, whether it is from suffering from mental illness or having problems with addiction it is important to take the proper action and quickly to come out of the shadows. The majority of the people entering our program reported experiencing a lot of shame and hid their behavior so they didn’t have to defend themselves. When something is drastically...

How Do We Care For Our Emotions? This is a common topic at our monthly FREE workshops. We want to take this moment to thank everybody who attended our recent training and those who have attended in the past. Their honesty, effort, and compassion make every even memorable and life-changing. Who taught you how to address anxiety, sadness, and overwhelm? For many, it isn’t taught at school, by...

How do you help people who seek your counsel? Beyond all the tools and techniques, there is one element that you may be overlooking – your attitude. When your attitude is one of compassion, healing takes place. I recall a conversation I had with my father regarding sales. He told me to find something about them you have in common. As you meet a client, find something about them you like. If...

My grandmother used to say the real relationship begins when warts show up. Then what? Do we run and hide, or do we use the situation as an opportunity to grow as a person? Relationship Dynamics There are many dynamics taking place simultaneously in relationships. The foremost is basically one family system is bucking up against another. Both partners bring with them the rule system of their...

A Return to My Roots In the late 1980s, I began my personal growth journey by attending a 2 1/2 day workshop presented by Insight Seminars. This training opened my eyes to not only to Psychology but realizing emotions can be healed. Up to that point, I played make believe that I was “fine”. I attended training for all the wrong reasons, however, what I found instead scared and wounded me....

The American Heritage® Dictionary defines addiction (ə-dĭkˈshən) as: The compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance: a drug used in the treatment of heroin addiction. An instance of this: a person with multiple chemical addictions. The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something. Habitual Patterns When a habit is...

As the clinical director of Basic Steps Mental Health, I have the honor of meeting with an incredible staff daily and talk about the clients we treat. We are a bunch of people who have gone through treatment in the past, dealt with our mental illness and tend to see things from the client’s perspective. This type of staff has some great advantages because we have been there, have gotten...