Life – Basic Steps Mental Health

What’s the Point?

Scott Alpert — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:57:26 +0000

“What’s the point?” said a client to me the other day. How about you? How many times have you felt like giving up? I have found that people with a history of things not going their way assume that everything in their life will go bad. But this doesn’t have to be the case. What […]

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Nine Life Lessons

Scott Alpert — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:00:05 +0000

Thirty-two years. That’s how long I have been in this industry. It is hard to believe I lasted so long. You either sink or swim. I remember being fired for healing the clients too quickly at one facility in Malibu. Strange but true. Fortunately, it inspired me, and I vowed to open up my own […]

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So, You Want to Help People?

Scott Alpert — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 08:06:12 +0000

I learned, on my first day in graduate school, that I couldn’t fix people. Frustrated, I had to find another strategy to help myself feel better. At that time, emotionally, I felt broken and tried to win the hearts of people so they would not hurt me. You see, I came from years of childhood […]

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I Am Upset Because…

Scott Alpert — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:58:13 +0000

Have you ever considered that what you see is make-believe? That people aren’t causing you upset, but you are? Oh, this is radical thinking because it is contrary to our beliefs. This person made you feel bad, but actually, this person did something; that experience went into the central hub of your brain—which we call […]

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Is Boredom a Problem?

Scott Alpert — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 15:36:02 +0000

We do a fun exercise in our Intensive Outpatient Program called “The Wall.” Taken from Pink Floyd’s The Wall, our participants are asked to tell the group what stops them from living a happy and prosperous life. After each participant tells us their problem, we have them bring their chair to the front of the […]

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Managing a Crisis

Scott Alpert — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:00:57 +0000

When situations are too much to handle, it is natural to feel overwhelmed, shut down, panic, and regress to a childish state. If you ever have felt like this before you are not alone – one out of five people suffer from conditions that warrant serious treatment, but how many actually get the help they […]

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Out of Control

Scott Alpert — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 11:50:20 +0000

We have no control over anything. Not our children, the dog, people at work, or the neighbors that are driving you crazy. This is because each person is in control of themselves. We have a very powerful mind and our mind determines our actions “and” nobody has access to another person’s inner workings but themselves. […]

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Why Are We Here?

Scott Alpert — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 16:14:26 +0000

Our eyes open, there are people peering at us, and all we can do is look back. We are a helpless child trying to make sense of the world upon our birth. Not able to think, all a baby can do is observe, but as we grow, our brain wires, and suddenly we have the […]

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Ending of a Year Beginning of the Next

Scott Alpert — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 16:26:47 +0000

How was your year? Did you accomplish what you wanted? Another year down and another one is about to start. Such is life. The ultimate question is, what did you learn? Since life is all about trial and error, if we fail to learn from failures, we are destined to repeat them. And, if you […]

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A Heart Felt Thank You

Scott Alpert — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 17:29:21 +0000

12 years ago I moved up to this area to open up a residential treatment facility unlike any other. No, not another 12-step facility, mine was using clinical psychology with a smattering of spirituality which had incredible success at the first Mental Health Urgent Care Center in the country. The residential facility had a pretty […]

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