Mental Health

Mental Health @ Home book review: The Anxious Perfectionist

Book Review: The Anxious Perfectionist

The Anxious Perfectionist by Clarissa W. Ong and Michael P. Twohig uses an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) approach to help readers who struggle with perfectionism. I’m a big fan of ACT, and I think it makes a great approach for perfectionism. The book begins by exploring what perfectionism is, including the differences between adaptive …

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Setting goals as endpoints vs. identifying valued directions to head in

Setting Goals vs. Identifying Valued Directions

Goal-setting is a popular thing; plug it into Google search, and there are billions of hits. But is goal-setting always the best approach? Maybe identifying and heading in valued directions can be a good alternative some of the time, especially if something like mental illness is making the whole goals thing difficult. Valued directions in …

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Mental Health @ Home book review: Pocket Therapy by Sarah Crosby book cover

Book Review: Pocket Therapy

Pocket Therapy by Sarah Crosby takes readers on a journey of self-discovery to find ways to feel happier and more confident. The author is a therapist with a large Instagram following (@themindgeek), and the paperback version of the book comes in a square shape Ć  la Instagram. The reviewer copy I got didn’t have graphics, …

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Mental Health @ Home book review: Healing by Thomas Insel

Book Review: Healing by Thomas Insel

Healing by Thomas Insel, the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), explores what’s wrong with the mental health care system and why there are so often poor outcomes for people with mental illness. While he characterized the current system as broken, he expressed hope that there are ways to fix it, …

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Mental Health @ Home book review: Super Simple CBT

Book Review: Super Simple CBT

Super Simple CBT by Matthew McKay, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning provides a quick and easy introduction to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). While it addresses depression and anxiety, it’s not diagnosis-specific; rather, it provides strategies that are useful for dealing with difficult thoughts and emotions in general. The book consists of six chapters, one devoted …

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Mental health care: The case for investment

Mental Health: The Economic Case for Investment

Investing in mental health care and workplace mental health programs takes money, and in the short term, that can be an obvious deterrent. However, it can really pay off in the longer term. A number of organizations have each put together solid economic cases for investment in mental health, and this post will take a …

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Exploring of the incel phenomenon: image of male and female genes and a psy symbol

Exploring the Psychology of the Incel Phenomenon

The incel (a portmanteau of “involuntary celibate”) phenomenon, at least in its present incarnation, has emerged in the last decade and a bit. It’s come into the public eye through acts of violence committed by the likes of Elliot Rodger (in 2014 in Isla Vista, California) and Alek Minassian (in 2018 in Toronto, Ontario). Misogyny, …

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