We laugh at funerals. We crack jokes during breakups. We make memes about our anxiety. This feels wrong, doesn’t it? Like we’re failing some unwritten emotional etiquette test. Society tells us to match our emotions to our circumstances. Sadness deserves tears, not laughter. Pain requires solemnity, not comedy. But our brains operate on different rules […]

The biggest changes happen quietly. Over my 25 years as a clinical psychologist, I’ve watched mental health care transform in ways most people never notice. The headlines now focus on apps and AI, but the real revolution is happening in therapy rooms and treatment philosophies across the country. It’s a movement from crisis to prevention. […]

We chase pleasure like it’s the ultimate life hack, convinced it holds the secret to happiness. Plot twist: it’s more like chasing your own tail, but with better marketing. Recent Stanford research reveals something fascinating about our brain chemistry. Dopamine and serotonin actually work in opposition. When dopamine jumps up in response to rewards, serotonin […]

Your heart pounds. Your breath quickens. Excitement or fear? Your body cannot tell the difference. After two decades of clinical practice, I’ve watched countless people struggle with anxiety, panic, and overwhelming stress responses. They describe racing hearts, sweaty palms, and that familiar surge of energy coursing through their bodies. What fascinates me is how identical […]

The mental health system has a brutal efficiency problem. It sorts people into neat diagnostic categories, then wonders why complex cases slip through the cracks. I’ve watched this play out for over 20 years in clinical practice. The pathway is too rigid. People don’t fit into separated, condition-specific referral systems. Take someone with later-life autism […]

Your Boss Has More Influence Over Your Mental Health Than Your Therapist That statement might feel uncomfortable. We’re conditioned to think mental health support comes from clinical settings, qualified professionals, and therapeutic relationships. The data tells a different story. Research reveals that managers impact workers’ mental health more significantly than doctors or therapists. A comprehensive […]

The Foundation Work No One Talks About The most exhausting work we do to try and manage our emotional health is often completely invisible. We can spend enormous amounts of energy ‘pushing away’ difficult thoughts, emotions and physical responses to the world around us, managing our responses to stress, and trying to appear functional at […]

The couch never asked for much. Just your body, your attention, and your willingness to let the world happen around you while you stayed safely tucked away. But something fundamental changed in how we seek comfort. The question isn’t whether community replaced the couch. It’s whether we finally understood what real comfort actually requires. I’ve […]