Reflections on Psychiatry, Therapy, and Mental Health

Alcoholics Anonymous is a powerful self help movement that over decades has accrued wisdom on how people can help each other. A powerful element is the concept of 'The 12 Steps.' I'd like to borrow from step 4, 'Taking a Moral Inventory,' and see how we might apply this in the ordinary process of counseling. The idea of a moral inventory to the AA member is to enhance self-awareness in a way that promotes growth. Rather than 'moral inventory,' we therapists might consider

Not long ago a colleague chastised me when I somewhat boasted of my ability to do a 10 minute psych. eval. Being chided, of course, I had to explain myself. For years I have taken pride in trying to make the best of whatever. opportunity a patient offers me to be helpful. A striking example is the patient who show up late for an initial evaluation leaving me with only a few minutes to try and make good use of the time. It has always troubled me when some colleagues refuse

How therapists make ethical choices in both in-person and telehealth care—balancing harm, autonomy, privacy, and the risk of self-indulgence. I enjoyed a good conversation the other night on ethics as it applies to mental health treatment. As often happens after a good exchange, I came away from it wanting to enrich my understanding of some of the issues we talked about. Saul Bellow once said, 'how can I know what I think until I see what I write?' With this in mind, here'