Caution: Mental Health Blog Ahead

A Guide for Reading a Mental Health Blog, Safely

I decided it may be helpful to breakdown some big ideas into smaller bite-sized reads that my clients (and anyone else who may find them useful) could access as a reference. Writing about mental health topics is a tricky business. I've decided to include some disclaimers.

Useful Pointers

• These posts are in no way a substitute for professional mental help.

• I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and have years of experience, but I can still be wrong as, sadly, I am but human. If you find a mistake please let me know!

• Information in scientific fields can change over time as new research unveils misunderstandings we may have had. That means it is possible posts I make may become outdated. If you catch a mistake - again please let me know.

• It is unlikely that every post will apply directly to you and your life. I try to covered quite a lot of ground here on purpose. 

• These posts are short and do not include everything on any specific topic.

• I highly encourage you to use this opportunity to find concepts that interest you and find more sources to learn about them. Just know not all sources are created equal. The black hole of the internet can do damage if you do not check to make sure you are using reputable information sources. 

• Examples can be instrumental in helping understand a concept. They can also be incredible distractions if I choose the wrong one for the specific person I am talking to. The examples given are often one of possibly millions of ways these concepts could play out. They are meant to help expand and not limit your ability to apply these ideas. 

• You could attempt to master skills I share here. It does not mean they will “work” for you. What works for one person may not work for someone else - or even have the same result on a different day of the week. We need multiple skills to respond to life with flexibility, openness, and curiosity.
  

Specifically about the Vignettes (Fictional Short Stories)

• Posts that say "Vignette" are completely fictional short stories meant to help illustrate a topic discussed in a post. They are more for entertainment than anything.

• A disclaimer about names and situations. I used a name generator for my character names in an attempt to avoid any potential connection with any person or character I’ve known or imagined before. Any resemblance to a known situation or person is coincidental. 

• Please note that not all of the characters in these vignettes are handling their situations ‘perfectly’ even when using tools I propose. Using any new skill takes practice and not all of these guys have done their practicing. The characters speaking are generally not professional counselors either. Meaning, they may say things that I, as a professional counselor, would not say. These are works of fiction that add to the concepts of the chapters. The vignettes are not meant to be taken as instruction manuals. 

I hope to inspire you to want to learn and grow - and to never stop growing. I want to teach you that these subjects exist and encourage you to find resources that have more detailed information about the topics that matter most to you. I hope you find something useful here.