The mental health field is like conjoined twins. Of course one is the evil twin, and the other is nice. But since they’re joined at the hip, life is a struggle. The mental health field has been painfully extracting its humane mission from old school authoritarian and medical thinking, along with a big dose of cruel moralism since ancient history.

Please allow me to offer some encouraging news; constructive innovations in the mental health field. Read more →

The conclusion of the WHO’s Global Forum for Community Mental Health in Geneva last month presented a consensus within the organization for the dissemination of a network of community mental health services among its member states. The Forum sought to address a increasing incidence of disorders related to mental health among developing countries in particular.

According to WHO officials, factors such as demographic change, natural disasters, internal and external conflict and socio-economic conditions have afflicted individuals living in the developing world disproportionately in terms of the mental health disorders these elements have engendered. Read more →

An Indian sage said some 4000 years ago, “There are two classes of disease–bodily and mental. Each arises from the other. Neither can exist without the other. Mental disorders arise from physical ones, and likewise, physical disorders arise from mental ones.” The debate between duality and unity of the mind and body has been going on for centuries. Most conventional medical practitioners treat disease symptoms or the organisms. But others believe in treating the person rather than the disease. They consider that factors such as stress, personality, and the environment play a role in the development of a disease. Read more →

In medicine, we often see patients with chronic neck and back pain. I previously posted about patients who present with neuropathic pain and how they can be some of the most difficult patients to treat. Often, the etiology of their pain is unknown and treatment often involves a long trial and error approach.

Health professionals have always been taught that chronic neck and back pain is a phenomenon of industrialized nations. Read more →

Last month, the U.S. Senate approved what will be known as the Mental Health Parity Bill. This piece of legislation will require group health plans with mental health benefits to offer them at the same level as physical health benefits. The measure does not affect individual insurance plans but only group. This bill certainly destigmatizes mental illness by not allowing mental health to be treated differently by health insurers. Some highlights include having the same deductibles, copayments, number of visits, days of coverage, and annual or lifetime limits as physical illness. It also includes substance abuse treatment. Read more →

Are you reading this at work during your lunch break? Has anyone come into the lunchroom to tell you about the cold they had lately, or their children’s chicken pox, or their aging father’s hip replacement?

I bet this happens quite a bit. Just about everyone talks about these maladies, small and large, fleeting or chronic.

When’s the last time you tossed a “How ya doin’?” at a co-worker, and instead of talking about that flu that just doesn’t seem to go away, she mentioned casually, “Ah, well, I’m going through another depression, don’t you just hate that?” Read more →