One of the most impactful theories to psychology has been attachment theory. In fact, it was attachment theory that made psychoanalysis move away from Freud’s drive theory (the idea that our primary motivation is to meet our animalistic drives) into a more relational theory (the idea that our primary motivation is relational and the need to connect to and “be seen” as our full selves by others).
Continue reading “Books for a Better Love Life”Making Therapy Affordable: Therapy Scholarships for Young Adults
Mental Health’s Affordability Problem
Therapy (and healthcare in general) is often prohibitively expensive in the U.S.. This can be attributed to a broken system where insurance CEO profits are subsidized by rising patient premiums and stagnant provider reimbursement rates.
Due to unethical actions by insurance companies like United Healthcare’s wrongful denial of coverage to thousands of mental health claims, administrative phone mazes, and control over how treatment is provided, mental health practitioners are some of the healthcare providers least likely to take insurance. This makes clients’ search for culturally-responsive and specialized clinicians even more difficult, since seeing a generalist who’s not the right fit can end up being more unhelpful than beneficial.
Continue reading “Making Therapy Affordable: Therapy Scholarships for Young Adults”Black and Brown Success and Mental Health
Many BIPOC professionals struggle with the mental health burden of having more access to resources and becoming successful. In some cases, they may be one of the first people in their family to have reached a certain level of social mobility.
The black tax stands out as one such mental health stressor of achieving more social mobility. BIPOC professionals often find themselves paying to either support struggling family members domestically or abroad. This support doesn’t necessarily have to be material or financial, as it can also take the form of time donated to be caregivers or first responders for multigenerational or extended family. It’s also (with exceptions) usually not the type of support that’s the result of any coercive cultural expectation that a reactive individualism will solve.
Continue reading “Black and Brown Success and Mental Health”Unlearning Burnout Culture
Productivity as Obedience
A mentor of mine recently said that preschool children are able to be honest about their needs and feelings because they haven’t been socialized yet. (Why else would a toddler proudly announce a poop? This is a true story of a small family member, by the way.) Socialized into what? Socialized to be productive, to be well-behaved, and to follow the expectations to belong to the larger fabric of society. If I go out on a larger limb, the stakes to meet those expectations also hinge on the need to be loved and to be considered “worthwhile”.
While developmental psychologists would say that it’s important to affirm and develop our unique interests, talents, and the ability to meaningfully contribute “love and work” in the world (in whichever form that work takes), much of modern work culture has descended into productivity as obedience, or even worse, survival. For some, internalizing burnout culture is about financial survival; and for others in more financially stable jobs, it’s burnout for the sake of professional survival.
Continue reading “Unlearning Burnout Culture”The Great Resignation: An HR Problem or a Revolution?
Forbes recently published an article titled “What Leaders Can Learn From the Great Resignation” outlining some reflections on what leaders can do to attract and keep talent. TLDR; Their insights boiled down to the following:
Continue reading “The Great Resignation: An HR Problem or a Revolution?”