Meditations for Black Men is on sale!
Hello all!
I’m writing here after quite some time to update you on the release of my newest title Meditations for Black Men. My audiobook meditation program is now available for sale wherever books are sold!
This latest offering is a continuation of my series on Black men, and my goal of helping men feel seen in a health and wellness space where we aren’t often valued or represented.
You can buy a copy for yourself, or a loved one, by clicking the button below!
And if you’d like to keep up with more of my thoughts and personal essays, please visit my newsletter where I post more routine updates.
Calm Harm App Helps Teens Cope with Urges to Self-Harm
This post generally discusses self-harm and suicide prevention.
As a therapist, I know that some people live with periodic thoughts of self-harm or suicidal ideation. It's a topic that doesn't get a lot of mainstream attention, likely due to how dark the subject matter is and how it forces many of us to come face-to-face with our feelings around mortality.
Often, thoughts of suicide and self-harm are characteristics associated with a diagnosed mental health condition, however that is not always the case. There can be a variety of circumstances that may lead someone to consider self-injurious behavior. Most often, however, it involves seeking relief from overwhelming negative emotions.
Self-harm is not a healthy choice and that is likely why Dr. Krause worked with developers to create Calm Harm app which helps those with thoughts of self-harm to practice healthier coping behaviors.
This UK-based app not only provides concrete, in the moment strategies to cope with urges to self-harm but also gives the user an opportunity to track their moods over time. This Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) based app is easy to use and can help reduce urges in the moment. It also provides resources within the app for those who may need further support.
Users can choose between four tracks to help them battle self-harm urges in the moment:
Comfort - which helps a person use care-taking skills
Distract - helps practice self-control by temporarily focusing on something other than the current thoughts of harm
Express - helps a person express difficult thoughts or feelings & connect with more balanced feelings
Release - otherwise provides safe alternative to self-injury
Calm Harm app is available for download for on Google Play and the iTunes store.
Helping Adopted Children of Color Address Issues of Race and Discrimination
Interracial, or transracial, adoption has grown in popularity in recent years As such, many families with adopted children find themselves having to learn new ways of supporting children of color in a world where they face regular prejudice and discrimination.
Pepperdine University's online Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology program has recently released some tips to help White parents better support their adopted children of color as they learn about race, prejudice and discrimination.
In the original article, there are five primary charges for parents of adopted children of color:
- Create a safe space for children to talk openly about experiences related to race and discrimination
- Help ensure that your child feels as safe as possible, especially in their home and family unit
- Share your own feelings but moderate the intensity to focus your efforts on supporting your child
- Empathize, validate and support their feelings and thoughts about the incident(s)
- Take action and empower your children to speak up
To learn more about transracial adoption and helping adopted children of color, you may view the full, original article here: Empowering Adopted Children of Color in the Face of Racism and Discrimination.
GayWrites Talks Being LGBT & in Therapy
Therapy is often a confusing and difficult process for a lot of people. The biggest part of the battle for some folks in just getting in the door. And if you identify as LGBTQ+ you may also have to consider if you are able to find an affirmative provider. When I came across the video from YouTube creator GayWrites below, I thought it would be a good clip to share here. In this 7+ minuted clip you'll get a sense of what kinds of therapy are out there and how you might go about finding, and paying for therapy.
Check it out below!
An Inviting Look at Overcoming Despair and Living with Hope
When you're living with mental illness, the world can seem like a dark and hopeless place. As a therapist, I find inspiration in the stories of resilience in not only my own clients, but in others who share with the world at large. It is this kind of sharing that helps to chip away at the crippling stigma that any of us feel when we struggle to say, "I am not okay."
This sense of despair and lack of hope is somethings that's so appropriately engaged in Dennis C. Miller's memoir, Moppin' Floors to CEO: From Hopelessness and Failure to Happiness and Success.As the title suggest, this book is an epic story of odyssean proportions. As a young man living in New Jersey, Miller struggled with an abusive father. As is often the case with children of abuse, Miller struggled with depression in his younger years, trying his best to move throughout live despite his tumultuous family life. He suffered to feel good about himself and struggled in school. Many didn't notice that he was suffering. It was the abuse that also led Miller trying to kill his father. The depression led him to hospitalization at the age of 20. This intervention, it seems, was the moment in which Miller's life changed forever.
This doesn't mean that Miller's life was without more bumps in the road. Further self-deprecation and difficulties at work are hallmarks of Miller's story. Through it all, he somehow powers his way through all life's challenges.In Moppin' Floors to CEO, Miller talks openly about his time in treatment. Throughout his life, he comes to terms with the value of therapy and credits his investment in therapy as critical to his success. He reminisces fondly of his therapists, the people who served as beacons of light throughout his various life stages. For Miller, it seems there is no place in stigma when it comes to mental health care. He has lived and reaped the benefits of engaging in therapy and he has a successful career and loving family to show for it.
The beauty in Miller's story is not just the trajectory of his life and the bumps in the road, it is also his simplicity and undeniable charm that makes Moppin' Floors to CEO such a gem. Miller's story is accessible. It is a new, untold American story that few have heard before.Through it all, the journey with Miller is an enjoyable one and the pay off is powerful. In the end pages of his incredible story, it's easy to feel the reality of a man musing about his life's work and his family. His revelations about hope and health are compelling, even when they are not explicitly expressed. Miller's voice is strikingly clear and for anyone who is seeking hope in living a full life when faced with mental illness, Miller's story is a much-needed antidote to shame and hopelessness.
You can learn more about Dennis C. Miller and his work at his website DennisCMiller.com.