by Jeff Clark, MD | Mar 1, 2021 | Do Less, Goals, Values
This week I listed all my priorities, and decided that this blog was number 9. (Really number 14 if I enumerate out the members of my immediate family and my “real” jobs.) What beat it out? Improving my spirituality, my relationships with family and friends, my work...
by Jeff Clark, MD | Feb 22, 2021 | Ambivalence, Baby Steps, Behaviorism
Why do we do what we do? Because it makes sense. Our actions may not be fully aligned with our long-term goals. But in the moment, there is a reason for what we do. We may want to feel better or avoid immediate pain. We may do something we’ve always done without...
by Jeff Clark, MD | Feb 15, 2021 | Baby Steps, Brain, Cognitive Fusion/Defusion, Values, Vision
Cognitive fusion is a powerful observation that comes from acceptance and commitment therapy. In essence, cognitive fusion describes times when our thoughts become “fused” with our beliefs, preventing us from acting in a way that enriches our lives. In short, it’s a...
by Jeff Clark, MD | Feb 8, 2021 | Addiction, Ambivalence, Baby Steps, Brain
Mental health is complex. The brain is an intricate structure that we don’t understand well. And when it interacts with culture, relationships, life experience, stressors, trauma, and all the other usual and unusual parts of life, we’re bound to encounter complexity....
by Jeff Clark, MD | Feb 1, 2021 | Goals, Models, Psychotherapy
Good measurement may be the single-most underestimated intervention in mental health. I was reminded of this recently with a patient I was treating. This patient had experienced minimal response to medication changes, and I had suspected from the beginning that life...
