Category Archives: Mental Health
Who’s Responsible for Your Healing?
Social media abounds with admonitions that “You are responsible for your healing,” as if well-being is an individual choice and lack of it is a character flaw. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) perspective, healing is about understanding how our experiences, … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health
Tagged healing, Interpersonal Neurobilology, IPNB, responsibility
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My Manufactured Mental Health Crisis
On June 12, 2018, seven years ago today, I sat in the office of ChristianaCare psychologist Dr. Alan L. Schwartz and told him I had been triggered by unexpected contact with my mother. I told him I had cut myself … Continue reading
Beyond Diagnosis: What Children of Parents with Mental Illness Really Need
According to an article from Neuroscience News, a new study confirms that children of parents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are at a significantly higher risk of developing mental health issues than peers whose parents do not have these diagnoses. … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Mental Health
Tagged bipolar disorder, interpersonal neurobiology, intervention, IPNB, schizophrenia, stuidy, support
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Tripping on Power: Elon Musk’s Altered States of Influence
What Happens When a Billionaire Mixes Drugs with Far-Right Ideology? Continue reading
Posted in IPNB of Hierarchy, Mental Health
Tagged abuse, Drug abuse, Elon Musk, grandiosity, hierarchy, ketamine, power
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Medicalized Trauma: ChristianaCare’s Behavioral Health Fail
Seven years ago today, I first met with Alan L. Schwartz PsyD, the “embedded” psychologist at ChristianaCare’s Family Medicine Center at Foulk Road, having been referred to him by an intern at that facility. Schwartz (I refuse to use the … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health, Uncategorized
Tagged ChristianaCare, neglect, psychologist, Psychology, Rockford Center for Behavioral Health, UHS
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“Postpartum Psychosis May Run in Families,” But It’s Not In the Genes
“Postpartum Psychosis May Run in Families,” blares a headline at Neuroscience News. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) perspective, what is often described as a condition that “runs in families” may not be primarily genetic, but rather deeply shaped by relational … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health, Parenting
Tagged genetic, interpersonal neurobiology, IPNB, Mental Health, patterns, pregnancy, psychosis
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A Cry for Help is a Call for Connection
The classic meaning of a cry for help is often seen as a dramatic or urgent signal that someone is in distress and needs immediate attention. It’s sometimes misunderstood as attention-seeking or manipulative, especially when it doesn’t follow expected patterns. … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health
Tagged attention, connection, interpersonal neurobiology, IPNB
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Ruptured Humanity: the IPNB of the Ethical Divide
The ethical divide reflects the rupture in our shared sense of humanity. Ethical beliefs are rooted in our capacity to recognize and care about the impact of our actions on others. When this capacity is eroded, people can justify cruelty, … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health
Tagged connection, Ethical Divide, ethics, IPNB, relationships, safety
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The Nervous System Knows: Why Safety Comes First in Trauma Recovery
When Dr. Stephen Porges says “safety is the therapy,” what he means is that the foundation for any healing—especially from trauma—is the experience of felt safety, not just physical safety. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) perspective, this means that our … Continue reading
Sigmund Freud is Alive and Well, in Psychoanalysis
While fewer psychologists today openly use shame-based Freudian terms like “death drive” or “Thanatos,” the core idea has been repackaged in modern psych and trauma discourse under new names, often stripped of Freud’s original poetry but retaining the same oppressive … Continue reading
Posted in Psychiatry
Tagged death drive, Freud, mental illness industry, pathologizing, Psychology, shame-based, Thanatos
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