Thinking about the folks in Ferguson Missouri, and the tragedy of a young man's death, I thought it would be good to share this information. I have used this video to help teach young men of African descent how be informed of their rights and how to increase their chances of surviving encounters with the police. Take a look at it, and tell me what you think.http://youtu.be/s4nQ_mFJV4I?t=1m26s

One of the many keys to good mental health is keeping a positive outlook on life. This is important, in that many of us tend to filter out the good things that happen to us, and focus on the bad... One way to counter this habit is to practice focusing on the things that you are grateful for. My favorite way of doing this is making a Gratitude List. Here is mine for today...

By the way, some of you may be thinking that being negative is being realistic... Sorry folks, but it is not. And actually, always being positive is not realistic either. The goal should be to find some sort of balance. And since most of us tend toward the negative, then exercising your positivity muscles might be a great way to find what is real. 

Just a Thought... #CarryOn

One aspect of cultural competency that has served me well in clinical work is to be able to use emic knowledge of a client's cultural beliefs, in order to reframe a thought process in a way that both conforms to the reality of their circumstance and the reality defined by their personal cultural worldview. 

What's the difference between the Holy Ghost, the Super Ego, and the metacognitive self? It's all just an operationalization of a universal phenomenon, the difference comes in its usefulness to the client in the moment... 

Just a thought...

So this is going to be something of an eclectic blog. Pretty much because I am a something of an eclectic guy, lol. I like to be serious about serious things and silly about everything else. I decided to build this blog in order to share some the things that I have learned over the the course of a young life spent with family, friends, classmates, teammates, teachers, coaches, mentors, a few past romantic interests, and one Soul Mate. 

Many of my posts will address psychological concepts, as that is my area of expertise. My theoretical orientation (i.e., how I understand the human condition and how to help people change) is largely based on a cognitive behavioral therapeutic model, which I couch within a multicultural and interpersonal context. To me, being rooted in the present allows people to have a better understanding of their options and choices. This gives them some space to breath and lets them know that whatever the crisis is, there is a way to deal with it. 

One thing that that confounds the reality testing process is when your reality sucks... This is where my social justice ideals begin to overlap with my clinical work. Basically, if your reality sucks, you can either try to look at it from a different angle, or you can try to change your reality. When it comes to social justice, I try to do a bit of both. For me, I find meaning in the belief that we can all make some sort of difference, even if it's small.. And that the most profound changes are the ones that we make in ourselves. 

So what is my message? It's that we can all do better, and that doing better is the point. So come check out this blog, read my points, tell me when I'm full of crap, and accept it when folks prove that you are full of crap. Cause the truth is that we all have some piece of the truth, but we are mostly not quiet enough to recognize it. 

Just a Thought.... #CarryOn