The mission of Dare-to-Dream.us is to (1) advance the knowledge of consumers of mental health services to empower them to to assess the quality and accessibility of mental health services, (2) to disseminate to the general public comments from a mental health professional's perspective on mental health news, and (3) to share information with other professionals. None of the information contained on this site should be considered a replacement for professional services offered face-to-face by licensed mental health professionals.
The Existential Experience of the Trauma Should Be the Focus of Treatment in ...
11 Jan 2012 at 3:39 pmHow we integrate or make sense of our experiences have a lot to do with how they affect us. That's just common sense. However, the drive within psychology towards a research and evidence based practice standards has led to a move away from seeking the consensus of practicing professionals in the field on the formation of theory. A theory informed practice has been the standard for many years. Expe ... read more
Do We Control Our Emotions, Or Do Our Emotions Control Us?
19 Dec 2011 at 9:15 pm
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It's been standard practice in Cognitive-Behavioral therapy to teach clients that our thoughts trigger our emotions. Thus with training and practice a client can learn to change feelings by changing thoughts. While that is generally true, what CBT specialists sometimes miss is that some feelings actually control our thinking, often in ways that are beyond our awareness.When we a ... read more
Why I Do This Work
28 Nov 2011 at 11:06 pmI meet the most incredible people in my work. Struggle as they might with various vices like substance abuse, serial monogamy, stormy relationships or keeping a job, the people I've worked with consistently have a surplus of one thing I highly value: empathy.
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It seems as if people who have suffered greatly often have the ability to understand other's pain at a deepe
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Facebook Depression: Another Media Frenzy
22 Nov 2011 at 9:24 pm
I'm going to try to write more short posts rather than work on a big paper for months before I post.There is a lot of hype about Facebook causing depression citing research. Actually, if you look, you will find the research had nothing to do with Facebook.
Image via CrunchBase
It all started with this article writing on this research article where the author rather loosely used the term "Facebook de ... read more
Get Service
4 Sep 2011 at 3:30 pmFeel like everyone is in your way? Disappointed that everyone seems inconsiderate? Be the change in your life.
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Emotion Regulation: Emotional Intelligence for Personal Growth
20 Aug 2011 at 10:34 pmThis is the eighth in a series of articles about emotional intelligence for personal growth.
Emotions give our experiences a sort of color, a dimension of experience very different from other senses, different from even thoughts. Yet many of us find our emotions at times more of an enemy than a friend. Our emotions serve a purpose, one that is not entirely obvious.
Most current theories of emot ... read more
The Death of Amy Winehouse
1 Aug 2011 at 8:38 pmTragically another music icon ends an incredibly creative life at age 27. Besides the uncanny fact that so many (10) incredibly talented musicians who died at 27, there is the other apparent truth that they all had everything their peers could have wanted. They were incredibly successful, had huge fan base, and were selling albums and tickets to concerts galore. What could possibly have gone wrong ... read more
On Being Wrong
17 May 2011 at 9:05 pmArguments over who's right may be the most common topic of disagreement anywhere and by anybody. Check out the insights Kathryn Schulz, in her book, Being Wrong, has to offer.
Ms Schulz makes a compelling argument that being wrong is more valuable than being right. In fact, if one is too preoccupied with being right, they will miss lots of mistakes due to the amazing human tende ... read more
Can You Detect a Liar?
15 Mar 2011 at 10:05 pm
Cover of Attachment in Psychotherapy
Ask a lie detector professional and you will get a positive answer. But its not as simple as knowing how to work the instrument. The instruments used by a lie detector professional basically measure anxiety and are very similar to the machines used in biofeedback. The fact is that there is little research to support the idea that a polygraph or any other instrum
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Book Review: When the Past is Always Present; A New PTSD Treatment?
19 Jan 2011 at 9:51 pm
by Ronald Ruden, MD, PhD
When the Past Is Always Present: Emotional Traumatization, Causes, and Cures introduces a new treatment for trauma. Ronald A. Ruden is an internal medicine physician practicing in Manhattan. Since beginning his practice in 1983, he has dedicated part of the proceeds to follow research interests. His first efforts resulted in the book, The Craving Brain, a neurobiological
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Surviving the Holiday Blues
19 Dec 2010 at 8:14 pm
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The holiday season is such a joyous time of year. Colored lights adorn houses and business. Thoughts of holidays past fill our minds and conversations. But not everyone can enjoy the holiday season. Some of us inevitably find as the holidays approach what is called the "holiday blues".The holiday blues are quite common. We expect to enjoy ourselves during the holidays. Those aro ... read more
Today's Great American Smokeout and What We Learn About All Bad Habits
18 Nov 2010 at 7:56 pmI quit smoking 28 years ago. The final effort started the previous year on "Great American Smokeout",
29 years ago. I'm very glad I succeeded. I used to joke that quitting smoking was easy, I'd done it 100s of times. Unfortunately it was all too true. I struggled with attempts to quite smoking over most of my adult years. It's a major bad habit, with the further complication of addiction to Nicoti ... read more
Gazing in the Looking Glass without Self-punishment - Emotional Intelligence ...
19 Jul 2010 at 9:38 pmThis is the seventh in a series of articles about emotional intelligence for personal growth.
Many people are unsure what they feel. Some deny feeling anything at all. Others report boredom much of the time and seek reckless excitement when they can. Still others have never felt like they fit in. They may have experienced being ignored, picked on, or even being treated like scapegoat. Others seem
More Mentally Ill Persons Are in Jails and Prisons Than Hospitals: A Survey o...
18 Jul 2010 at 10:53 pm
Image by RightBrainPhotography via Flickr
Unfortunately, this headline is very true. And it's not because the mentally ill are more likely to commit crimes. In fact they are no more likely and often less likely to commit crimes than the general population.
You might wonder, why are they in jail? The reason appears to be that though they are very much in need of treatment, they are not getting it.
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The Two Darts of Suffering: Pain is Inevitable, Suffering is Voluntary Emoti...
9 May 2010 at 8:36 pmThis is the sixth in a series of articles about emotional intelligence for personal growth. In keeping with the idea that emotional intelligence is one of the foundational concepts of mental health, I dedicate this installment to May, Mental Health Month.
It is often said that life is suffering. Some of that suffering is unavoidable. Life has a way of throwing us adversity. The pain of physical d
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The Essence of Human Experience: What is Normal? Emotional Intelligence for P...
9 Apr 2010 at 2:49 pmThis is the fifth in a series of articles on Emotional Intelligence for Personal Growth.
Probably all of us have asked our self from time to time if our thoughts, feelings, or behavior at any single moment is "normal". Actually, there are different answers for each one of these.
Normal behavior is, like it or not, defined by our legal, community (family, neighborhood, social group) and religious
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Dan Gilbert: Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy?
7 Apr 2010 at 1:53 pm... read more
Buddha's Brain: The Neuro-science of Self-help
21 Mar 2010 at 5:57 pmI've been a skeptic about self-help books as have many of my colleagues. Self-help concepts often represent the home grown philosophy of the author. Seldom is there comprehensive research documentation of the foundations of the concepts shared. And so you can never be sure you are reading something that applies real science to every day needs.
Cover via Amazon
This book is an exception. Buddha
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Self-Knowledge - Emotional Intelligence For Personal Growth Part IV
12 Mar 2010 at 8:30 pmThis is the fourth in a series of articles on emotional intelligence for personal growth.
Self-knowledge is something we all strive towards. But how many of us have done a complete review of our emotions 
and how they influence our thoughts and behavior? Most people find that pretty hard to do, especially since they struggle to put their feelings into words. We talk about "will power" as the ultim
TED Blog:Jonathan Haidt on how our moral roots skew our reasoning
13 Feb 2010 at 1:15 amTED Blog:Jonathan Haidt on how our moral roots skew our reasoning
"Our Righteous Minds were designed to unite us into teams, divide us against others, & blind us to the truth -Jon Haidt http://bit.ly/9N7TyU"
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Living together? Put it in writing
31 Jan 2010 at 1:58 pmThis is good advice for those who forgo the formality of marriage to live together. This advice applies all romantic couples who have children, financial, and/or assets or other shared valued items.
freep.com | Detroit Free Press
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"People go into these relationships out of love, but they don't use their heads," says Pamela Radzinski, a Southfield divorce and family law attorney
Self-Awareness - Emotional Intelligence For Personal Growth Part III
17 Jan 2010 at 4:12 pmThis is the third in a series of articles on emotional intelligence for personal growth.
Self-awareness is one of the most important benefits we get from spending time in a mindful state. The longer we are able to stay mindful, the more we learn about our selves. We come to recognize the ebb and flow of our thoughts, moods, emotions and impulses. We begin to see relationships between our thoughts
Mindfulness - Emotional Intelligence for Personal Growth Part II
14 Jan 2010 at 10:39 pm
This is the second in a series of articles on emotional intelligence for personal growth. The first part is here.
Mindfulness is a non-judgmental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises is acknowledged and accepted as it is. It is a skill that is learned by committed practice. The object is to focus one's attention on thoughts, feelings and events in
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Emotional Intelligence for Personal Growth Part I
9 Jan 2010 at 8:52 pmThis is the first in a series of articles on the topic of emotional intelligence for personal growth.
I got this quote in one of those anonymous emails that has been forwarded through thousands of inboxes all over the planet:
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting '..holy sh*t ....what a ride!' Enjo
Poll Reveals Depth and Trauma of Joblessness
15 Dec 2009 at 8:37 pmVery sad and difficult times for people in this economy. Those who are still working are waiting for the next lay-off notice. Small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Worse yet the unemployed are at their wits end. Virtually everyone I see in my practice these days are seeking treatment directly or indirectly because of the economy.
Another hidden part of the drama is that the unemploy
... read more