A Little Girl With Bipolar “Deserves” A Trial of Lithium
This is a Two-Part Post: Dave: This illustration gives a picture of how the use of a psychiatric diagnosis and
Category: Dave Keith
The Bipolar Girl Grows Up And Becomes A Role Model For Her Mother
Dave: Just one month after Trish left for college, her mother, Carol Marie, called me. I was surprised because she
A New Understanding of Emotional Distress
Our current cultural model for conditions like anxiety and depression uses language like “chemical imbalance”, implying that suffering is related to our brain chemistry. In this post, Dave Keith offers another perspective that looks at our moods as dynamic states related to the context of our living patterns.
Out of the Darkness: Therapy For A Depressed Young Woman
In this post, Dave shares his clinical story about a young woman with severe depression and her recovery, without the use of medications. It again reminds us about the power of relationship, and the power of creative caring.
The Human Experience Inside “Mental Illness”
In this post, Dave Keith reflects on how he came to understand psychosis as a symbolic expression, embedded in a person’s relationships and experiences. This offers an alternative, dynamic and life-affirming perspective on what is often considered the “destiny” of mental illness.
Psychological Symptoms As A Sign Of Health
“Chemical Imbalance” has become a generally accepted way to think about psychological conditions like depression and anxiety. But David Keith offers another perspective: In fact, emotional problems may be a sign of mental health.
How Our Weirdness Can Open The Door To Freedom
In this post, Dave talks about his work with a depressed young female patient. Through the therapy, which “opens up a little dormant space of weirdness where we can feel more free”, this young woman’s depression lifts as she begins to experience herself in a new way.
ADHD Diagnosis Conceals the Family Story
Good physicians take a clinical history in the interest of arriving at a diagnosis. While the clinical history is a review of ‘facts’, there are in fact, few ‘facts’ about human experience. Different examiners will get different histories depending upon what they ask about. Different family members give different reports of the same set of events. In my view clinical histories are a form of fiction pretending to be ‘objective’.
Therapeutic Ruthlessness: Beyond Sweetness And Patience
Therapists tend to be good at being kind and patient with difficult people and they know how to put up with their patients’ demanding and outrageous behavior. Too often the demand for good manners persuades therapists to compromise their integrity in the attempt to maintain the relationship and to make their patients feel worthwhile. But compromising integrity interferes with the effectiveness of therapeutic work.
Marriage: A Contest To See Who Can Drive Each Other Crazy First
Here’s an inside look at what makes marriage both incredibly challenging, and, potentially, the most enriching experience of a lifetime.