Dr. Rod Hoevet

12/03/2023

To anyone who pays attention, the DSM is - at best - a joke. This article shows the history of why its actually useless.

95.2% false, to be exact

10/23/2021

Every single mental health professional needs to see this.

Every single person who has ever been or will ever be in Psychotherapy needs to see this.

Jonathan Shedler, PhD is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), faculty member at the San Francisco Center...

09/26/2021

From CNBC: Facebook has repeatedly found that its Instagram app is harmful to a number of young people - the demographic that makes up over 40% of its user base. The company is also working on a version of Instagram for kids.

09/18/2021

How positively [not] shocking. The shortsighted rush to normalize and legalize Ma*****na is lunacy. Who will possibly be surprised when the negative outcomes [neurological, psychological, behavioral, academic] contine to pile up. If only we had a historical precedent to look back on that taught us inhaling a toxic substance into your lungs was a bad thing and probably shouldn't receive widespread legalization...

Ma*****na is becoming increasingly legalized across the United States, leaving doobie-smokers and civil liberties activists alike celebrating the growing acceptance of the recreational drug.

08/02/2021

This author does an incredible job of explaining but one peril of our current social mess. Well worth the read, but here's an appetizer:

"The fact is that we live in a time when people looOOoooOove to have an opinion and feel unabashedly entitled to theirs—no matter how spurious or overstepping it might be. So, if they decide what another parent is doing is wrong, by their own standards, they need to voice their judgment."

it’s not our job to decide how to parent somebody else’s kid. But here we are, 2021, and we’re sure it is.

07/15/2021

Our world is full of misused and abused sensuality, skimpy clothes and calls from our leaders to legitimize s*x work. But this is proof of mental illness? Something is amiss...

https://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2021/07/britney-spears-poses-in-racy-maid-costume-sparks-mental-health-c/

07/11/2021

Of course we don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but this is an important reminder during these times we are in. Science is not flawless. When someone hurls an accusation that another is "anti science" because they have questions, doubts or concerns, they are presuming science is above all reproach but that's not true.

A long time ago, the best science told us the Earth was flat, that people needed a balance of blood, phlegm and bile to be healthy and that drilling a hole in the skull would release demons causing mental illness. Yes, we've grown since then but we have not found scientific holy ground. We need look no further than the popular, common OTC medication Zantac [now linked to cancer] to see that "science" changes. Studies are flawed, results are skewed, assumptions are faulty, new information becomes available and, yes, as this article suggests, some people lie.

We need to exercise grace with each other and realize that science is not absolute truth.

It may be more than you think.

06/09/2021

Our government and world is neck deep trying to combat misinformation online, alleging that such wrong information can 'cause' violence and other problems. That same government and many world leaders tell us to trust and follow science.

Yet, research has shown us a definitive link between mental health issues and social media - which promotes false narratives, glorified and falsified images, and users seek to outdo one another with their experiences and attractiveness.

If we stand against so-called damaging misinformation and put our faith in science, where is the outcry and crusade against this known evil? With so many developing body image problems, depression, and engaging in self harm and su***de, shouldn't our same campaign against 'fake news' apply here?

06/05/2021

This is a good idea in principle. However, in order to make this work, there are several factors that need to be correctly planned and managed.

1] The truly mentally ill are very rarely dangerous. This is an important philosophy to realize because it informs #2.

2] Substance abuse is NOT mental illness and, more importantly, substance users/abusers ARE at higher risk for violence. Mental illness and substance are not the same although they sometimes overlap.

3] Mental health professionals who fulfill these roles need to be highly trained and experienced to recognize both #1 and #2 and even more critically, to recognize risk. I was excited to learn that St. Louis was developing a program like this until I saw who they wanted to hire. The job will be filled by under qualified, unlicensed undergraduates. This is silly, dangerous and doomed to fail.

The Mental health field's history is plagued with this sort of poorly thought through, planned and reasoned approach. In a few years, after it has had no impact and millions of dollars have been wasted, we will wonder why.

More than a dozen cities are developing "alternative" or "co-response" programs to minimize or eliminate the role of police officers responding to 911 calls involving mental health, homelessness, or substance abuse.

05/27/2021

Another example of reckless media villainizing the mentally ill and allowing the false narrative to live on. The girlfriend believed his "mood swings" to be Bipolar Disorder so that's enough for the media to put it in the headline. This man is a criminal, maybe a psychopath, but mental illness has nothing to do with it.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/multiple-deaths-reported-after-mass-shooting-at-valley-transportation-authority-light-rail-yard-in-san-jose

From brutal s*xual-assault allegations to a father who said he was shocked at the turn toward bloodshed, Samuel Cassidy left behind a long trail of horror and confusion.

04/25/2021

Yet [wounded] people prevail and continue to do difficult and effortful tasks to hold themselves and their families and society together. To me this is miraculous - so much so that a dumbfounded gratitude is the only appropriate response. There are so many ways that things can fall apart, or fail to work together, and it is always wounded people who are holding it together. They deserve some genuine and heartfelt admiration for that. It's an ongoing miracle of fortitude and perseverance.

Jordan Peterson, Ph.D.

08/15/2020

Excited to have been invited to join the FriYAY podcast this week and talk about the impact of the pandemic on mental health. Check it out!

FriYAY is a podcast and webinar series that covers a variety of topics spanning practical things like how to stay motivated, ways to expand your creativity, connect with others, and tips to keep you grounded!