Dr. Deb

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day

2025-11-18T13:32:00.007-05:00

In 1999, Senator Harry Reid, a survivor of his father’s 1972 suicide, introduced a new resolution into the US Senate. With its passage, the US Congress designated the Saturday before Thanksgiving as National Survivors of Suicide Day - an awareness day that reaches out to thousands of people who have lost a loved one to suicide.

National Survivors of Suicide Day has evolved into a global awareness day called International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day thanks to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.

Sometimes called "Survivor Day," this November 22nd will find children and adults affected by suicide loss gathering around the world at events in their local communities to find connection, comfort, hope and understanding.

To find a event near you, link here

Every 40 seconds, someone dies by suicide.
Every 41 seconds someone tries to understand that loss.

If you need help

Call 988

Text "talk" to 741741

or reach out to a trusted loved one for support.

90 Best Psychotherapy Blogs and Websites in 2025

2025-10-19T08:00:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Feedspot for the nod for being a Top Psychotherapy Blog.

Studies show that professionals blogging for mental health outreach offers benefits to those struggling with mental health disorders, including reducing feelings of isolation, processing emotions, building community, and combating stigma.

For individuals who maintain their own blog, research shows that writing serves as a therapeutic tool, while connecting with others provides a supportive network.

Other Benefits Include

Emotional release and processing: Writing about one's experiences is a form of expressive therapy that helps individuals articulate complex emotions and process traumatic events. It provides a healthy outlet for thoughts and feelings that might otherwise feel overwhelming.
Increased self-awareness and reflection: Regularly writing about experiences and feelings encourages introspection and can lead to a deeper understanding of personal thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This self-reflection can help reframe negative thoughts and build resilience.
Sense of purpose: For those struggling with mental health issues, maintaining a blog can provide a sense of purpose and structure. It offers a rewarding hobby that can increase feelings of accomplishment.

Combating isolation: Blogging creates opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals and form supportive online communities, which is crucial for those who feel isolated. This sense of belonging can be a vital source of support.
Access to social support: The interactive nature of blogging, including comments and feedback from readers, allows for mutual communication and support. This social network can help individuals better cope with unpredictable aspects of their condition.
Empowering others: By sharing their journey, bloggers can inspire and empower readers who are going through similar struggles. Their narratives of personal recovery can provide hope and motivation for change.
Sharing information: Both individuals and mental health professionals can use blogs to educate people on various mental health conditions, treatment options, and coping strategies. This can provide valuable information and resources that may be otherwise hard to find.
Reducing stigma: Sharing personal stories about mental health challenges helps to destigmatize mental illness and normalize the experience for others. It creates a supportive environment where people can feel less alone.

2025-10-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

October 5th - 11th 2025 is Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) in the United States and Canada and other countries across the globe.

Since 1990, mental health advocates across North America have joined together during the first full week of October to sponsor awareness, create outreach and provide screenings in the name of mental health.

Also sponsored this week is National Depression Screening Day on October 9th and World Mental Health Day on October 10th.

Why Depression Awareness Matters

Prevalence:
Depression is a common and serious mental health condition affecting millions worldwide.
Impact:
Untreated depression in children and adults can significantly impair daily functioning, affecting work, school, relationships, and overall quality of life.
Early Intervention:
Screening and early intervention can lead to better outcomes for those experiencing depression.

How to Get Involved

Educate Yourself and Others: Learn more about depression and share accurate information to combat stigma.
Encourage Screenings: Suggest friends, family, and colleagues take advantage of mental health screenings.
Support Mental Health Initiatives: Participate in events and campaigns that promote mental wellness.

Tips for Grandparents Day

2025-09-05T19:16:00.004-04:00

Celebrate Grandparents Day, Sunday September 7th, with some tips and insights from Newsday

July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

2025-07-27T22:07:00.032-04:00

July is Minority Health Awareness Month.

This awareness day was named after mental health activist and author Bebe Moore Campbell - and focuses on building awareness about the importance of mental wellness and effective mental health care for minorities.

According to research, minorities are less likely to receive a mental health diagnosis, less likely to receive treatment for mental illness, have less access to and availability of mental health services and often receive a poorer quality of mental health care. More specifically:

The percentage of Black and LatinX who use mental health care services is less than half that of Caucasian children.
88% of LatinX children with mental health issues have unmet needs.
More than 25% of Black American youth exposed to violence have been shown to be at high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Adolescent Native Americans experience the highest rates of suicide of any population in the United States—at least three to five times the national average.
In the Asian American youth population, suicidal ideation and suicide rates continue to increase.

To learn more about the mental health needs and treatment outreach, link here

2025-06-20T22:01:00.000-04:00

Conscious aging is an offshoot of the 1987 model of successful aging, which was defined as an elderly person moving through the last chapter of life without disease and disability. Aging can be a challenge, especially when one lives with depression, but it’s also a time of great opportunity. The approach of conscious aging invites such possibility by encouraging you to find answers, significance, and enlightenment from within while also tending to your depressive symptoms.

Read more at my blog via Psychology Today.

Reverted Rights Celebration!

2025-05-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

2025-05-01T11:22:00.001-04:00

Mental Health Awareness Month is a health campaign that enables adults and children to start important conversations surrounding mental health. This month of addressing the importance of mental health lets others share their stories, understand that they are not alone, and seek support without fear of judgment.

Reading books on big feelings can be a wonderful way to introduce children to the concept of emotions and mental health in a relatable and accessible way. Books can help them understand that it's okay to have big feelings and that it's important to talk about them. They also teach coping strategies, empathy, and how to seek help when needed. For little ones, stories about characters navigating emotions can be both comforting and empowering.

My award-winning "Sometimes When" series is a great resource for Mental Health Awareness Month. You can get these wonderful books from Free Spirit Publishing as a bundle or individually at bookstores, online or taken out at the library.

Aromatherapy and Children | Psychology Today

2025-04-18T12:08:00.004-04:00

When it comes to using aromatherapy with children, studies show it can be a safe, effective, and fast-acting complementary intervention for anxiety, sadness, fatigue, concentration, sleeplessness, and other common pediatric concerns. However, there are some important considerations to address before you begin this ancient practice for kids.

BOOK GIVEAWAY - The Ninth Session by Deborah Serani

2025-04-02T14:10:00.009-04:00

Get a signed autographed copy of my republished award-winning suspense novel, "The Ninth Session."

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Ninth Session

by Deborah Serani

Giveaway ends April 30, 2025.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Audiobook "The Ninth Session" Free at Audible

2025-03-25T18:25:00.003-04:00

"The Ninth Session" - my award-winning novel - is an also an award-winning audiobook. Pick it up for free with a trial membership to Audible.

"Sometimes When" Book Series

2025-03-14T21:23:00.002-04:00

Description

The award-winning "Sometimes When" book series from psychologist and author, Dr. Deborah Serani, and Free Spirit Publishing, teaches children practical strategies for handling emotions like jealousy, worry, boredom, anger, and sadness.

Gentle and supportive, this collection offers relatable stories and real-world techniques that empower children to face difficult feelings and develop social emotional well-being.

Raising Parents Podcast: Baby Blues & Postpartum

2025-02-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

Check out my Baby Blues and Postpartum Issues on the Parenting Science Labs Podcast - Raising Parents.

Random Acts of Kindness Week is 2/14 - 2/20

2025-02-13T19:17:00.002-05:00

While Random Acts of Kindness Week highlights the importance of kindness at this time of year, we can all benefit from the simple acts of kindness every day.

Making small, thoughtful gestures to others, as well as practicing self-kindness, transcends us from the challenging times and fractured discord of the world.

Psychology Today: Psychological Effects of Losing a Home After Fire

2025-01-17T16:55:00.004-05:00

Losing a home from a residential fire or wildfire is a significant trauma. The field of psychoanalysis strongly believes loss of a home is much more than physical, emotional or financial. Losing one’s “home” deeply affects a sense of self.

Link here Psychology Today to learn more...

New Year Resolutions and Depression

2025-01-02T14:33:00.002-05:00

Individuals who make New Year Resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain goals in the year than those who don't make any. Read more here

2024-12-02T21:16:00.004-05:00

Whatever holiday on your calendar in December: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day or Festivus - it's sometimes a challenge to stay positive in the midst of the commercialism and general hub-bub.

Here are a few ways to stay positive during the holidays:

1. Avoid overscheduling yourself. Use an agenda to keep track of your holiday commitments so that you can physically see what you are committing yourself to. Along with your commitments to others make sure to include some downtime for yourself - even if it is half an hour here and there. Knowing that you have some personal time will help you to stay positive.

2. Lower your expectations. Don’t strive for perfection, good enough is okay. Don’t expect your family to be perfect during the holidays. Be realistic about who they are and what your relationship is like with them all year around. That is especially true of blended and step-families.

3. Make a budget and stick to it. The price of the gift is not equal to how much you love them. Focus on the people that you care about instead of the stuff that really doesn’t matter. Beware of the joy-to-stuff ratio: more stuff does not equal more joy.

4. Spread your socializing in the months after the holidays. Don’t try to pack a year’s worth of socializing into a few weeks. Start a new tradition with friends and make a date with friends for mid January or early February.

5. Get as much sleep as you can. Schedule one or two pajama days for yourself or for the whole family - stay in your pj's and stay home and give yourself permission to rest and enjoy some time together without rushing about.Holidays are for celebrating what is truly important to you, your family, and friends. Make it the holiday you want it to be and chances are you will keep a positive attitude.

My Interview on Decorating Early for Christmas

2024-11-08T15:35:00.004-05:00

“Decorating your trees with colorful lights with different textures of ornaments, all of the special things that make your Christmas tree, your Christmas tree, is what really fuels this good time feeling.” -Dr. Deborah Serani✨ pic.twitter.com/M9iNW2m648
— American Christmas Tree Association (@americantrees) November 7, 2024

Book Tour: Sometimes When I'm Jealous

2024-10-04T09:51:00.001-04:00

Thanks to iRead Book Tours for my latest book tour!

Sometimes When I'm Jealous helps young children work through the complicated emotions of jealousy. As with other books in the "Sometimes When" series, Dr. Deborah Serani, Psy.D, grounds every page in research with gentle prose, while illustrator Kyra Teis brings textured illustrations to deepen the reading experience. A special section at the back of the book provides more information and tips for adults to help little ones work through the jealous feelings.

And a big thank you to all my tour readers!

@this.human.reads
@nissa_the.bookworm
@acourtofspinesnpages
@stars.and.embers
@KimBartosch
@junebug_reads
Cheryl's Book Nook
@bookscape__
Country Mamas With Kids
@Leannebookstagram
@onceuponamaltesereader
@readsandmusic
@bookameme
@ginaraemitchell
@amybooksy
@regallywritten
@onceuponafrida
@lottesbookcorner
@kiv_coffeeandpages

Goodreads Book Giveaway: "Sometimes When I'm Jealous"

2024-09-04T08:31:00.004-04:00

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Sometimes When I'm Jealous

by Deborah Serani

Giveaway ends October 01, 2024.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

5 Star Review for "Sometimes When I'm Jealous"

2024-08-27T14:25:00.001-04:00

Celebrating a 5 star review from Readers' Favorite.

2024-07-05T20:38:00.003-04:00

In 2008, inspired by Bebe Moore Campbell’s charge to end stigma and provide mental health support for minority communities, July has since been designated as National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month by the U.S. House of Representatives.

This July's National Minority Health Month's theme is Be the Source for Better Health. Please support #NMHM24 and learn how you can advocate and support diverse cultural populations for better mental health.

2024-06-07T22:50:00.001-04:00

In order to bring greater awareness to the experience of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, June has been designated as PTSD Awareness Month in the United States.

And June 27th is National PTSD Awareness Day.

PTSD is a mental health problem that can occur after an adult or child has been directly involved or a witness to a traumatic event, such as sexual or physical assault, natural or man-made disasters, accidents, life threatening medical crises and war-related combat stress.

Symptoms of PTSD include persistent intrusive thoughts and distressing dreams about the traumatic event, triggered emotional responses to reminders of the trauma, efforts to avoid thinking or talking about the trauma, and persistent hypervigilance for cues that indicate additional danger or trauma may occur.

PTSD is a serious, but treatable disorder. If you're struggling with symptoms, link here to find out how to access professional mental health.

Or take a PTSD screening provided by the National Center for PTSD here to learn more about your own traumatic experiences.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

2024-05-01T11:32:00.002-04:00

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

The designation of Mental Health Awareness Month was created more than 60 years ago by Mental Health America to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of mental wellness and promoting good mental health for all.

During Mental Health Awareness Month professionals, organizations, schools, communities, hospitals and even media outlets will join together in an effort to raise the awareness about mental health and attempt to decrease the stigma that prevents people from getting the help they need. If you have a mental illness or love someone who does, reach out to the many community resources and planned events this month. Link here for state and local MHA affiliates. And don't forget to wear Lime Green to show your support.

Remember, there is no shame living with a mental illness.

Grace vs Shame

2024-04-09T09:50:00.004-04:00