My Personal Tribute to Mental Health

May marks National Mental Health Month. Being blessed with the Sagittarius (Nov. 26) sign from the Zodiac, I decided to empty my imaginary quiver and aim arrows toward my patients' foremost problem issues. I targeted what has worked best over these last 30 years as a counselor practicing in New York, Metro DC and currently, Western Oregon.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM- Ore.) - One might term this brand of therapy as the confluence of Innovation and Motivation. My father's authoritarian attitudes largely shaped who I became. He was very strict and dogmatic, much like Capt. Von Trapp in "Sound of Music", but frequently quite irrational. My response was to retreat into my bedroom and create a comforting fantasy world to assuage my hurt feelings.

As my Father's Day present to society, I offer these techniques to those individuals and families who remain searching for stability and improved mental health: MAGIC TIME MACHINE

Have yourself imagine two of three of the happiest events from your distant past that you wish you could revive. Provide a vivid description to a friend. These happy moments can serve to promote added strengths to who you are. LAUGHTER BUTTON

What makes people consider something "funny"? Choose a video of a favorite comedy and make yourself an armchair critic. Examine what type of humor you best respond to. These clues will cue you in in identifying your antidote to stress. Employ them as needed. PROJECT BLOODHOUND

Some of us admit we're ignorant about what "success" actually is, or the correct route to get there. Let's look honestly at 1-2 primary weak points, and then find someone in our circle who has avoided those pitfalls and does it well. Play reporter and interview them to better understand how their skills were formed. In this case, there's no penalty for plagiarism. ROOM-ROAMING 101

Our homes are familiar places, but have we bothered to study their hidden meanings? In all probability, not. Let's begin a room-by-room tour of our homes. Track down where we feel most comfortable, and most frustrated. Look into the pattern of chairs both at dining table and in the living room. Where do we run to escape? The answers supply amazing nuggets of insight into our lives as we live them, and suggest some changes we might ponder. COUPLE'S WISH LIST

Whether married or not, couples bring expectations to the table based on their personal past experiences. Often we do not connect those events to today. Pretend you were "hiring" a future spouse and had to conduct a job interview. Put together a candidate's checklist of what you'd require. Then exchange lists and decide what you'd exchange for those missing items. Diplomacy--like charity--could well begin at home.

These are the "retro-therapy" techniques I've applied in my Coping Clinic practice here in Salem, OR. I'd de delighted to receive freedback on whether any of these items could prove valuable to upgrading your life.

Please contact me at: The Coping Clinic , PO Box 5251, Salem, OR 97304.