By Peter Thompson — 2010
Any movement that seeks social improvement is a faith-based one – but we must resist harking back to limiting certainties.
Read on www.theguardian.com
CLEAR ALL
The neglected middle child of mental health can dull your motivation and focus — and it may be the dominant emotion of 2021.
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James Cone was born in Fordyce, Arkansas in 1939 and grew up in the small town of Bearden. There he experienced the life-affirming community of the black Church alongside the soul-crushing reality of white racism.
Hiding your feelings can be freeing. But eventually you have to take off the mask.
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I’ve found during the pandemic that optimism isn’t the best way to improve your well-being. The research shows that hope is a far more potent force. We can all get better at it as we work toward recovering from the pandemic, and benefit from our improved skill for the rest of our lives.
A cancer diagnosis brings a wealth of psychological challenges. In fact, adults living with cancer have a six-time higher risk for psychological disability than those not living with cancer.
A very good friend of mine periodically asks me: Why do you believe that we are evolving in a positive way? Why do you believe that our consciousness is developing toward greater complexity, inclusivity and unity?
Look more closely and you’ll see.
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Normal bereavement and major depression share many of the same symptoms. And because of those similarities, psychiatrists have historically carved out what is known as a "bereavement exclusion." Its purpose was to reduce the likelihood that normal grief would be diagnosed as clinical depression.
It's normal for human beings to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Some of the ways in which we seek to avoid pain are adaptive or healthy.
I believe that social workers need to focus on that which we are trained to do: extend civic love and compassion to the client, staring where he or she is. We are not wed to the medical model; social work is ecological, psychosocial, and systems oriented.