Are psychiatric medications to blame for mass shootings? Texas Governor Rick Perry's remarks after the recent shootings in South Carolina seems to indicate that he thinks so. So, are psychiatric medications to blame for mass shootings or is there another reason?

Should conversion therapy be banned? The controversial--and illegal for minors in some states--practice tries to change the sexual orientation of the patient. It's also known as reparative therapy, and is often practiced by fundamentalist Christians. It is opposed by all reputable medical organizations, from the American Psychological Association (APA) to the American Academy of Pediatrics. There is considerable debate over whether or not it is abusive--one California court put a minor in foster care after her mother sent her to a dubious psychiatric facility in Utah to cure her lesbianism--which leads to a question: Should conversion therapy be banned?

Professionalism is one reason why we shouldn't be afraid of secular (non-religious) counselors. When the Duggar family discovered their son Josh was molesting his sisters and a family friend, they considered going to the police until a family friend told them "government" programs were not a good way to treat Josh's sexual misconduct (What Is Rape? Was I Raped?). As a result, rather than sending Josh to a competent therapist, they sent him to build houses for a few months. Sadly, fear and mistrust of secular counselors is common in the religious community. This mistrust stems from the belief that social workers will take your children away if you spank them or that the therapist will be hostile to a person's faith. Therapists are even derogatorily referred to as "alphabet soup," but we shouldn't be afraid of secular counselors. 

There are three things we need to understand about grief because grief is such a complicated process. Last week, staff at my apartment complex found one of my neighbors dead from an apparent heart attack. It's a common problem; I've lived there since 2009 and this is the fifth death of a resident since I've been there. My neighbors are complaining about the high death rate at this complex as they go through the grieving process alone. This made me realize there are three things we need to understand about grief.

How do you explain mental illness? How do you explain a brain disorder to a person who has no experience with psychiatric disorders? What can you say to make other people understand that mental illness is just that--an illness that affects the mind? Here are my tips on how to explain mental illness.

There are three lies rape victims believe, and these lies are common. One in six American women and one in 33 American men will be sexually assaulted at some point in their lives, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN). That's just the ones who reported the rape, and RAINN estimates that 68 percent of rapes go unreported. I've heard that if you factor in unreported rapes, it's one in four American women and one in 10 American men. This raises the questions "Why not report it?" The simple answer is usually one of three lies that rape victims believe.

Should medical marijuana be legal for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? I recently got a petition from a veteran with PTSD. After developing the disorder as a result of military service, he was prescribed several psychiatric medications. None of the "dozens" worked, and he eventually attempted to overdose. Desperate, he turned to medical marijuana--and found it helped. Is it time to allow medical marijuana as a treatment for PTSD?

Taking a moral inventory when you have borderline personality disorder (BPD) can be daunting. Step four of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is "a searching and fearless moral inventory." This can be terrifying and difficult for a person with a co-occurring diagnosis of substance abuse and BPD. How do I overcome my black-and-white thinking and see myself as a person with character strengths and weaknesses? How do I remember that I'm a sick person who has made bad choices and not a fundamentally bad person? How do I, as a person with BPD, take a fearless moral inventory?

Martial arts and mental illness are an excellent therapeutic combination. The martial arts can help with mental illness symptoms by redirecting aggression, teaching confidence, and helping an individual set boundaries and sticking to them. Mental illness and martial arts are an interesting therapy.

There are so many myths about mental illness and violence. In fact, part of the stigma of mental illness is due to fears of violence. I wince every time someone with a psychiatric diagnosis commits a crime because it reinforces this stigma and teaches people to be afraid because they believe there is a link between mental illness and violence. But a study by Northwestern University found that most mental illnesses aren't predictors of violence.1 The only exception is a substance abuse disorder. So how do we shatter the myth that mental illness means a person will be violent?