There is a lot of focus on mental illness these days and a lot of energy, time, and money is poured into understanding and treating the symptoms. I was caught up in that world myself for over twenty years — thousands of hours of therapy, thousands of pills, hundreds of self help books — trying to mitigate the symptoms of my PTSD.
Then I discovered psychologists George Pransky and Roger Mills — and the man they learned from — a ninth grade educated welder from Scotland named Sydney Banks that had an epiphany back in the 70s. Forty years later, that work continues to spread.
Their approach is wildly innovative. They focus instead on the principles of psychological experience and the hallmarks of good mental health. They educate and then, the client’s growing understanding of these things does the heavy lifting.
In this recent talk, Dr. Pransky outlines four indicators of good mental health. The ability to get over one’s self, the ability to change one’s mind, the ability to entertain new thought and the ability to recognize the subjective nature of human experience. His decades of practice developed from the principles of psychological experience uncovered by Banks have given him deep insight into how humans work and how life works.
You’ll need sound cancelling headphones because of the poor recording quality. But the content is worth the effort.