My Invitation to You
It all begins with an idea. This is the first of many blogs exploring how we communicate and understand mental health.
~First off, I’d like to welcome you to my blog.
As you’ve probably read by now, you’ll see mention of doing clinical research within my practice, primarily because I hope that I can contribute novel understandings to our very complex ideas within mental health care. There’s far more people asking great questions than we give them credit for, and all because they are not in the areas we normally look.
Part of this undertaking will be writing blogs to begin communicating some of these ideas to the general public and practitioners – free of incessant jargon and in a way that the reader can grasp. A part from that, you’ll also see general topics discussed, reflections upon mental health in culture, or reflections on mental health in music. For those interested in the nitty gritty details of some of my more passionate topics, I’ll be writing on philosophy of mental illness, perception, neuroscience, and how the three interact in a beautiful matrix (my words and my hope that I can help everyone see that).
I’m a therapist first and my duty is to my patients. But I know that it cannot just end at my door. You’ll end up seeing that much of what I do involves trying to add vibrancy and depth to how we all perceive things. That’s the reason that in my practice, there’s such a large emphasis on metaphor and images that invite engaging with one’s thoughts.
Knowing he’s a hard character to work with – but appreciating the mustache – it’s worth sharing a quote I found from Friedrich Nietzsche that sums up what I’m trying to accomplish:
“The more abstract the truth you wish to teach, the more you need to seduce the senses to it.”
For this reason, I invite people from all over to dialogue and wrestle with these hard topics. Ask questions, challenge norms, wonder for the sake of wondering, and wonder why you wonder the way you do. Let your mind become a playground to test and cultivate the life you desire. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this.
-Jeremy Cooper, LPC
October 2022