So what is Mental Wellness? We all have heard terms such as mental health and mental illness, but what does mental wellness mean and why is it now entering into this space? My favorite definition for mental wellness comes from the Singapore Association of Mental Health. They define it as “Mental wellness is a positive state of mental health. It is more than the absence of mental illness. ... Being mentally well means that your mind is in order and functioning in your best interest. You are able to think, feel and act in ways that create a positive impact on your physical and social well-being.” This is wonderful because it provides a road map for us to help others move forward on their journey. It is clear that there is so much more available to the client then just the cessation of symptoms related to anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, fear, trauma, and pain.

Gray’s Beach, Yoho Head, Maine, November 2019–Jen

Throughout these pages I will explore new ideas and approaches that are being used in the mental wellness field. I do not intend to abandon work related to depth or insight psychology. The knowledge gained in that work is priceless for accessing an authentic life. My purpose with the mental wellness work is to normalize the human experience, remove the stigma of struggling with life, and build on the coping skills that have helped a client get to where they are today, even if some of those skills are flawed. Maybe we will move away from the handcuffs that exist when we diagnose and label clients whose greatest challenge is comprehension of what is normal and misinterpreting cues from their body and brains.

Mental wellness is a strength based, solution focused approach. The helping professions inadvertently thrives on keeping clients stuck. The language used in the field encourages us to identify with our symptoms which only reinforces our paralysis. I have always promoted that therapy is an active process that extends outside of the one hour session. Activating mental wellness is a shift from being passive in our lives to engaging the environment that we choose for us. Let’s see where this may take us.