Dr. Paul Conti

It's not pretty and it doesn't feel good to see, but you know what?

I can see it anyway and I can make change.

I don't have to be afraid of what I'm going to find, which doesn't mean we're just letting ourselves off the hook and pretending everything's great all the time.

It means we can bring ourselves to bear to change what's going on inside of us if we don't like it.

It's very empowering.

We don't have to be afraid.

of looking at ourselves.

That's how we change parts of our narrative.

And sometimes we change the whole narrative of our lives.

The whole framing of self arises from that, which is a big part of why what I do for a living is really fun.

You know, people often think, oh, it must be unpleasant.

And gosh, you're always talking to people about miserable things that can't bring any change.

I think

It's not like that at all, right?

Like it can be a fun, I mean, it has its hard work and it has times that it's sad or distressing, of course.

But by and large, it's fun to do because people can bring change to their lives, get happier.

We really see the progress towards the health that we're seeking.

I think the field of mental health has strayed very, very far from a position at the table of human leadership and a position that would be helpful to the people that the field is supposed to serve.

We've stepped away from prioritizing understanding.

The DSM is a very, very big, thick organization