"A sensitive, witty, and highly respected psychiatrist, Vicki Berkus, M.D., Ph.D., CEDS has crafted a pointed and relevant book about mental fitness - and how to get it! Unlike so many books on mental health, Ten Commitments to Mental Fitnessaddress the 'practical stuff,' the nuts and bolts efforts of which people need to be mindful to assure mental wellness. "As if she and the reader were having a private conversation, Dr. Berkus reminds us to think hard about our priorities, our dreams, our feelings, and our relationships. And not to waste a moment in the process! She offers us exercises that are both fun and challenging and fresh questions to ask ourselves and significant others to illuminate a bright path to mental fitness. "With humor, plain talk, practical wisdom, and many examples from her years of practice, Dr. Berkus assures us that we in fact can become mentally fit and add richness andyears to our lives." - Roy Erlickman, Ph.D., CEDS Past President of IAEDP (The International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals)
In "Ten Commitments to Metal Fitness, Vicki Berkus provides the reader with answers that will empower them to examine their mental fitness, learn how to identify and keep healthy behaviors and let go of those that are detrimental to their well being.
Dr. Berkeus asks the reader to take a daily psychological inventory which includes four important questions. Throughout the text Berkus provides exercises to help you implement interventions which you can take to help you focus and set priorities on behavioral patterns you want to change. To enhance the readers understanding of each of the ten commitments the author uses examples and illustrations from her experiences as a therapist.
I personally found the exercise on listing the five priorities of my life enlightening and helpful, especially the suggestion to think through on the pros and cons of those priorities. I plan to review the results of this discovery regularly and often as I continue to declare the "Ten Affirmations for Mental Fitness."
Vicki Berkus, M.D, Ph.D., CEDS has all the credentials and more to author a book of this magnitude. She is recognized for her contributions to "Connections", the publication for the organization IAEDP. She is board certified in Psychiatry and Neurology and has headed an in-patient eating disorders program for eight years. Dr. Berkus is in private practice in Tucson, Arizona.
This is a timely book about the importance of raising your "Mental Fitness" program to the levels of "Physical Fitness" in your pursuit for well being and fullness in your life. Make these your "Ten Commitments to Mental Fitness."
About the author:
Vicki Berkus, M.D., Ph.D., CEDS is a member of the Monarch Health Sciences Medical Board and consults with coaches in addressing various psychological aspects of healthy eating. Dr Berkus completed a psychiatry residency at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine. She is board-certified in Psychiatry and Neurology. She headed an inpatient eating disorders program for eight years and is currently in private practice in Tucson, Arizona.
Steps to Implementing Change, August 4, 2006
