by Mark Schiffman, M.S.
I just took my car in for its yearly vehicle inspection, which inspired a thought. When it comes to our cars, the government mandates that we check them to make sure they are running safely and relatively smoothly regardless of whether or not they are demonstrating any problems. When it comes to our teeth, we generally have the habit of a yearly or twice yearly check-up, even if we have no tooth pain. Most of us try to go to a general practitioner once a year for a well-visit just to double check our health. So how come we don’t have a yearly psychological inspection?
Would it be helpful to visit a psychologist every twelve months to have him or her ask you a list of basic mental health questions with opportunity to follow up if anything needs attention? From an RE&CBT perspective, does it make sense to take a few hours out of every month (Two months? Six months?) to explore the rationality or irrationality of our thoughts and how they lead to different emotional and behavioral consequences?
Perhaps these “inspections” would be effective in the primary prevention efforts of mental illnesses or perhaps would just help people cope better with daily life stressors. Without research, we could only speculate, but what do you think – would it be a worthwhile endeavor or not?
