Experienced Therapists Launch Mental Health Boot Camp

PASADENA, Calif., April 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Look at any major city, and you’ll find a surplus of fitness boot camps. They help you lose weight, tighten your abs, and improve your stamina. But what about your mental health? Where are the boot camps for improving the fitness of your brain?

Dr. Ryan Howes, a clinical psychologist and writer in Pasadena, California, saw this void as an opportunity to spread proven mental health and wellness exercises to the masses. “It’s almost unfair,” he says, “there are so many tools to help us navigate life’s challenges, but only the few of us who go to therapy have access to them.”

Dr. Howes has partnered with three Canadian therapists — Dr. Brooke Lewis, Chris Boyd and his sister Joanna Boyd— to develop the Mental Health Boot Camp, a 25-day online program designed to give everyone access to the same evidence-based tools and techniques psychotherapists use to help their clients lead more fulfilling, productive lives.

“We hope to make mindfulness, gratitude, self-knowledge, and communication skills appealing and available to everyone, at any stage of their growth,” Howes says. The self-directed daily exercises typically take from 20-40 minutes. They include reading, writing prompts, recorded meditations, gratitude journals, low-impact physical exercises and more. “All for less than the cost of a single therapy session,” says Howes. The entire program is available to individuals or businesses for $39.99 USD, and because their mission is to improve mental health for everyone, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to community mental health programs.

While the Mental Health Boot Camp is relatively new, reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. A participant known as “A.S.” states: “This is a unique opportunity to gain valuable skills and personal growth through targeted readings, exercises, repetition, and consistency with a splash of humor to keep you motivated. Commit yourself to the daily workouts, and you will feel the results.”

The Mental Health Boot Camp launched earlier this year and plans to develop additional Boot Camp installments soon. According to Howes, “We are building new Boot Camps that will target specific areas like parenting, trauma, stress, and peak performance. Look for them later this year.”

Howes believes he and his team’s simple, affordable approach to improving mental health will appeal to both skeptics and anyone seeking a better life.