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Featured Author
Steve Kittelson, MS, LPC
MEET AUTHOR Steve Kittelson, MS, LPC
Author's Published Articles
Mental Health Minute: Checked Baggage or Carry-on?
You may have heard the story of a man who…
Mental Health Minute: What Do We Remember?
Whenever we look at a new assignment, a new challenge,…
Mental Health Minute: Was He Angry?
Some people justify their anger by referring to Matthew 5:22…
Mental Health Minute: A Different Kind of Confidence
In the concluding session of the April 2025 General Conference,…
Mental Health Minute: What it Means to Endure to the End
"What does it mean to endure? I love this definition: to…
Mental Health Minute: Important Questions to Ask Yourself When You’re Struggling
As mental health professionals, we ask lots of questions to…
Mental Health Minute: Inward or Outward – Where Does the Arrow Point?
Elder Bednar explained that the natural man is focused inward.…
Mental Health Minute: The Mind is Like a Stage
How often do we worry that our thoughts will condemn…
Mental Health Minute: Tips for Handling the Daily Schedule of a Missionary
Many years ago, I started a job where our boss…
Mental Health Minute: Are We Too Comfortable?
How often does the Lord, who loves us, take us…
Mental Health Minute: Is This Resilience?
No matter how great or small our challenges might be,…
Mental Health Minute: Excellent and Improving
For many years and in several settings, you and I…
Mental Health Minute: A Cup of Kindness
As we approach the end of another year, we often…
Mental Health Minute: The Bigger Man
During group counseling in prison, the focus was on relationships.…
Mental Health Minute: Criticism Never Faileth
How can we turn criticism into learning experiences? How can…
Mental Health Minute: Learning to Handle a Change of Season
How often in our lives have we had to press…
Mental Health Minute: The Miracle of Forgiving
How important is it to give forgiveness? What can we…
Mental Health Minute: Who? Me?
One important observation at the end of a therapy session…
Mental Health Minute: Suicide Prevention
When we were serving a mission at BYU-Hawaii and while…
Mental Health Minute: The Tongue of Angels
How often do we feel it necessary to raise our…
Mental Health Minute: How to Deal with Annoying Behaviors
Has there ever been anyone in your life who was…
Mental Health Minute: What Does the Future Hold?
"I came to prison when I was 15 and now…
Mental Health Minute: Why Hold a Negative Thought?
Have you ever had a negative thought? Where do they…
Missionary Work: A Sacred Call to Serve, Not a Vacation
When we received our mission call to serve at BYU-Hawaii…
Mental Health Minute: Expectation Violation
Many times when our expectations are not met, we can…
Mental Health Minute: Good Enough?
During the departure devotional for missionaries who have completed their…
Mental Health Minute–Who Can I Trust?
During group therapy in prison, almost every single man who…
Mental Health Minute: Essential Attributes for Building Strong Relationships
During group therapy in prison, as the group members approached…
Mental Health Minute–Was it Enough?
These are the questions that haunt ut. Was it enough?…
Mental Health Minute: Which Part of You is Doing the Talking?
Have you ever been talking to someone … to your…
Mental Health Minute: My Way or the Highway
Have you ever heard someone issue an ultimatum? For example,…
Mental Health Minute: Breaking Up is Hard to Do
While counseling at BYU-Hawaii, a student came into my office…
Mental Health Minute: Strawberry or Chocolate?
How do you communicate with those you love? How do…
Mental Health Minute: Equally Yoked Together
How well are we “equally yoked together” with our missionary…
Mental Health Minute: Please Put the Knives Away
How often are our words like knives? How often do…
Mental Health Minute: Autism Awareness and Acceptance
The month of April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month.…
Mental Health Minute: Myopic
One frequent invitation in mental health counseling is to challenge…
Mental Health Minute: Sunday Will Come
We mourn for our family and friends who have passed…
Mental Health Minute: When Criticism Matters
I have so many timely suggestions, helpful hints, wonderful insights,…
Mental Health Minute: Red Hair, Brown Skin, and a Bird’s Nest
In today’s world, crowds yell and other players engage in…
Mental Health Minute: Start with “Hello”
Anticipated rejection is one of the core obstacles in developing…
Mental Health Minute: The Next Chapter
Recently, I have been talking with missionaries from Africa who…
Mental Health Minute: You Too Can Build a Ship
Have you ever received a calling where you felt completely…
Mental Health Minute: Overcoming Procrastination
How often have you and I been caught in the…
Mental Health Minute: How Do You Use Your 168 Hours?
know I have squandered time. I also know that we…
Mental Health Minute: Humility and Integrity
Am I humble enough to change? Do I possess the…
Mental Health Minute: I Am a Recovering Addict
Once I heard a talk where the speaker said, “I’m…
Mental Health Minute: Are We Listening?
Have you ever missed the quiet plea for understanding and…
Mental Health Minute: Fear Not, Be Not Afraid
There may be times when we feel stressed, homesick, depressed,…
Mental Health Minute: Service is Joy
For seven years, I worked in a medium security prison…
Mental Health Minute: The Song of the Heart
Whatever our current situation, whether we are feeling thankful, whether…
Mental Health Minute: Gratitude for Adversity
If there were no refiner’s fire, how can we become…
Mental Health Minute: Breathing and Relaxation
One of the main tools to improve mental health is…
Mental Health Minute: Death Anxiety
When we were serving a mission at BYU-Hawaii, a student…
Mental Health Minute: Who Makes the Rules?
A family came into counseling with the stated goal of…
Mental Health Minute: What Helps the Most in Adjusting to Missionary Life?
Not long ago, I asked two assistants to the mission…
Mental Health Minute: A Missionary’s Willing Sacrifice
For young missionaries today, called to serve 18 to 24…
Mental Health Minute: How well do you know your companion?
A missionary is struggling with his companion. [This could be…
Mental Health Minute: Is General Conference Harmful?
Conference is edifying, uplifting, and revelatory, but for those individuals…
Mental Health Minute: Suicide Prevention
September is Suicide Prevention Month. Of course, we all need…
Mental Health Minute: When a Missionary Returns Home Early
In the prison where I worked, the men who were…
Mental Health Minute: Lonely vs. Being Alone
Often people say they are lonely. That is different from…
Mental Health Minute: Values and Goals
What do you see in yourself 50 years from now? What do…
Mental Health Minute: Worries and Concerns
Often people use the terms “worries” and “concerns” as meaning…
Mental Health Minute: Making Wise Decisions
In our lives, we make some major decisions like where…
Mental Health Minute: Washing My Hands Again and Again
A young woman was washing her hands again and again,…
Mental Health Minute: Why Here? Why Now?
Have you ever wondered why you are in this branch,…
Mental Health Minute: Self-Mastery
Self-mastery includes the qualities of patience, overcoming the natural man,…
Mental Health Minute: Learning a New Language as a Missionary
Do you remember when you first went to school and…
Mental Health Minute: The First Step
At times, you may struggle with hard things like anxiety,…
Mental Health Minute: You Know Enough
Not long ago, we had two sister missionaries over for…
Mental Health Minute: Inspiration or Desperation?
How often have we been extended a call from our…
Mental Health Minute: The Seasons of Our Lives
How do we feel about where we are now and…
Mental Health Minute: Making Connections
We share the gospel message of being sons and daughters…
Mental Health Minute: To Know and To Love
Interestingly, research has shown that developing and maintaining healthy relationships…
Mental Health Minute: Strengths and Resilience
A 39-year-old woman came to counseling to work on self-esteem…
Mental Health Minute: The Leader and the Disciple
All of us serve as disciples of Jesus Christ. What…
Mental Health Minute: Service is Joy
“Much of the secret to dealing with the discouragement and…
Mental Health Minute: Beyond Comparison
How often should we be comparing ourselves to others? Or…
Mental Health Minute — Music Soothes the Soul
How often would we like to have a “blessing upon…
Mental Health Minute: Quick and Slow
Quick and slow. How do those words affect our lives?
Mental Health Minute: Sadness and Gratitude
While working as a therapist in the prison system, inmates…
Mental Health Minute: The Power in First Times
As we well know, there are a lot of “first…
Mental Health Minute: Fixing Flat Tires
In psychotherapy, there are “four tires” for stability and a…
Mental Health Minute: Do Something More
What is the problem with doing the dishes? While serving…
Mental Health Minute: Adversity and Opportunity
When I was serving in a YSA Ward, one young…
Mental Health Minute: Who is Driving the Bus?
Imagine a bus with several passengers going down the road.…
Mental Health Minute: What Lack I Yet?
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day…
The Problem with Pornography in Creating Healthy Relationships
Working with sex offenders in prison as they learn the…
Mental Health Minute: Challenging Our Negative Thoughts
Emotional awareness helps us build a bridge from negative emotions…
Mental Health Minute – The Basics: Thoughts, Feelings, Behavior
In mental health, there are some foundational methods or basic…
Mental Health Minute: He Washed Their Feet
We might not need to wash the feet of everyone…
Mental Health Minute: We Can Do Hard Things
Have you ever faced a challenge? Have you ever wondered…
Mental Health Minute: Six Perspectives
I don’t make very many guarantees in mental health therapy,…
Mental Health Minute: Finding Peace
As the echoes of Christmas carols fade in the distance.…
Mental Health Minute: Finding Joy in Every Circumstance
President Nelson exclaimed: “Saints can be happy under every circumstance.…
Mental Health Minute: Managing the Holiday Blues
For many people, the holidays are not the “most wonderful…
Mental Health Minute: Criticism and Compliments
When I served as a young missionary, our mission president’s…
Mental Health Minute: Facing Grief at the Loss of a Loved One
Throughout our lifetime, we will lose loved ones. Family and…
Mental Health Minute: Overcoming Anger
Over the years, I have counseled many people, men and…
Mental Health Minute: Gratitude and Happiness
During our mission at BYU-Hawaii, a student came to my…
Mental Health Minute: What About Anxiety?
Where does anxiety come from? Sometimes it can be a…
Mental Health Minute: Using Your Write Brain
A simple, yet amazing tool to bring peace and calm…
Mental Health Minute: Growing from the Past
Which voices do we hear? Which voices do we listen…
Mental Health Minute: Self-Worth and Self-Confidence
A lot of people I talk to, including missionaries, college…
Please, Please, Stay for the Whole Feast
While serving as Area Mental Health Advisor to missionaries in…
How to Save a Life: Misconceptions about Suicide
In 2015, 9.8 million people had thoughts of suicide. Every…
How Soon is Too Soon?: Kissing and Dating on the Way to a Temple Marriage
Not long ago I was visiting with a Young Single…
The Search for Approval, Acceptance, and Love
The Lord gives us His acceptance and love often and…