There are insufficient mental health resources available to respond to today's mental health crisis.

Peer support is a validated and consensus-recommended way to extend psychological support.

Effective peer support requires both shared experiences and key personal qualities like empathy.

In previous books and papers, I’ve asserted that a tectonic shift in the delivery of mental health services is required, especially in the delivery of psychological support during and in the wake of crises and disasters (Everly, 2020, 2023; Everly and Lating, 2026). The key to constructive change resides in change predicated upon retention, recollection, and introspection. Those who fail to remember the past are condemned to repeat it, noted Santayana. Residing within that condemnation is an elusive maturity that will forever evade those who fail to heed the warning. They will be trapped in a perpetual infancy. And while it is true that those who fail to study the past are doomed to repeat it, those who fail to shape the future are condemned to endure a future shaped by others, as Toffler noted.

The interested observer cannot help but be struck by the canyon-like vitriolic schisms existing within political, economic, and educational spheres. Loneliness, anxiety, depression, and a sense of isolation seem pervasive, ironically, in an age of ubiquitous social media. Much to the dismay of many, there appears to be a debate concerning the value of free speech itself. The interested reader would prosper from insights provided by two brilliant summaries: A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting by Hara Estroff Marano and The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff. As we struggle to resolve........

© Psychology Today