MSI Press Blog

Frederic Craigie Jr., Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, consultant, educator, speaker, and writer. His passions and areas of expertise include spirituality in health and health care, healing relationships, clinician well-being, and resiliency and positive mental health. Fred attended Dartmouth College during the tumultuous Vietnam War era and completed his doctorate at the University of Utah.  He served internships in the VA system in clinical psychology and in substance abuse rehabilitation.  Following his training, he began what was to become a 37-year full-time faculty role at the Maine -Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency in Augusta, Maine, where he coordinated behavioral health teaching for residents and students and provided behavioral health care to a largely underserved primary care population. He serves as Visiting Associate Professor at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine (AWCIM) at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and held an appointment a...

  San Juan Books is the hybrid division of MSI Press LLC. It allows first-time writers to become published in a traditional way through the reduction of risk by sharing publication costs. All other publishing features are traditional in nature, and most SJB authors go on to be offered traditional contracts for their subsequent books. SJB publications are available as paperback, hard cover, and e-book versions. SJB authors' books very much hold their own against their contemporaries in the traditional publishing division. Indeed, a number of them have outsold their traditional compatriots. Today, San Juan Books presents author Dr. Frederic Craigie . BIO: Frederic Craigie Jr., Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, consultant, educator, speaker, and writer. His passions and areas of expertise include spirituality in health and health care, healing relationships, clinician well-being, and resiliency and positive mental health. Fred attended Dartmouth College during the tumultuous Vietnam ...

  Cancer kills bodies. Obesity kills relationships when partners are of highly different weights. There is a connection between all these things. The Physical and Emotional Toll of Health Disparities When we discuss health issues like cancer and obesity, we often focus solely on the physical aspects—the cellular changes, the medical treatments, the body mass statistics. However, beneath these clinical considerations lies a complex web of emotional and relational impacts that can be equally devastating. Cancer doesn't just attack cells; it disrupts lives, changes identities, and strains relationships. Similarly, significant weight differences between partners aren't just about physical appearance—they often reflect deeper lifestyle incompatibilities, values disconnects, and emotional challenges that can erode relationship foundations. The Science of Shared Health Journeys Research has consistently shown that couples with similar health behaviors tend to maintain stronger relatio...

  This week's book back story focuses on the award-winning  Mental Health Mayday  by Gregg Bagdade. From the author: As a firefighter and a paramedic for the Chicago Fire Department, I served 20 + years before I realized that my department was behind the times regarding handling mental health within the fire service. With the support of my wife and family, I went back to school, obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree from Penn State and then my Master’s Degree from Concordia University. I became licensed as a professional counselor and set out to change the stigma that was mental health within the fire service. I began working in private practice with first responders exclusively helping them with their mental health needs. Shortly thereafter, I realized that my affinity for writing would pay off in dividends if I just wrote a book so my message could spread far and wide. A year later, Mental Health Mayday was published. It is a portable, easily digestible primer on how firefight...

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! Every time I get the urge to exercise, I lie down until it passes. Mark Twain   New Years!   The Times Square ball, confetti, Guy Lombardo (for people of my vintage) and… New Year’s resolutions!   Most of us make some kind of resolution for the New Year. It’s a good opportunity for a fresh start. Change isn’t easy, though, and lapsed New Year’s resolutions are certainly part of the common lore of our culture.   There is no lack of advice out there about how best to manage the resolutions we set for the year to come. Set clear goals (I prefer the word, “intentions,” by the way). Write them down. Check in regularly about how you’re doing. Enlist the caring and support of somebody else.   These are perfectly fine ideas that I’m sure you have heard before. I want to share with you, though, three ideas that get less press, that arise from some combination of empirical literature and my own experience working with people for a long t...

  Today's Publisher's Pride is  Mental Health Mayday,  by Gregg Bagdade, which reached #199 on Amazon's bestseller list for psychology education and training and #285 for safety and first aid. Book description: From their swearing-in all to the way until retirement, even the most hardened firefighters can be affected by mental health concerns. A fascinating look behind the scenes of the career of a firefighter, this book explores the why and explains the how to better prepare these individuals for a healthy and productive career and life, based on the author's personal experience as a counselor, who also has 27 years as a firefighter and paramedic. Firefighters can learn how to acknowledge their mental health issues, such as PTSD, addiction, or anger issues while developing strategies to address these concerns with techniques and solutions throughout their career. This powerful book is part memoir and part call to action. Through the tales of his own journey from recrui...