Dr Lori Kumar on Positive Psychiatry: Expert Tips On How To Add Mental Wellness Skills To Medication Visits

Most mental health care starts with symptoms and medications, but too often it stops there. We wanted a more complete map, so we sat down with Dr. Lori Kumar, a psychiatric nurse practitioner serving community mental health patients across Austin and Central Texas rural areas, to talk about how positive psychiatry can fit into the real world of 20 to 30 minute visits, crisis follow-ups, and heavy med lists.We get specific about timing and language: when a person is still in crisis, safety and stabilization come first, but once things settle, we can shift toward mental wellness and patient agency. Lori shares a simple way to reduce confusion and resistance by using a medical analogy like asthma: medication matters, and so do the daily behaviors that calm the system and reduce triggers. From there, we dig into the practical pillars she returns to again and again, especially sleep wellness. Instead of reflexively reaching for sedation, we talk routines, realistic boundaries around phone use, and why “sleep hygiene” has to match modern stress and modern screens.We also unpack one of the best re-frames we have heard in years: if “exercise” makes patients shut down, call it movement. You will hear concrete, doable options for older adults, anxious patients, and anyone with low energy, plus low-cost cognitive training ideas like puzzles and word searches. We finish with gratitude practice that feels real, including a free app recommendation (“I Am”) that sends prompts throughout the day, and we connect all of this to clinician burnout and sustainability.www.JainUplift.com