Editorial Strategy

This page explains what ShrinkDaily is, who it's written for, what it publishes, what it hands off to the rest of the Shrink Network, how a page earns a place on this site, how we handle evidence, and how we handle care routing. It's a public record so any reader, journalist, or fellow clinician can hold us to it.

Published under the direction of Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, board-certified psychiatrist. Reviewed on the same quarterly cadence as every other page on this site.

What this site is

ShrinkDaily is the daily learning layer of the Shrink Network. It's a psychiatrist-directed atlas of human functioning, delivered one concept a day. It's a reference organized like a knowledge graph, not a blog. Each concept is a canonical object with an evidence label, related concepts, a framework, a pathway, and a place in one of six realms: Thinking, Feeling, Becoming, Connecting, Performing, and Recovering.

Who it's for

Anyone who wants to understand the mind clearly, in plain language, in small pieces, from a source that stays honest about what's settled science and what's a useful teaching model. That includes patients, family members, therapists, teachers, coaches, and clinicians. It's not a diagnostic tool, and it's not a substitute for care.

What we own editorially

The daily learning cadence. The concept-lesson format: a clear definition, why it matters, an insight, a reflection prompt, a journal prompt, a practical step, a one-minute practice, a takeaway, and honest evidence labeling. The realm and pathway organization. The atlas map itself, and the frameworks built on top of it. This is what ShrinkDaily uniquely publishes and stands behind.

What we hand off, and to which sister site

ShrinkDaily is one property in a network. Each sister site has one job. When a reader needs something we don't own, we route to the site that does. Every outbound link below is UTM-tagged so the network can measure what actually helps.

• The canonical definition of a term lives on Shrinktionary. Where a ShrinkDaily concept has a canonical entry, our page renders that definition, attributed, before the lesson begins.
• The reference-length entry on a condition or symptom lives on Shrinkopedia. Where a concept maps to an entry there, our page carries a small "Also on Shrinkopedia" callout.
• Medication reference lives on PsychiatryRx. ShrinkDaily doesn't publish drug guides.
• Anxiety-specific and depression-specific resources live on AnxietyResource and DepressionResource.
• Research summaries live on AnxietyResearch.
• The profession layer, how psychiatry actually works, lives on shrinkiatry.
• Interactive tools and self-guided programs live on shrinQ, Unstuck, and QuitScrolling.
• Clinical care isn't ours to give. See the section on care routing below.

How a page earns a place here

A concept earns a place if it names something real in how minds work, and if we can add something useful that's not already on Shrinktionary or Shrinkopedia. If the value we would add is only "define this word," the page doesn't belong here; the definition belongs on the language layer. If the value is a lesson, a reflection, a practical step, and a place in the atlas, it belongs here.

Every concept is a canonical knowledge object: it exists once, sits in one realm and one library, carries an evidence label, connects to related concepts, and passes editorial and medical review before it's treated as final.

The evidence standard

Every concept carries an honest evidence label: established, emerging, or educational model. We say when something is a teaching model rather than a settled finding. We don't overstate. When a claim is drawn from a specific literature, the concept links to the reference. See Evidence Standards for the full rubric.

How care routing works

ShrinkDaily is a reference. It doesn't treat, prescribe, or diagnose. On concept pages where a reader may be wondering whether care would help, we present five options in editorial order, not one:

1. Your primary care doctor. The entry point most people already have.
2. A therapist through Psychology Today or your insurance panel.
3. A psychiatrist. The right door if medication may be part of the plan. Wait times are often long.
4. shrinkMD, one of several telepsychiatry options. Disclosure: Dr. Refai is the founder of shrinkMD and the editor of ShrinkDaily. ShrinkDaily takes no referral or affiliate commission for care. We name shrinkMD because it's transparently one option, not because we recommend it above other qualified clinicians.
5. 988 for crisis. If you're thinking about suicide, call or text 988 in the US, or call 911. Crisis is a different moment.

This block appears on concept pages where a reader may reasonably ask "do I need care for this?" It doesn't appear on pages that are purely teaching (working memory, cognitive load, the Zeigarnik effect), because forcing a care block onto every page would read as advertising and wouldn't serve the reader.

Editorial contributions

Almost everything on ShrinkDaily is written and reviewed under the direction of Dr. Refai. Very occasionally, on selected concept pages, we accept short expert commentary from a qualified clinician who can add a specific nuance the atlas is missing. Contributions must be one to three sentences, evidence-informed, and appropriate to the concept. They're edited and medically reviewed before publication, they carry a byline where relevant, and no exchange of backlinks, referral fees, or promotion is offered or accepted. This is an editorial process, not a directory. To propose commentary on a specific concept, use the email address on the contact page. Most proposals politely receive no; the fit has to be right for the reader.

Independence

ShrinkDaily runs no advertising, accepts no sponsorship, and pays no referral or affiliate commission on any link, including links to shrinkMD. Editorial decisions are made by Dr. Refai in his editor capacity, not his clinician capacity. Clinical care, education, and publishing are kept operationally separate across the Shrink Network, and each is held to its own standard.

Machine-readable spine

Every canonical page ShrinkDaily publishes is listed at /index.json, and every downloadable printable at /downloads.json, in the Shrink Network standard shape. Concept IDs are the canonical Shrinktionary slugs from shrinktionary.com/concepts.json. AI answer engines and future automated tools can consume both feeds directly. That's the point of the network being a network.

What this page isn't

This is a strategy, not a marketing claim. If we ever drift from it, the drift is a bug, not the plan. Corrections go to the address on our contact page, and every change is dated in the quarterly review log.

Last reviewed July 13, 2026 by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA. We review every page on this site each quarter, including the legal and safety pages.