There is a lot of information circling now regarding the pandemic. I don’t intend to add to the sometimes flood of information. However, I thought I would just write briefly about ways of safeguarding mental health during this crisis. Many, including those of us in the SF Bay Area, are now following stay-in-place orders from […]
It is not just the human species who are endangered by human-made climate change. Other species as well. Including birds. A new report from Audubon says that 2/3rds of North American species of birds are on the verge of extinction given rising temperatures. In San Francisco county there are 20 species of high vulnerability and […]
Given that there seems to be a daily deluge of really terrible, disturbing news, especially emanating from the White House, it might be a psychological imperative that we focus on some good news when it is available. The bad news this week: Trump’s actions to roll back more Obama-era environmental safeguards, such as the Clean […]
The recent article from Jonathan Franzen in the New Yorker poses a challenge to all of us. In short, Franzen argues that the fight to prevent the catastrophic occurrences of climate change is over: that we have lost. That in fact it would take an effort that is inconceivable, especially given the large percentage of […]
Thoreau wrote “Simplify, simplify, simplify” before he went off to live in the woods (well, really the pond in town) for what turned out to be a short stay. And while human beings are complex creatures, and psychotherapy and psychoanalysis endeavor to understand a person’s complexity, it is useful to simplify at times. So I […]
Recently I spoke with some prospective clients who had inquired specifically about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In each case my hunch proved correct: someone, such as a psychiatrist, who doesn’t practice psychotherapy, had recommended this form of therapy. These callers didn’t really know what it was or if that was what they wanted; they were […]
On this one-year marking of the horror of Charlottesville and the unacceptable response of the President equivocating and equating people espousing vile beliefs and ideology of hatred with those marching against evil, I’m reading Toni Morrison. Perhaps our, and I mean America’s, most ardent and eloquent voice for the dignity of all humans, Morrison published […]
Of course, it doesn’t happen every day. But frequently enough it does happen that a client lets me know through words or changes in behaviors the positive impact our work is having. And those moment are, well, they are just the best. Recently I had such a moment. A client said, “You know, it’s really […]
To me it isn’t the exotic that makes travel so magical. Sure, it is fascinating, sometimes spell-bounding, to witness different rituals, traditions, ways that people live. Whether it is crossing a local bridge or traveling to the other side of the world, the miracle of travel is about sameness. Everywhere, no matter where you are, […]
I recently had such a puzzling experience. A prospective client called and left a voice message canceling an initial appointment we had because she had read some of my blog postings and saw that we have different political opinions. I found myself thoroughly perplexed: Why would someone not go to a therapist who had differing […]
