COVID-19 and Psychological Stress
I am completing this blog while “sheltered in place” on Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 PANDEMIC. When I began the blog yesterday around 2:00 p.m. (MT), news stations (using Johns Hopkins University as their source), were reporting coronavirus numbers as follows: GLOBALLY: Total Cases: 1,181,825; Deaths: 63,902 IN THE UNITED STATES: Total Cases: 300,915; Deaths: 8,162 As of this morning, less than 24 hours later, those numbers had been updated to read: GLOBALLY: Total Cases: 1,221,396; Deaths: 66,485 IN THE UNITED STATES: Total Cases: 319,205;...
Read MoreNo Therapy is Absolute or Final. However…
In November 2011, I attended an extremely helpful workshop entitled “The Lost Art of Psychotherapy.” The presenter was Barry J. Koch, PhD psychologist, professor, and author at Newman University’s Master of Social Work program in Colorado Springs. What may come as a surprise to clients in counseling and psychotherapy (perhaps even some therapists), Dr. Koch ended the workshop with the following caveat: “There is no such thing as doing a ‘complete’ job in psychotherapy.” Although research has consistently shown the efficacy of counseling and...
Read MoreWelcome to Holland
I recently purchased the most delightful book, which I’m currently in the process of reading. The eminent and emeritus Stanford University professor of psychiatry, Irvin Yalom, MD says about it, “I’ve been reading books about psychotherapy for over a half century, but never have I encountered a book like this one: so bold and brassy, so pack with good stories, so honest, deep, and riveting. The book is Maybe You Should Talk to Someone (2019) written by psychotherapist and New York Times best-selling author, Lori Gottlieb; a book in which she talks about her life as a...
Read MoreDistressing Events, REM Sleep, & EMDR Therapy
Several weeks ago, strolling through our local Barnes & Noble, a book title caught my eye. Why We Sleep; Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams (2017) by Matthew Walker, PhD. Little did I know in that moment, it would become a most interesting and informative read. Dr. Walker is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science. He is also a former professor of psychiatry at Harvard University. I was particularly interested in reading about the stage of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, and its...
Read MoreFeeling Our Feelings: Revisited
A year ago, March, I posted a blog called “Feeling My Feelings” (3/5/17), occasioned by the decision to put our beloved 14-year-old dog, “Mia,” a Papillon, to sleep. My wife and I agonized for weeks over Mia’s failing condition. I said in that blog that my intent was “not to subvert the purpose of the blog, or even memorialize our ‘furry, quirky, little dog,'” as my wife called her, but to…emphasize the importance of ‘feeling our feelings.'” Even now as I write this, I feel that same, old familiar ache in my stomach. Five...
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