This piece is about feelings of loss following suicide. It is not at all graphic. For support around issues of suicide, call 800 273 8255 (National Suicide Prevention)
It is the time for leaves to surrender their sturdy colors, to cling to their branches, but then succumb to gravity, and…
I was teaching a three hour, heavy — hitter Ph.D. seminar to ten students. We were arranged around a large square table, where each student claimed a seat they kept for the semester. There was nowhere to hide. In the words of St. Paul, I did not “suffer fools gladly.”
…
A tree dwarfs two exuberant travelers wearing celebration clothes. They are surrounded by dances of love and joy.
Promises are made.
The oak is majestic — like it had no beginning, and certainly no end. Its expanse is breathtaking. Its branches are sturdy and long. …
First, as a clinical psychologist, I helped a number of couples negotiate the decision and the process of ending a marriage. I worked with the children to try to help them find ways to dealing with one of the major punches in the gut of growing up. …
Last week I ended up in the local ER with infections in my legs so bad that I could barely walk. A quick look, and the doctor told me I’d be admitted. She instructed a nurse to stash me in a cubicle until they could find me a bed upstairs…
I sit on a long bench in the waiting room. My mother is next to me. Right next to me. Shoulders touching. So close I hear her breathe.
There is no one else sitting on the bench. But she knows to sit so close. I am 34--years-old and my mother’s…
When I touch my mother, her eyes alight on me, it's only for seconds, but I know I've connected. Her hands are not the same. Once constantly charged with the care of six children, they now sit small and folded, as if waiting for something to engage them. When I…
The love-fueled presents that once had no value to us, may become the things that carry us out of our darkness.
A gift says as much about a giver as a receiver. Some gifts are celebrated immediately with expressions of great joy. Some are tangible — we wear them, eat…
I’ve been on a streak of bad health. As a result, I have had contact with a number of physicians and nurses who were complementing my internist in the management of my illness. For the most part, they have been quite competent and caring. Except some were lacking when told…
We struggle to manage depression and anxiety, deal with traumatic experiences and understand our self destructive impulses and actions. We long to improve the quality of our relationships and reach for lives that are more challenging and satisfying. The first session of psychotherapy is the ultimate blind date, with much…
