As a therapist, I work with a lot of people who are grieving: The loss may be the death of a loved one, a divorce, the breakup of a relationship or the loss of a career, a goal or a dream. There are many more things to grieve in our world than only a death, and working through [...]
Life as we know it has radically changed. We were used to going out, whether it was for work, school, shopping, attending our kids’ activities, or socializing with our friends. We felt free and in control until the day came when our world was shaken to its core with the COVID 19 Pandemic. This Pandemic flipped life as we know [...]
Lately I find myself holding my breath. I first became aware of this when I was riding the Metro home from work. At the time, the country was still running, though it was not quite business as usual. DC was climbing toward the precipice of panic but had not yet shut down entirely. Most people were still reporting for work [...]
It’s MLK, Jr. day as I write, and Richmond is the site of a large 2nd Amendment rally while the annual state legislative session opens. As another decade and a US presidential election year begin, patience, empathy and understanding for those who are viewed as other, different -- or who simply disagree with one’s own political position -- seem [...]
In addressing the topic of Stress; I always like to start by pointing out the obvious. If you don’t manage stress, it will manage you. Stress is crafty; it takes over your body, mind and spirit. We cannot prevent all stress, so we must learn how to minimize it and fight the negative effects of it as best as [...]
Today, on a whim, I went on-line to see if I could find anything about Tom, one of my closest friends from graduate school. I don’t have current contact information for him and I wanted to find out how he is. On-line I found the usual links: “Find Tom Irwin* on LinkedIn,” “6 Tom Irwin’s on Facebook,” “15 Tom Irwin’s [...]
Happy February - the month of LOVE. What is the meaning of Love? Viktor Frankl in MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING (1984), proclaimed “…that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire [and]….the salvation of man is through love and in love,” and Teilhard de Chardin is quoted (2019): “Someday…we will master for God the energies [...]
During the month of January, so many of us embark upon new habits of self-care and wellness in the spirit of the well-known “New Year’s Resolution.” These resolutions may range from new physical fitness and nutrition commitments to promises of communicating with loved ones more frequently or more calmly. My own self-disclosure and confession—I have started “New Year’s Resolutions” only [...]
“How long will I be in counseling?” This is a question that is often asked when someone is starting in therapy. It is a tough one to answer. The short answer is that it is different for every person. The long answer has to do with various factors such as commitment, support, time, and depth of a problem, [...]
We often do not know what other people are experiencing. And I do not mean just what they are thinking cognitively, or feeling emotionally, I mean, we literally do not know what they see, what they hear, how fast their body reacts to stimuli, how they experience color, sound, sensation, pain. We tend to think just because we have a [...]
