There are times when turbulence feels like the norm. Life loses its predictability. What we see as the certainties of everyday life are not as certain as we’d like. Opening the daily paper or doomscrolling the news sites and social media, we’re confronted with one traumatic piece of information after another. Such moments can be scary, leading to unexpected irritation and edginess. Maybe we … [Read more...]
Empathy: Wartime and present times
Empathy is the bedrock of all relational and therapeutic work. It is not simply a skill but a mode of being with another mind — what the psychoanalyst Heinz Kohut called vicarious introspection. The capacity to feel into the emotional life of another so that the self can be known, mirrored and stabilized. Without empathy, no self can develop with coherence, and no therapy can heal. Yet empathy … [Read more...]
A house divided, trying to stand
Matthew 12:25 states, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no city or household divided against itself will stand." While this Biblical wisdom may also be said of family systems, perhaps even more poignantly today it serves as a reminder of the stressful and disheartening state of conflict between our "houses" and "states" within the United States. A grave tear in … [Read more...]
The fire this time
In the heart of Los Angeles, an apocalyptic event struck seemingly out of nowhere. High winds, commonly referred to as the Santa Anas, are not unfamiliar to Angelenos. Nor are wildfires, brush fires or other types of blazes that catch the winds and wreak havoc in areas around this sprawling city, 10 million strong and beyond. But this week came something never seen or experienced. The … [Read more...]
Grief & loss: When we come to mourn
Grief & loss are guaranteed. We all face them as conscious, self-aware beings. No one is exempt. We come to mourn family, friends, pets, homes, aspects of ourselves lost through aging or illness -- all of which we have loved and cherished over the years. Grief remains a universal experience, visiting its pain upon all socioeconomic strata, creeds, and races. Yet no two losses in life are … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 10
- Next Page »