Archive for March, 2013

Under the best of circumstances, adolescence can be a challenging time.  

From a burst of neural development, to sexual and social development, to the formation of what will be the adult personality – adolescents are coping with complex and mercurial emotions. 

Adolescence is about growth – and growth can be messy.

From the beginning of my professional practice, I have always taken a special interest in working with young adults… exploring identity, self-respect, bullying and consequences.  I have experience working with young people in crisis, as well as young people who are struggling with finding out who they are and who they want to be. 

I am available for media commentary from a mental health and wellness perspective on a wide variety of issues— from the traumatic effects of COVID, to the psychological effects of our political environment, to our culture’s current epidemic of loneliness and isolation.  My background in writing, panel speaking and on-air experience can provide “human context” to the events of the day and help people personally connect to the stories that shape our lives.

Reach out to learn more.

Ironically, with more communication platforms available than ever before, people are yearning for authentic connection, to feel part of a community.  If your brand is “you”, how are you effectively connecting with your audience?  

When you communicate, who are you telling people you are?

What about you? What unique parts of you are you utilizing so that people feel seen by you?  What parts of you are you truthfully, but strategically, sharing so that your target audience feels connected to you?   

Through media consulting we identify your unique “voice.”  What is it about your message or product that can only be conveyed by you – in only the way you can?   And once we identify your voice – which lies at the heart of your humanity – how can we then use it as a tool for human connection?

This rewarding work explores who you are, what you want to say and how best to say it so that people hear you – and connect to you and to each other – through your vision. 

At their core, successful corporations are a collection of people – human beings with lived lives and different experiences – agreeing to collaborate and pool their talents in the service of common goals.  

Understanding your employees and learning how to maximize their efforts, tapping into the specific gifts of the individuals on your team (as well as their unique needs and challenges), can mean the difference between success and failure. 

How can your team work together to bring its fullest vision to life?

Given the unique DNA of your business, and the specific needs and personalities of the people that created it, who would be good strategic partners for you?  How can we identify potentially problematic relationships or personalities?  Where might conflicts arise?  And how do you successfully either avoid or solve those conflicts?

Just as in my individual work, my consulting work helps businesses identify and clarify their goals, as well as identify and clarify the obstacles in the way of your team achieving those goals – creating a strategy for “business self-actualization.” 

Business is people.  

People are human.  

Understanding them matters.

My clinical experience has taught me that trauma has many faces – from sudden, unexpected episodes of violence (emotional and/or physical) to systemic, ongoing emotional or physical abuse and neglect (including bullying and emotional battering) – or the threat of imminent physical harm or death.   

PTSD can feel as if it has hijacked your life, stealing your sense of identity and your sense of safety in the world.  It can include a complex range of symptoms including depression, anxiety, social withdrawal and debilitating physical manifestations of the trauma.

In children, trauma and PTSD show up somatically – in their bodies – and in their neural pathways – setting off a negative chain reaction which impacts their ability to focus and to socialize.  The trauma response can lead to behavioral problems that impede their education and leads to further isolation putting the child at even greater risk for depression, anxiety and withdrawal.

Trauma reactions are physiological, neural and emotional and require a multi-faceted approach in treatment.  Breakthroughs in our understanding and treatment of trauma (from people like Judith Herman, Bessel van der Kolk, Bruce Perry and Peter Levine) have led to treatments that incorporate mind,  body and spirit. 

The foundation for treatment of PTSD is to create a safe, empathic environment to explore, not just the trauma itself, but your specific reactions to the traumas that are now negatively impacting your quality of life.

My approach is holistic:  gently look at the traumatic event or events, and explore what is happening in the here and now.  It is a collaborate therapy, sometimes working with other therapists, that incorporates the trauma into the larger narrative of your life, while working to restore a sense of safety and balance.