Important Validation for the Aftermath of Adult Trauma
Many people face a traumatic event in adult life. Be it a serious car accident, combat, rape, a natural disaster or the loss of a child, people are often confronted with a horrific event that threatens...
View ArticleDoes Hope Really Make a Difference? Scientific Findings
Almost everyone has some experience with hope: We hope for the best. We hang on to hope. We despair when we lose hope. It would seem that hope, which is broadly defined as an emotional state that...
View ArticleThe Psychological Importance of “Our Stuff”
Well beyond the necessities and somewhere between collecting and hoarding…we all have ‘stuff.’ Be it the toy truck, the pasta bowl, the piano, the silver earrings or the old books, we all have stuff...
View ArticleRecognizing and Understanding Depression After Trauma
Disaster and trauma studies often focus on identifying the incidence of PTSD as the sequel to traumatic events. Early interventions with those affected after a disaster or traumatic event increasingly...
View ArticleUnderstanding Anger in the Aftermath of Trauma and Disaster
“Is Anyone Else Angry?” Trauma theorists tell us that while traumatic events are in themselves physically and emotionally assaultive, it is often the emotions suffered after the smoke clears and the...
View ArticleThe Family Story of Trauma: Ways to Change the Legacy
Whether in the past or the present, a traumatic event experienced by one or all members of a family, impacts the entire family system. Be it the violent loss of a child, the devastation from natural...
View ArticleWhen Injury Disrupts Exercise: Five Ways to Reduce Stress
There is considerable evidence that exercise benefits our mental health. Research suggests that in addition to improving memory, lifting mood, moderating depression, and reducing attention fatigue,...
View ArticleSurviving and Succeeding in Face of Uncertainty: Six Strategies
Events like the Boston Marathon Bombing, Hurricane Sandy’s Devastation, The Newtown CT School Shooting and the many traumatic events they echo, assault us with the uncertainties of life. Leaving death...
View ArticleMissing a Loved One on Thanksgiving: A Way of Grieving
Thanksgiving, which is celebrated in this country across cultures, religions, ethnicity, geography and socio-economic levels, is an emotional mile marker. It brings to the table and to the mind and...
View ArticleDeveloping a Post-Trauma Identity-Who Am I Now?
We are the story we tell ourselves about ourselves. Traumatic events disrupt out story and assault our sense of self. They leave us asking: Who am I if I can’t be a cop, a surgeon, a provider? How can...
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