News and Insights

Last week my father-in-law passed away. The tricky thing was he lived 30 miles away from the nearest neighbor, just north of Joshua Tree National Forest in California, and all by himself. It was a miracle a delivery person found his body or his dog Max would have been lost too. Peter was a young 82-year-old, who walked 5 miles a day but had a problem with smoking.   The desert oasis he lived...

For 11 years I worked at the first-ever, mental health urgent care center in the country. I was fresh out of graduate school with a crisp new, Doctoral degree, and trying to prove myself. This was the first facility of its kind, established to take pressure off of the local jails and emergency rooms and we had no clue what was going to enter our unit. My friend Patrick, who graduated with...

There are some interesting experiences as a therapist, which have aided me in being the best therapist I can be. When life and death situations presented themselves in my practice, I wasn’t that prepared to deal with them. As a college intern, my first placement was at Tarzana Treatment Center, a facility just north of Los Angeles. My position was counseling individuals suffering from HIV...

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression: “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” Have you ever considered what is the best thing that can happen? In graduate school, we were shown how to map out everything we wanted to happen through visualization and affirmation. The premise was, that if you can visualize it taking place, you can attract it into your life. For years I created these “Ideal...

My sister Samantha bought me the greatest birthday gift ever, a Karaoke machine. Little did I know at the time how much that machine would enhance my livelihood.  This was when I was working with the learning disabled at an independent living facility that taught young adults how to perform the normal duties of life, including cooking, cleaning, shopping, and paying bills. We’d gather at...

The most humbling experience I have ever had in my career was with an 18-year-old woman who attended my residential treatment program and we just did not connect. It happens, not every person is going to get along with me. She was there, not of her own choice but her family insisted that she clean herself up and was forced to be there. From the start, whatever I did always went clunk. I had...

When a client talked about it, it didn’t seem like it was a coincidence when people showed up in their life, it got me thinking. As I look back on my life, I have met some extraordinary people who have shaped the path I am currently walking, and was that a coincidence? This article is about one special man that I met on my path that I wish you all had the privilege to meet – Albert...

I never knew that being attacked came with mental health work. My job, on occasion, at the Mental Health Urgent Care Center, put me at risk. Our job was to keep the pressure off of the local jails and psychiatric hospitals by handling those people who were highly unstable. From week one, psychotic types were first funneled to us at a slow rate, and then soon it became a scramble to provide...

The special memory series continues from my 30-year career in the healthcare industry with this gem of an experience. It took place at the Mental Health Urgent Care Center in Long Beach California where I worked for 11 years. The Urgent Care Center was set up to take the pressure off of the psychiatric hospitals and the jails in the area, mostly to treat people who were in a crisis. When a...

Now in my 30th year as a therapist, I thought it would be great to reminisce a bit and share some of the highlights in my career. And no, I don’t want to thank my 3rd grade piano teacher because I didn’t have one. What I will share is my appreciation of the graduate schools, fellow therapists, and field experience that has prepared me to face some of the most difficult challenges one can...