You may notice that each page on my website now has a little green doohickey near the bottom with an elephant’s head and the word “Clip.” If you are a user of the app called Evernote, you’ll know what this is already. If not, let me say a little bit about it.

Last night I visited the downtown office of the Center for Contextual Change, an established psychotherapy organization that specializes in treating the effects of trauma. I had the opportunity to speak with Mary Jo Barrett, LCSW, a founder of the group and currently the Executive Director.

McDonald’s has come under fire in recent weeks for a series of posts on an employee web portal (now deleted) which struck many people as insensitive at best and hypocritical at worst. The “tip sheets” included a health page from a university-based group of authors that cautioned readers to limit their consumption of fast foods. Other… Continue Reading Concern about Employees Means More than “Canned” Tips on a Website

I traveled to the Illinois State Capitol this week with a busload of faculty, staff, and students from Adler School of Professional Psychology, for a rally and march in support of SB 10, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, which passed the Illinois Senate earlier this year but did not pass in the Illinois… Continue Reading October 22, 2013 Rally for Illinois Marriage Equality

In the latest example of what are becoming all-too-frequent acts of unspeakable horror, homemade bombs killed three people and seriously wounded dozens more at the beloved Boston Marathon this week. The act itself seems to fit the definition of terrorism perfectly: an indiscriminate strike at ordinary, innocent people in a moment of national celebration, forever… Continue Reading A Tough Uncle: On “Being Losers”

In the aftermath of the horrific shootings in Sandy Hook Elementary School, we see (as we do after each of these increasingly common incidents) many pieces in news media and from mental health experts (including the American Psychological Association) on how to talk to children about such tragedies. Unfortunately, we adults also need help in… Continue Reading Unspeakable Horror

I’m ready to rant. I suppose that my participation in the 60th Anniversary celebrations and commencement at the Adler School of Professional Psychology has crystallized my feelings about the current state of our nation and world. This will definitely be a TL;DR (“too long, didn’t read”) entry if you’re the type of person put off… Continue Reading The Stupidity of Selfishness

I recently attended a training workshop presented by Gateway Foundation at the Adler School of Professional Psychology. The presenter, David Mee-Lee, M.D., was one of the editors of the criteria used by substance abuse counselors to guide placement into treatment. His “take-away” message was that treatment professionals need to become experts at meeting clients “where… Continue Reading Advances in Addiction Treatment – 2012

I attended a conference today on synthetic cannabinoid drugs, such as “Spice,” K-2, and “bath salts.” These are drugs made by altering the chemical properties of an existing drugs, primarily THC (cannabis, or marijuana). Although their popularity seems to have followed from the popularity of “club drugs” such as ecstasy, they are not chemically based… Continue Reading Synthetic Cannabinoids – A Scary Brew

Today’s keynote speaker at the Adler School of Professional Psychology’s conference on urban mental health was Professor Sir Michael Marmot, a researcher at University College London who specializes in studying health inequities around the world. He made a number of excellent points. One of his points was that disparities in income and wealth have been… Continue Reading Professor Sir Michael Marmot at Local Conference on Urban Mental Health