My father died suddenly almost 56 ago. He was 56 when he died, and he would have been 112 years old today if he were still alive. I have been a therapist in private practice for 35 years. One of my specialties is grief therapy. I wonder how that happened. I seem to miss him...
There does not seem to be an agreed upon definition of long-term psychotherapy. I have been a psychotherapist in private practice for almost thirty-five years. I work with children, teens, and adults. I believe that treatment lasting a year or longer should be considered long-term psychotherapy. Who benefits from long-term therapy? Those who have experienced...
I wake up in the morning religiously at four thirty AM. I have no need to get up that early. I don’t have a job that requires predawn awakening. I am startled when I open my eyes and begin to have this worried sensation in my body. My stomach is upset and the quiet in...
Have you ever wanted to deal with your emotional pain in a different way besides reliving traumatic memories? Have you ever heard the words “You need to forgive” and have no idea of what these words mean or what their purpose is? Have you ever felt that intellectually and emotionally reviewing loss in...
Emotional triggers are moments when you suddenly feel anxious, overwhelmed, confused, and terrified. You often don’t recognize these experiences as being triggers. You aren’t sure what they are about or where they originate.
Triggers are created out of trauma. The following are examples of trauma: Being physically and or sexually assaulted, being emotionally abused, a parent dying, a break up with a partner, loss of a job/loss of income, poverty, being in a war and surviving a natural disaster, racisim, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-Semitism or being hated because you are the “other.”
My father died suddenly on Nov. 9, 1966 when I was fifteen years old. He had a stroke, went to the ICU and died two days later. When I think about this awful/pivotal time, I have a vast array of angry and sad feelings. How institutions failed my family: The hospital would not allow my...
Hi. My name is Bob Livingstone and I am sixty-seven years old. I am a psychotherapist working with children, teenagers and adults. I have been in private practice for over thirty years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of the areas I like to focus on are grief and loss, trauma/abuse, and divorce. My...
I was watching the Marvel TV show Luke Cage scenes where Luke’s dad put his arms around him and apologized for not being there when he was a child. I started tearing up when I realized I never had this moment with my dad. The pain was felt deep inside with the understanding that I...
What does it mean to honor your traumas, losses and heartbreaks? Honoring is acknowledging the anguish you have experienced. Honoring marks the horror, sadness and anger when the event first happened. It celebrates your recovery process. It is a time for telling your story about the trauma and to discuss how you overcame the obstacles....
The following is a composite case study of several clients. Joy is thirty-nine years old and is single. She is divorced and has a female child, age seventeen. She has been in a relationship with John for the past two years. She is a self-employed accountant and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She...
