From Psychiatrist-Psychoanalyst to Poet

  

I was trained at a time when the psychiatrist’s role was undergoing a profound change. During my residency all but one of us residents considered our own individual psychological treatment (for which we paid out of pocket) was essential to becoming competent practitioners. Included in our training was weekly group therapy on the ward run by a psychologist specially trained in group therapy. 

Since then, the field has shifted dramatically. Psychiatrists are rarely acknowledged as psychotherapists today. Indeed, younger psychiatrists have had a very different kind of training than those of us in earlier generations. With the entrance of psychologists and social workers into the field, our task has narrowed, often reduced to that of psychopharmacologist.

At times, when I attempt to gather a complete picture of a person’s life, as I believe is my responsibility, some clients seem reluctant to share, thinking that I am trespassing on the turf of their psychotherapist. Their demeanor seems to signal that they want me to get on with the task: JUST PRESCRIBE.

I have no problem prescribing an appropriate medication, but I do find that if I limit the task, the pleasure is diminished, as if the sap has dried up in an old fruit. The delight returns when treating the rare person who has sought me out precisely because of my background in psychodynamic psychotherapy. 

While I continue to work with a limited number of individuals, I’m devoting more of my time to my newer identity as a poet. I hope you will follow me at my Substack, Poet Lair.

Thank you, Dear Readers.

 

Poem for Therapy Dogs and Us

 

 

My Therapy Dog and Me

Meant for each other

Anxiety evaporates in the air between us

The atmosphere is magenta

The clouds are maroon

Who can sing as well as either 

Of us in tune? That is a therapy dog 

For you In synch with the slightest move

The tingle-tangle he hears  like a siren

We run and hide in the closet

We are ready for all time 

Apocalypse we fear but together

Wrapped in paws and arms

We perish and survive.

To Navigate Chaos, Think Simple Pleasures

The Legend Is in Trouble by Trenton Doyle Hancock

Trump’s penchant for flaunting law and precedent cannot help but rattle most of us, including me. 

With national and worldwide chaos reported in the daily news, including shrinkage of our savings, how are we to proceed in our lives without a considerable measure of despair?

 

Fortunately, we have an example of how to move forward in the form of another country, Finland, which has been the happiest country on the planet according to the World Happiness Report. For the New York Times, the journalist Britta Lokting traveled to Helsinki to learn lessons on lifting her spirits. She wrote that the key is to “quiet[ing] the mind and find[ing] pleasure in small acts and observations.”  

 

I reframe her advice to suit us New Yorkers: Visit a museum, plant flowering plants in a windowsill pot, or in the ground surrounding a tree on your block, take a walk in the park or go to the gym to exercise and clear your mind.

 

For me, daily meditation continues to be a soothing practice. I find relief by journaling about daily events, thoughts, feelings, and future plans. Dreams can also provide insight insights, revealing what my conscious mind hasn’t yet faced and might be wise to consider. Just the act of expressing these thoughts and feelings relieves tension.

 

Acknowledging the disorder around us and staying in the moment to appreciate what is working well enough on three levels—body, mind, and feelings (or spirit)—is crucial. Gratitude, wherever we can find it, always helps. 

 

Dear Reader, I invite your comments. 

Jsimon145@gmail.com.

The Gift of Feedback from Client to Psychotherapist

As a seasoned psychotherapist, psychoanalyst and psychopharmacologist with more decades of experience than I care to mention, my mind often touches on the subject gift giving. I know I’m a few days late for Valentine’s Day, but as you well know, we can’t predict when, how or where the mind will take us.

As a therapist, I strive to guide my clients toward personal insights, hoping they’ll give themselves the gift of greater self-awareness. Along the way, my clients also bestow invaluable gifts in the form of feedback, which help me improve and better treat them.

This morning in my daily scribbling, I began to reflect on the different types of gifts we receive. I’d been on a Valentine’s Day cruise where there were several sweet reminders of the love holiday. First, a complimentary dessert of sweet chocolate cake covered with a thin layer of shiny pink icing. Then, our cabins had surprise heart-shaped vanilla cookies sprinkled with red crystals waiting for us in our cabins after returning from dinner. How sweet is that?

Another unexpected gift I was given came from a client of mine who introduced me to the concept of love languages. She lent me her copy of The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman, so that I may have a better understanding of her personal issues. 

You, dear clients, give us therapists a gift when you tell us what we may be missing or how we could be erring in our treatment. Just like anyone who is interested in personal growth, we also learn from our mistakes and your feedback is critical.

Recently, an appreciative client told me that a suggestion I’d offered on how to approach a romantic interest wasn’t helpful. They thanked me for my effort, then shared that they were going to find another provider who might be better suited to their needs. I certainly appreciate the fact that they let me know. I didn’t have the nerve to ask them why my input failed to hit the mark. Dear client, you do not owe a detailed account of your dissatisfaction, but when you do offer feedback, I am grateful for it and do experience your words as ones that deliver the gift of information. 

Dear Reader, I welcome your comments.

jsimon145@gmail.com

GHOSTING

                                      

    I am a psychotherapist/psychopharmacologist. I work with a platform where patients can not only schedule their own appointments, but they can also cancel them. This style of scheduling is a new phenomenon that puts a strain on real life relationships. 

    I have now become too familiar with the term ghosting: a person’s sudden disappearance without any proper communication. Even something as seemingly impersonal as when someone makes an appointment on my online calendar and then deletes it before we’ve met can fall into this category. Here in six lines is a poetic expression of the perturbing phenomenon. 

    Please, dear client, I would appreciate even a brief explanation when you disappear.

    Gratefully, Dr Jane S.

    P.S. Please feel free to offer your comments and experiences.

    jsimon145@gmail.com

Being Ghosted

I’ve been ghosted and must pick 

up the slack, crossing off the names 

of those who have shucked me off their list. 

My brain will tidy up the matter 

with an intellectual broom of 

the mind janitor sweeping the hallways clean.