Heartfelt thanks to Jacki Bruni and Yolanda Soto for their amazing event on Saturday, the 2010 Summer Options for Children with Special Needs…An Educational Expo at the Trumbull Library. It was such a pleasure to be included in the mix, to meet so many wonderful service providers and to explain how family therapy can be a final piece in the pie of services that families (and couples) with special needs kids can benefit from.
I have created a link on this blog with all of the wellness services from the event, please use it and share it with others, and I will be adding to the list as I learn of more services or opportunities.
One thing I wonder is how all of these families can come together and assist one another in a new way. Every family is struggling with burn-out, with couple breakdown, with having too much to do and not enough time. How can a community support group be built where things like shared babysitting (of trained and skilled childcare workers) is a real option, where Moms or Dads can share in carpooling to classes or workshops. Just thoughts but I’d love to hear your feedback.
I know, so many people are offput by the somewhat contrived essence of Valentine’s Day, a Hallmark cash cow and one more way for those who are un-coupled to feel even more left out. I know, I know. But that’s why I liked today’s Modern Love column in the New York Times, Explaining the Irrational: Here Goes...
It offers a look at a lot of the pitfalls of being coupled, un-coupled or not-so-sure-what-we-are. Basically, relationships are hard, confusing and messy. They are a lot of work if you want a really good one and it can take a good deal of work to get an off-track one back on track, yet that still comes in far less expensively than the d-word.
So whatever your state of coupling may be, please accept my wish for you, a wish for love filled with desire, vulnerability and bravery.
I know that this is a bit late, Groundhog Day was Feb. 2, but I was struck by this thoughtful review of the movie of the same name starring Bill Murray. It’s not exactly new (1993), and maybe not on too many top-10 lists, but it may have more to offer than meets the eye.
For so many, life can become seemingly unbearable in its repetition, mundaneness and predictability. This review by A. O. Scott lets us see that by not trying to make something better or different but to just live, change can occur and it can be good.
In Seth Godin’s blog, he posted a link to the new movie “Lemonade“. This is a well done, heartfelt and inspirational look at how losing a job may be the best thing that could ever happen to you. I know all too well that this is a truth for me, based on actual experience in my own life.
Watch this 36-minute movie and rethink your ROI on your daily grind and see if a change may be for the better for you as well. 36 minutes may be all that is standing in the way of your true happiness.
Having gone through this particular ringer, as well as years of business experience, MFT3 is well suited to be a source of support should you be ready to make some lemonade of your own.
In the final installment of PBS’s “This Emotional Life” series, episode 3 “Rethinking Happiness” focused on happiness, rejuvenation and misperceptions regarding how beliefs that are sometimes associated with happiness may not actually influence happiness at all. Why is the one thing we all crave so elusive?
Happiness, at the core, is a state of mind, a choice, and the debate ensues regarding money and its effect. I fall into the camp of belief that money is only associated to happiness based on the degree of comfort in one’s surroundings that it can create, not that it inherently causes happiness in and of itself (picture curling up in front of a fire with stacks of $20s).
But what about serious depression? I mean, if Chevy Chase, who has lots and lots of money, has trouble finding the correct anti-depressant for 6 years, what does that say about money’s role and strength regarding happiness?
In the end, it is the quality of our relationships that influences happiness, which so perfectly brings us circling back to episode 1, and so it goes.
Be prepared for MFT3 to refer to this series often regarding the multitude of topics that were so beautifully illustrated by PBS. I hope you were as moved by it as I was.
Episode 2 of PBS’s “This Emotional Life” series looks at emotions that are commonly regarded as obstacles to happiness — such as anger, fear, anxiety, and despair. At first blush these seem like pretty heavy topics, don’t I already know all about them, how much enjoyment can I get out of this show when I don’t have those problems?
The thing that this episode, “Facing Our Fears” so poignantly expresses is that we all do have all of these feelings, but what to do when they become unmanageable? And what does unmanageable look like, really?
As a therapist I am proud of PBS for being so thorough and explicit, going to the tough place and shedding light into some commonly dark corners. I will be using these episodes as resources for current and future clients as a launching pad for conversations about grief, trauma, depression, fear, how families of the afflicted can be affected and more.
I cannot wait to see tonight’s last episode. I hope you tune in as well. If you missed episode 2, click here to view the entire 2-hour show.
The subject was “Family, Friends and Lovers” and the focus was on the impact and importance of the relationships we have, our absolute need for them to be supportive and nurturing, and when things go awry, where and how to get help.
Even though the specific modality of Marriage and Family Therapy itself was not mentioned, the last part “Lovers”, where we follow the couple Monica and Phil through couples counseling, could not have been more appropriate regarding the actual experience that I have gone through so many dozens of times with couples myself. It was incredibly hopeful to me, as a therapist, that so many hundreds of thousands of people who may have outdated or misinformed ideas of what therapy is or looks/feels like were able to be witnesses to an actual, real, accurate experience.
Tune in tonight for part 2, click the link above if you missed part 1, and check back here tomorrow for more feedback, observation and learning.
2010 is upon us and everyone at MFT3 would like to wish you and yours a happy, healthy, safe and peaceful new year (let us know if we can help in any way, too!).
There is an upcoming special on PBS called “This Emotional Life” that looks to be something special, something that we can all learn from. It’s about people and relationships, happiness and depression, and how to make sense out of many things that seem to be so elusive.
Tune in January 4, 5 and 6 and enjoy. MFT3 will be posting responses here as well as on our Twitter feed.
I recently learned about this amazing not-for-profit called “Girls on the Run“, it was introduced to me through the Ladies Who Launch community.
When something remarkable comes across your path, I believe it is important to share it with as many people as you can. Please enjoy! Watch, learn, and pass along as you see fit.
T-SNAP (Trumbull)
Trumbull’s Special Needs Awareness Program, enabling emergency services (police, fire & EMS) to better respond when individuals with special needs are involved
TPSLD (Trumbull)
The Trumbull Parents of Students with Learning Differences supports parents of children with special needs in all town public/private schools
Notable sites
AAMFT
American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
Heartfelt thanks to Jacki Bruni and Yolanda Soto for their amazing event on Saturday, the 2010 Summer Options for Children with Special Needs…An Educational Expo at the Trumbull Library. It was such a pleasure to be included in the mix, to meet so many wonderful service providers and to explain how family therapy can be a final piece in the pie of services that families (and couples) with special needs kids can benefit from.
Happiness, at the core, is a state of mind, a choice, and the debate ensues regarding money and its effect. I fall into the camp of belief that money is only associated to happiness based on the degree of comfort in one’s surroundings that it can create, not that it inherently causes happiness in and of itself (picture curling up in front of a fire with stacks of $20s).
