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Processing Emotions and Connecting with Community After a Mass Shooting
I personally have never experienced trauma related to gun violence. But, the emotion I feel each time this happens is hopelessness. Our society has adopted a certain performance mechanism to these acts of terror—we awaken with shock and horror, but quickly bury these emotions. Instead, we choose to debate Second Amendment rights, question forensic profiling,…
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Mental Health and The First Responder – Part 2
Try to imagine having a job where you know there is a distinct possibility you could be killed while doing your job. Imagine that your job description requires you to transport the dead bodies of community members to the medical examiner’s office. Imagine arriving on the scene of a drive-by shooting where a child has…
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Mental Health and the First Responder – Part 1
In the last two years, first responders in general, and police officers and firefighters more specifically, have been enduring tremendous stress while dealing with the challenges of a nation divided. The 2020 presidential election; the COVID-19 pandemic; the public murder of George Floyd, social justice protesting following Mr. Floyd’s death, and looters and rioters taking…
Read More“My Name is Tiger”: Navigating the Road to Recovery After Acute Injury
Tiger Woods’ road to recovery is just beginning. For many people who have experienced devastating injuries, the stabilization and mitigation of acute injuries is just the beginning. A car accident like the one that Tiger Woods experienced can have long-standing ramifications, some of which could even be lifelong. Although it’s not possible to speculate on…
Read MoreWoman-Founded in 1932
March is Women’s History Month and Council for Relationships (CFR) is celebrating 90 years of Marriage & Family Therapy, the legacy of Dr. Emily Mudd, and honoring all the women (trans and cis and nonbinary folks) who show up as clients, practitioners, donors, students, board members, and administrators to make our work possible. Every year, thousands of…
Read MoreEverything you need to know about CFR’s Online Therapy
Who is a good candidate? At Council for Relationships, we believe that everyone can benefit from therapy at some point in their lives. Every year, our therapists help thousands of clients live their best lives by helping them improve their important relationships. Our Online Therapy services are intended for clients who cannot see our…
Read MoreDealing with Trauma in the Wake of #MeToo
Tracey Tanenbaum is a Marriage and Family Therapist and Staff Therapist at Council for Relationships. She also serves as the Clinical Specialist of the Community Partnerships Initiative. In early October, numerous women came forward and accused Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct. Allegations ranged from inappropriate behavior to outright sexual assault. Since then, the floodgates…
Read MoreA Clinical Perspective on Treatment of Vietnam Veterans
The Vietnam War, a documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick details the “epic story of one of the most controversial events in American history.” In a Washington Post podcast, Ken Burns stated: “I do not think that the Vietnam War is over…all wars are fought twice; on the battlefield and in our memory…we’re…
Read MoreI Have A Message for You: Holocaust Survivors Recount Messages from their Parents
In the video, “I Have A Message for You,” Klara, who survived the Holocaust as a young French woman hidden in Belgium, narrates a powerful story about her father and the impact of parental messages on survivors. Klara, her father, and her boyfriend were on a train on their way to Auschwitz. Her father was…
Read MoreCoping with the Las Vegas Shooting: How to Respond When We Feel Powerless
It was the first thing we heard yesterday when we woke up here in Eastern Standard Time. There had been another mass shooting, this time in Las Vegas at an outdoor music festival. It was the worst shooting in our national history, said the news. After the devastation and continuing crises in Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico, the…
Read MorePracticing Everyday Self-Care in the Wake of Tragedy
Once again, we are in shock at the capacity of a human being to damage and kill other people—and there is nothing comprehensible about such carnage. The many feelings you may feel at a time like this—shock, anger, sadness, horror, fear, hopelessness—can easily lead to questions about human nature and the meaning of everyday life….
Read MoreCoping with the News of a Mass Shooting: Fighting Fear with Love
Waking up in the aftermath of a tragedy is jarring. This morning, I reached for my phone alarm, but before I could press snooze, I was startled by the number of texts from my friends and family. A CNN alert proclaimed a mass shooting. I sat up immediately, shaken from my sleepy fog. Again? Las…
Read MoreWhat an Eclipse and Therapy Have in Common
A commentator said of Monday’s eclipse, “Everyone was just a person with something in common at that moment.” At Council for Relationships, we know that the need for therapy is something that everyone has in common – either at certain points in life or on an ongoing basis. CFR therapists see more than 5,000 people…
Read MoreThe Fidget Spinner Spin
Are you asking yourself, what is a fidget spinner? Don’t feel bad if you are, I had to google it too. While that might mean that we both live under rocks, a fidget spinner is basically the newest iteration of a tool for doing something that most of us do already. It is a plastic…
Read MoreVideo: The Greater Philadelphia Conference on Veteran’s Mental Health
The Greater Philadelphia Conference on Veteran’s Mental Health will take place May 5, 2017. This full-day event features some of the nation’s leading experts in military and Veteran behavioral health. Veterans, military families, Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), and mental health professionals are all welcome. For more information or to register, click here.
Read MoreGetting Unstuck with EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR, has helped millions of people find relief from distress and misery over the last 20+ years, but I’m still amazed that it is often unknown and misunderstood. In my clinical practice, I’ve found it to be the most effective therapeutic modality that I use to help clients, whether I’m…
Read MoreIncorporating EMDR into my therapy practice
A Personal History of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing at Council for Relationships by Senior Staff Therapist Michael D’Antonio. From ancient times, Europeans searched for a specific missing ingredient for their cuisine: an acidic base for sauces. They tried pomegranates, then cranberries: with mixed success. Finally, the New World yielded up the tomato. We all…
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