Welcome to my first post on this blog!

A TV ad from the 1980s used the phrase, “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.” At the time, I found that phrase oddly funny, but now I can relate. I’m not a psychologist, and while I don’t “play one on TV,” I do write about psychology.

The area that excites me is the interface between psychology and the written word. A series of loosely connected events and insights came together to say, “It’s time to begin blogging about this passion.”

• Publication: My book on effective writing for psychologists was published by Routledge in 2012.
• Psychology, Writing, and Healing: Writing is important to psychologists and to those they work with.  Writing can contribute to healing from various emotional wounds or mental health issues.
• Therapeutic Story: With neuropsychologist, Dr. Diane Engelman, I write therapeutic stories.  Each story is for an audience of one – the person struggling with ADHD, grief, bipolar disorder, PTSD, or any number of other issues. It provides a metaphor of the person’s life and is one tool in healing.
• Story as Concept:  The idea of “story” runs broad and deep. It can be the person’s life narrative and can have many sub-stories, each only one thread in that interwoven narrative. Many people may be looking to define their own stories or to grow them, expanding on what has been or moving in new directions.
• Our Brains and Communication: Our brains contribute to each person’s unique ways of interacting with our world.  Communicating in writing or speech gives others a glimpse into how our unique brain works.

Those recognitions settled into this list of topics:

1. Writing
2. Writing to Heal
3. Story
4. Growing Stories
5. Communicating and the Brain

This blog will roam freely among those topics. I hope to connect with readers willing to try the idea that writing is a skill than can be learned. That it can contribute to the way we communicate with ourselves and our world. And that it can help us to heal and grow.

A good friend recently said, “I’m thinking growth will continue till we die.” For better or for worse, I think he’s right. So, let’s explore how writing can make that growth easier.

Tagged ADHD, bipolar disorder, grief, psychology, PTSD, therapeutic story, writing to heal