Remember Biafra? When I was in college, people were starving in Biafra. Ok, so I’m dating myself here. Starving child during the Nigerian-Biafran war (c. 1968) The country of Biafra only existed from 1967 to 1970, having divided off from Nigeria before being forcibly reintegrated. Because of civil war, over 1 million people died, mostly from hunger. My heart went out to them, and I wanted to do something about it. So I got our college administration to agree to make a donation for every student who skipped dinner on a designated night. OK, so far, so good, but now…

Perhaps I’m dating myself here, but I remember what I like to refer to as “the dark days of drug, drug, DRUG medicine.” Those were the days before mind-body medicine was considered a viable treatment partner to be utilized along with the over-emphasized (if you asked me) pharmaceutical approach then practiced in most hospitals and doctors’ offices. Who had the greatest influence on the mainstream acceptance of mind-body medicine as a treatment alternative? It wasn’t a doctor, nurse or psychologist…it wasn’t a practitioner at all. In my mind, it was Bill Moyers, the reporter who released the “Healing and the…

Lady Bird Johnson Former First Lady The last time I was running, I was surprised and appalled to see someone drive by, roll down their window and throw some crumpled up wrappers out of their car. You just don’t see that anymore. We’ve got Lady Bird Johnson to thank for that. When she was first lady, she started a campaign against “litter bugging”. Up until then, it was pretty much commonplace to throw out, almost anywhere, anything that was disposable. Mrs. Johnson was able to have an impact upon our nation – changing the habits of millions of people, because,…

Some years ago I met Michael White, the now departed co-founder of Narrative Therapy. Soon after, his star rose rather quickly and he became a very well known teacher and writer. But all was not well in Australia, his home country. As Michael traveled around the world, his colleagues at home began to make snide remarks about him: Who the hell did he think he was? Better than everyone else? Anyone who stood above the crowd was likely to get cut down … An Australian friend of mine told me that this was a reflection of what they called there…

Some years back, managed care swept through the therapy field. Most of my therapist colleagues were freaked out, scared or angry about this phenomenon. They tried to hold on to the old reality, but the new one swept over them. What surprised me was how much many of my colleagues, who worked daily to empower their clients and patients to stop being victims, acted like and sounded like victims themselves. …a new wave is sweeping over the culture and the therapy field. It is the Internet. Well, it seems to me the same thing is happening all over again. The…

Just last weekend I came across a news release: “Pope Benedict XVI has a new commandment for priests struggling to get their message across: Go forth and blog.” At first I was surprised, but then I thought: Why not? They have a message. And so do you. One of the most effective ways of influencing a community is by writing a regular, or even irregular blog. It’s easier and less time-consuming than you’d think. And it’s something that every practitioner should consider doing. I’d thought about writing one for years before getting started last year. What stopped me? Well, fear….