COVID19 2.0: WORKING WITH DISTANCE IN SEARCH OF TRUTH: JAMES N KRAUT, PSY.D. If you read some of my older articles, you will find that I often discuss how far we humans have drifted from each other in the last few decades. I discussed in those pieces the unpleasant, at times unsafe and occasionally tragic effects that we encounter …
COVID19, SOCIAL DISTANCING AND VIRTUAL THERAPY
COVID19, SOCIAL DISTANCING AND VIRTUAL THERAPY JAMES N KRAUT, PSY.D. At this point, no one needs to be told how strange and anxiety-provoking these times and our suddenly new world are. We all experienced how the endless political news cycle suddenly gave way to a scary biological story in which we all appear as either potential or actual characters. …
LEARNING FROM THE HEART OF MAX YASGUR
LEARNING FROM THE HEART OF MAX YASGUR JAMES N KRAUT, PSY.D. It’s difficult to imagine a world with no Woodstock. The iconic three-day music festival, which took place in the summer of 1969, drew nearly a half million young people and 50 years later still stands as one of the most significant, profound and positive countercultural events of the …
LETTING IT BE
JAMES N KRAUT, PSY.D. Let’s start with a little exercise: Take a blank piece of 8 ½ x 11 paper and sit down in a comfortable chair or on a cushion. Imagine that everything that you see, feel or otherwise experience in life as difficult, frightening, stressful or otherwise unpleasant is represented in that piece of paper. The paper symbolically …
THE PROBLEM WITH HAVING TO BE RIGHT
Learning to Listen with More Flexibility James N Kraut, Psy.D. When we were growing up, chances are we were told and shown that we were wrong a lot. As soon as we began to move around by ourselves, our human/primate DNA sent us on an endless quest to apprehend the world outside of us, to increasingly understand and find our …
LETTING GO OF YOUR KIDS
LETTING GO OF YOUR KIDS James N Kraut, Psy.D. From the time your children are born, your job is to get them to not need you to do your job. The human journey begins with complete dependency and as parents, we attempt, gradually, to give our kids the skills to be able to live autonomously. What’s sad about it is …
THOUGHTS ON DREAMS | JAMES N KRAUT, PSY.D.
THOUGHTS ON DREAMS JAMES N KRAUT, PSY.D. Even if you never remember your dreams, you’re surely having them every night. Everyone dreams. The meaning of dreams, however, is not so nailed down as the evidence of their universal existence. There are a number of widely varying theories regarding the meaning of dreaming. One theory is that dreams are simply random …
QUIET TROUBLE IS EASIER TO MISS
QUIET TROUBLE IS EASIER TO MISS James N Kraut, Psy.D. Children whose behavior deteriorates have no trouble getting our attention. Unfortunately, however, kids can respond to stress, trauma and pain by either externalizing or internalizing it. They can either take their trouble out into the world or pull it deep inside themselves. If your child’s difficulty, for example, coping your …
KINDNESS, FEAR AND MEDITATION
KINDNESS, FEAR AND MEDITATION James N Kraut, Psy.D. Fear and kindness push each other out of the picture. Looking at the world today, yourself included, you are continually accosted by countless signs of extreme global turbulence. You are told numerous times, day after day, by the news media, who are in business to hook your emotions into the ongoing story, …
Tough Love
TOUGH LOVE: WHY IT’S IMPORTANT James N Kraut, Psy.D. “Tough love” is a common phrase and it generally refers to the act of allowing those close to us – usually, and for our purposes here, our children – to experience something difficult for what we see as “their own good.” Tough love requires parents to have a strong enough sense …