D. Patrick Zimmerman, M.A.T., Psy.D.

Whoopi Goldberg by Anni Leibovitz

2007-05-02T07:08:00.000-05:00

Whoopi Goldberg: I've Got Milk!

Whoopi Goldberg: Photography by Annie Leibovitz

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: MUSIC AND LIFE

Technorati: Whoopi Goldberg, Annie Leibovitz, Whoopi Goldberg photograph, photograph, photographer, music, movie, Oh Happy Day, Music and Life, life, mortality, video, YouTube

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Queen Elizabeth: By Annie Leibovitz

2007-05-02T03:34:00.000-05:00

Queen Elizabeth: Photography by Annie Leibovitz

The atmospheric picture of Queen Elizabeth taken by Anne Leibovitz in the opulent White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace. The Queen’s pale gold brocade dress, white fur stole and magnificent collection of jewellery emphasise her status, the diamond tiara was a wedding present for her grandmother, Queen Mary, while her pearl drop earrings were given to Queen Victoria when she was 19.

The way in which she gazes wistfully out of the window across the palace gardens, however, hints at a gentler, more fallible side. That essence of humanity is emphasized by the atmospheric lighting and storm clouds gathering outside. Of her photograph, which was commissioned to mark the Queen’s upcoming six-day trip to the United States, Leibovitz stated, "I feel like it’s a documentation and wanted to take a very simple portrait."
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Music and Life: But You Were Supposed to Sing

2007-05-01T14:40:00.000-05:00

But You Were Supposed to Sing

(Click Image for Flash Animation)

Matt Stone and Trey Parker made this flash animation about "Music and Life," which is based upon the thoughts of Alan Watts. The recognition of our mortality is the most important part of life, and one that we are driven to overlook or deny. However, the greater the extent to which we are able to entertain the sense of our mortality, the more plentiful are our possibilities for deciding how to live.

h/t to Andrew Sullivan

Technorati: Alan Watts, Music and Life, music, life, living, mortality, death, die, denial

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Into Great Silence: The Grande Chartreuse

2007-04-30T18:49:00.000-05:00

Tucked away deep within the postcard-perfect French Alps, The Grande Chartreuse is considered to be one of the world’s most ascetic monasteries. In 1984, German filmmaker Philip Gröning wrote to the Carthusian order for permission to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back to him. Sixteen years later, they were ready. Gröning, without crew or artificial lighting, lived in the monks’ quarters for six months, filming their daily prayers, tasks, rituals and rare outdoor excursions. Critics have described Into Great Silence as a transcendent, closely observed film that seeks to embody a monastery, rather than simply depict one. It has no score, no voiceover and no archival footage. What remains is stunningly elemental: time, space and light. One of the most mesmerizing and poetic chronicles of spirituality ever created, dissolves the border between screen and audience with a total immersion into the hush of monastic life. More meditation than documentary, it is said to be a rare, transformative experience.

INTO GREAT SILENCE

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[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L68Fuy3YV1o]

INTO GREAT SILENCE: FRENCH VERSION

INTO GREAT SILENCE: SECLUSION OF HIS CELL

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Technorati: Into Great Silence, The Grande Chartreuse, Carthusian order, silence, solitude, monestary, France, French Alps, Philip Groning, movie, medition, video

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M.I.T. Admissions Head Caught in 28 Year-Old Lie!

2007-04-27T16:52:00.000-05:00

DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO...

She Needed Therapy

Marilee Jones was the Dean of Admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was forced to step down from that position on Monday. In a note of bittersweet irony, since last fall Ms. Jones has been making speeches all around the country to promote her new book, Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond. The book had added to her reputation as a leader in the movement to tame the present-day college admissions frenzy. She had become well known for urging stressed-out students competing for elite colleges to calm down and stop trying to be so perfect.

But, Less Stress, More Success addresses not just the pressure to be perfect, but also the need to live with integrity. “Holding integrity is sometimes very hard to do because the temptation may be to cheat or cut corners,” she wrote. “But just remember that ‘what goes around comes around,’ meaning that life has a funny way of giving back what you put out.”

Yes, it certainly does...er, has!

Yesterday, Ms. Jones admitted that she had made up all of her higher education credentials and resigned after nearly thirty years at M.I.T. Officials of the institute said she did not have even an undergraduate degree.

“I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to M.I.T. 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my résumé when I applied for my current job or at any time since,” Ms. Jones said in a statement posted on M.I.T.'s web site. “I am deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the M.I.T. community and beyond who supported me, believed in me, and who have given me extraordinary opportunities.” Ms. Jones, 55, was originally from Albany, New York, and had on various occasions claimed to have degrees from three upstate New York institutions: Albany Medical College, Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In fact, she had no degrees from any of those places, or anywhere else.

Technorati: massachusetts institute of technology, M.I.T., Dean of Admissions, 28 year old lie, caught, forced to resign, higher education, education, Marilee Jones
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Myths and Realities about On-line Therapy

2007-04-27T11:17:00.000-05:00

Issues related to the online experience and therapeutic relationships have been a central focus of the Case Study Group (CSG) of the International Society for Mental Health Online. What do most people believe about the possibility of engaging in on-line therapy? One of the Case Study Group's interesting papers disusses what they consider to be some of the more common myths about about on-line therapy.

According to the CSG study, even among mental health professionals who may be otherwise very like-minded about concepts and principles which guide traditional counseling/psychotherapy approaches, there are some specific areas of concern which continue to be hotly debated with regard to Internet-facilitated mental health services. Clearly there does need to be thoughtful consideration about professional, ethical practice, with particular concern about risk management for particular types of client situations.

Our direct experience among a group of diversely trained mental health professionals, all with experience offline as well as online, suggests that there is even more potential than we had imagined for creative and therapeutic uses of Internet-facilitated communication. Moreover, the entire group acknowledges that what we have observed through the case presentations, and shared through a peer-supervision model, has convincingly demonstrated that some things we may not have thought possible clearly are.

At the same time, we have become still more acutely aware of the realities which are well-known in translating face-to-face therapies into digital versions, and the complexities involved in employing sound therapeutic and ethical judgment when situations arise "between sessions" online. Readers may access the entire article here: Myths and Realities of Online Clinical Work.

Technorati: psychology, psychotherapy therapy, on-line therapy, clinical psychology, internet, mental health, online mental health, mental health services, Chicago

Asking for Caring Support

2007-04-26T01:54:00.000-05:00

Barack Obama: Photography by Annie Liebovitz

I thought of two features today that might be helpful to readers. The first is a practical guide to maintaining privacy when you're looking for online mental health information. The second piece relates to the coping with our feelings about the tragedy that occurred last week at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

First, DotCOMSENSE, is a useful brochure that provides a basic listing of some common sense ways that can help you to protect your privacy and assess online mental health information. The brochure was originally developed by the American Psychological Association, but it is no longer available from them. However, you can access it here either to read or download (in pdf format) from Mind, a leading mental health charity in England: Mind.

A second item, which I thought might be helpful to some readers, is a short article just released by The American Psychological Association in an attempt to reach out to college and university students in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, suggesting ways for them to manage feelings of distress over that terrible event. Of course, it might well be helpful to a wider audience as well. The article is entitled Tips for College and University Students: Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of the Virginia Tech Shootings and is available to read or download from The APA Help Center.

Technorati: therapy, online therapy, on-line therapy, online therapist, psychologist, clinical psychologist, psychology, Cho, Cho Sueng-Hui, Sueng-Hui Cho, Virginia Tech gunman, mental illnes, mental health

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On-Line Psychotherapy

2007-04-25T15:30:00.000-05:00

May 1, 2007