By Gina Simmons, Ph.D. As a child I was blessed with two friends who profoundly inspired me. Michelle, blind from birth, was one of the most popular girls in the school. With exquisite auditory acuity, she recognized voices and would shout out across the quad, “how ya doin’ Gina!” before I ever saw her. She [...]

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By Gina Simmons, Ph.D. Many years ago my friends and I found ourselves facing a holiday season with no money and no family. Too broke to travel home, we decided to get creative. A twisted, puny, discarded shrub, stuck in a coffee can wrapped in aluminum foil became our Christmas tree. We took needle and [...]

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By Gina Simmons, Ph.D. A few days ago my daughter and I were diagnosed with the swine flu also known by the less friendly, H1N1. Symptoms include head ache so bad you can’t lift head off bed, sore throat, post-marathon fatigue (without the runner’s high) and body pain like being run through a rock polishing [...]

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By Gina Simmons, Ph.D. “I hate happy people,” said Mark, a former anger management client. “I just want to punch them in the face.” Mark wore his unhappiness with a hostile chip on his shoulder. Unable to appreciate the joy in others, even the sweet innocence of a baby’s laughter, he consumed himself with bitter [...]

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By Gina Simmons, Ph.D. Heather wiped her tear-streaked face with tissue.  Memories of her father, who abandoned her as a child, still tormented her emotionally, two decades later.  As she moved through her home, vacuuming the living room and cleaning the kitchen, the tears ran down her cheeks.   Her husband Dan came home from [...]

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By Jay Schneider, L.C.S.W. “Good morning! What we have here is breakfast in bed for four hundred thousand.” Hugh Romney (Wavy Gravy). The Woodstock Arts and Music Festival kicked off on August 15, 1969. On a 600 acre dairy farm in the small town of Bethel, New York, attendees came to see 32 of the [...]

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By Gina Simmons, Ph.D. Covered from head to toe in modest garments, in the hot Sudanese sun, Lubna Hussein found herself arrested under “indecency” laws. Wearing loose trousers that resembled a long skirt, Lubna, a Press Officer for the United Nations, found herself facing 40 lashes for wearing “indecent clothing.” She sent out 500 invitations [...]

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By Gina Simmons, Ph.D. The excited new father gazes in at the hospital nursery with a huge smile of pride and joy. “What will you name him?” asks a friendly nurse. “Something strong, like John”, the father replies. Before the baby boy gets his first diaper change the expectation for him to become strong and [...]

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By Gina Simmons, Ph.D. So you drive to work, start to change lanes (without glancing back over your shoulder) only to notice another car speeding toward you. You correct the error and quickly steer back to your original lane. The other driver speeds by giving you the middle finger salute. Perhaps your heart races a [...]

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By Gina Simmons, Ph.D. Summertime means swimming pools, amusement parks, golf courses and house guests for many of us. Vacations spent staying with relatives or friends often trigger hurt feelings, and anger. Old resentments, combined with high expectations for fun and relaxation,?? can create a climate for raised tempers.

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