How Physical Exercise Can Help Cancer Patients

Posted on March 5, 2012 by imei

This weekend, I walked about three miles in late winter in Seattle by the water. While cold enough to warrant a hat, gloves, and coat, the sun was shining, and there were joggers, dog walkers, and inline skaters zipping by. For fair-weather only exercise people, the first blooms of spring on the trees and the sun peaking out of our normal gloomy clouds are cause for celebration. For people with cancer, physical exercise is a necessary component of the recovery process. Read guest blogger Liz Davies post about how physical exercise can help cancer patients. Even if you don’t have cancer, Spring is a great time to renew your commitment to improve your physical and mental health, and a great way to do that is to start with exercise. [Imei Hsu, Editor]

Can Physical Activity Help After Cancer?  by Liz Davies March 6, 2012

Cancer treatments and the cancer itself take a big toll on the human body. People who have overcome the deadly disease make preventing reoccurrence their number one concern. Luckily there are ways to combat reoccurrence. Studies have shown that a regular exercise routine can extend the lives of patients and help in preventing cancer from coming back. Continue reading →

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What Therapists Worry About

Posted on February 21, 2012 by imei

After presenting my thoughts on Social Media, technology, and the helping professions at the Creativity and Madness conference (sponsored by AIMED), I took in the mood of the room. There was a palpable fear in the room, and perhaps in one of very few moments in my life, I wasn’t trying do anything about it.

What might a room filled with medical professionals be concerned about when it comes to Social Media and technology? You might guess it was about not being able to keep pace with the rate of change. They might be deeply frightened by legal and ethical issues involved in breaches of confidentiality. Or they could be disgusted by all the misconceptions about disease and pathology perpetuated in popular media and encouraged by under-educated bloggers. All of these are fears represented in this population. But the fear which was repeated through the stories and questions I heard is the one in which I believe you will find comfort. Continue reading →

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Recharging

Posted on February 15, 2012 by imei

I’m currently in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the conference, “Creativity and Madness” Feb. 16-19. Looking at the intersection between artists and mental health, health practitioners will be presenting on a variety of topics, artists, and perspectives. I’ll be delivering my presentation, “#iCareBecauseYouDo”, but I’ll also be recharging my own batteries, as well as looking at the various aspects of my practice in my commitment to deliver extraordinary care in an ever-complicated world.

One the aspects that must occur is to deliver healthcare when people need it. This is often where government intervention and insurance-driven decision making has not done a good enough job. Private practitioners like myself make decision to abide by the protocols of those third party payers (we have to, if we want to keep our legal contracts with them). At the same time, clients are voting with their feet by refusing to use their health care and paying out of pocket for help that cannot be strictly categorized as psychotherapy, namely coaching and advising.

I’m sure that many of us at the conference will be talking about this, since we see the problems in our current healthcare system. While I might not be lolling about in a spa thinking about these challenges, know that I will be contemplating them in an environment that encourages me to take up the challenge: “Think Different.”

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