Articles, Columnists

August 21st, 2010

Bridges

By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.

When our hospital closed in April, we lost our internship and, with it, a long list of practices, rituals and ceremonies that had come to mark the seasons of a year dedicated...

August 21st, 2010

The risks of restraint and seclusion

By Edward Stern J.D.

Last month, New England Psychologist looked at the use of restraint and seclusion. In this installment, the column examines some of the risks of these methods to both...

July 24th, 2010

Use of restraint, seclusion is controversial, Part 1

By Edward Stern J.D.

The first of a two-part column.

When the justice and mental health systems believe that someone is a risk to himself/herself or a threat to others, the courts...

July 1st, 2010

Half-finished notebooks

By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.

At morning rounds the other day while waiting for something important to record in my recycled, spiral-bound notebook, curiosity nudged me to flip through the filled front...

June 1st, 2010

Getting to know you

By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.

The woman glided into the room on tiptoes, trepidation and confidence contending for control of her gait, her tortured smile reflecting some inner struggle about which we knew...

June 1st, 2010

In wake of suicides, anti-bullying bill passed

By Edward Stern J.D.

Bullying. The word itself conjures up images of uneven relationships and unfair advantages. The differentiation or inequality is primarily in size, power and strength....

May 1st, 2010

Re-thinking the right stuff

By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.

The last time I changed jobs I thought I had found the best way to sort, pack and move important stuff from my old workplace to the new office. That was a time of volatility in...

April 1st, 2010

Recall woes hit psychologists

By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.

The big news over the past few months has been the recall of thousands of cars by the world’s largest auto manufacturer. First it was an accelerator problem, and then it was...

March 1st, 2010

A tribute to my colleagues

By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.

For the past several months, I’ve been writing about the impact of the closing of Westborough State Hospital on the lives of patients and staff. It is much too early to know...

February 1st, 2010

Wish you were here

By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.

When the hospital closes, sometimes the best we can do for a patient is to transfer him or her to another hospital where they will receive similar care until they are ready to...