What does the horse whisperer do for people with horse problems? “The truth is I help horses with people problems,” he says. His lessons are far more reaching.
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The Art and Science of Patient Storytelling: Harnessing Narrative Communication for Behavioral Intervention
With the increasing interest in the use of narrative communication as a strategy for influencing health behavior, there has been an effort to develop standardized protocols for creating engaging stories and to determine the successful components of an effective story. Continue Reading →
My name is Jack, I’m an alcoholic
In 1976, a handsome young physician in his early thirties stood up in a crowded room and said, “hello, my name is Jack, and I’m an alcoholic.” From the group a chorus was heard, “Welcome Jack.” Continue Reading →
Education and Training—Solutions That Often Don’t Fit the Problem
Education and training are the most common solutions when we run up against a performance discrepancy—a situation where we are trying to get people to perform according to a set of standards, expectations, or rules and they are failing to do so. Continue Reading →
Stress, Genes and Resilience: The Stories We Tell
“Stress gene tied to coronary risk: Duke University study reinforces emotional system’s role in cardiovascular disease” reads a recent news headline designed to catch our attention. Continue Reading →
My name is Fred, I’m a Type I diabetic
My name is Fred, and I am a Type I diabetic. It’s been about 4 hours since my last shot of insulin. (In a 12-step parody, this is where you’d say, “Welcome, Fred.”)
I’m a grizzled veteran of the diabetes wars, having developed Type I diabetes (formerly called “juvenile diabetes,”) when I was eight. Continue Reading →
Doctors telling patients to lose weight is not enough
Doctors are being asked to change their behavior toward their obese patients through guidelines developed by a group of medical organizations that include the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the Obesity Society. Continue Reading →
Storytelling as Behavioral Therapy
I would like to talk about storytelling as behavioral therapy. As we all know, post-traumatic stress disorder – PTSD, is a significant problems for many of our service members and Veterans. Continue Reading →
Healing Combat Trauma with Humorous Stories and Laughter
The last place you would probably expect to find a standup comedian would be in an Army uniform. But there I was for the better part of a decade, trying to make one of the most dangerous chapters of my life a laughing matter. Not because I didn’t take the Army seriously, much to the contrary. I took it very seriously, which is why when the laughter stopped I was in big trouble. Continue Reading →
Saved By My Own Story
It has been a painfully slow climb out of darkness. For a really long time, I allowed past traumas to run my life. Bad stuff happened. Years went by. I couldn’t get beyond it. That’s called stuck. And being stuck sucks. Continue Reading →