Dr. Helen Hsu

31 Heroes

On September 3, 2011 CrossFit gyms across the nation and world will gather together to honor our heroes killed in action August 6, 2011 with a workout in an effort to raise funds for the families affected by this tragedy.

All funds received will go to these families through the Navy SEAL Foundation, other like-organizations, & individual family funds.

Please take a morning to work out, be active, be with friends and family, and donate to the families of those who sacrificed for our country.

Take a look at the 31 Heroes site - and make a plan of action for the day!

31 Heroes

Work

"Work is love made visible."

                -----Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese American writer

A few reflections about my work as we ease into a Monday morning...

To be honest, I probably grumble about my work as much as the average Joe/Jane.  On a daily basis the mundane tasks such as reports to write, data to compile, student notes and treatment plans to evaluate, infinite meetings to attend, insurance companies to wrestle with, county policies to decipher,calls to return...these become draining. 

But every Fall, I welcome a new group of interns. My next team arrives on August 24th.  Bright, warm-hearted young people (and several quite sharp older people working on a second or third career) who are volunteering thousands of hours, paying thousands of dollars in tuition, all for the privilege of becoming a psychotherapist.  We provide them 3 hours of licensed staff supervision every single week to assist them with the myriad issues that come up with their client caseloads.

If I become too jaded to train the interns under my care, I hope I will know it's time to take a sabbatical!  Yet this has not happened.  Despite the painful stories and being company to those in the wake of trauma, grief, and illness, the work teaches me more than it takes away.

I was 16 years old when I took my first General Psychology course at De Anza College. 

Here is what I recall: the topic was so enthralling that it felt like an "easy A"-not because I'm so brilliant, but because it didn't even feel like work to study and learn.  Also, I still remember my professor (Wendell Goesling) talking about a child case.  He was an older man, and had clearly taught this intro class countless times already.  But I remember the care and interest that radiated from him when a topic really moved him.  Even at 16, I remember thinking, "hmm. I want to do something I care that much about, that will last me in the long run."

When my students ask me about life as a psychotherapist, I can answer sincerely.  I love what I do, and I am aware that that is rare among career choices.  (I do look back and think I should have studied harders and shown more discipline!) But I would not otherwise change my choices.  Do I wish therapists' were better compensated for their phenomenal graduate school debts and intense liability risks? Of course, that would be fair and ideal.

Yet more importantly, am I glad to do something meaningful and rewarding, that helps me grow in depth and wisdom every single day? Absolutely.  With every year of this work, I appreciate life more deeply.  I'm challenged by all there is to yet learn, and I love sharing what I have learned with others.  I feel like a honeybee when I attend conferences and conventions - I gather as much information and I can hold and bring it back to my hive.  I am humbled by the resilience that flowers in some of life's most unexpected crevices.  I see my role as helping people develop the skills to heal or grow that they never knew they had, and to arm them with accurate information as tools.  All within a confidential and empathic climate of course.

Being a professor and supervisor is only slightly different than being a psychotherapist.  Ultimately my interns and clients leave, moving forward in their lives.  The end of each year results in a bit of an "empty nest" at the clinic as people graduate.  The end of each therapy relationship carries a bit of sadness at parting with brave and fine people who have sought solutions and bared fears.  Many will surpass me in their accomplishments, health, and happiness - which is sure sign that my work is indeed going well.

 

 

 

Emotional Longevity

People often tell me that they are confused by the contradictory health advice that inundates today's media.  I often warn clients to listen to such advice with a discerning, if not downright skeptical ear.  Often advertisements and mainstream media will exagerate claims or base advice on anecdotes and shoddy surveys rather than quality empirical research. 

One source which summarizes for laypersons the reams of scientific journal articles out there is a book by Norman B. Anderson and P. Elizabeth Anderson.  If those names sound familiar, it may be because Elizabeth is the author of several other books, and Norman has been the CEO of the American Psychological Association since 2003.  I can't think of a more qualified duo to guide your average reader to determine what truly are the most important lifestyle changes one can make to attain emotional health and longevity.

"There is no despair so absolute as that which comes with the first moments of our first great sorrow, when we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and be healed, to have despaired and recovered hope."

-----George Eliot (AKA Mary Anne Evans, English novelist)

Family Caretaker Support

The rapidly aging demographic of our population has led to some important awareness about the hardships upon those who caretake for elderly loved ones.  Caretaking is an exhausting task that can put caretakers at risk for burn-out and exacerbate their own health issues. 

It is critical that caretakers get support, both practical respite care as well as emotional understanding and functional education.

When you have a loved one who is mentally ill - the task of caretaking may be just as great.  Family members often react in anger or fear when they don't comprehend a person's symptoms. Or, they oft go in the other extreme, going out of their way to "baby" the ill person out of concerns that they are "sick".  Neither extreme is helpful. Punishing someone who is ill does not make them better.  But treating a person who is ill yet, still intelligent and functional, as if they were totally disabled can be enabling and insulting.

Basica mental health education for family members can go a long way in making life healthier for everyone.

Locally in the Tri Cities area, there is an upcoming Family-to-Family Education program run by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Family Education and Resource Center (FERC).

This series of 12 classes will help caregivers understand and support individuals who are suffering from serious mental illness (major depression, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective or schzophrenia, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, OCD, and panic disorders).  It will also address how to best support your ill loved one while maintaining your own long term well being.

The course is taught by trained volunteers who share your experience of having a loved one who is struggling with one of these mental disorders.

This FREE training series will begin August 31, 2011 from 6:30-9:00 p.m. in Union City

For Detailed information and to pre-register (registration required as spaces are limited): 

Michelle Wms-Smith (510)790-1010 or Michele@mhaac.org

FERC