May 2020 – Keith Wilson

Take Out the Garbage

I once facilitated a group for people recovering from severe mental illnesses. We met once a week and they talked about how things were going for them. They tried to support each other. One day a man came in and said his landlord was going to evict him if he failed to clean his apartment.Continue reading “Take Out the Garbage”

What Drag Queens Can Teach You About Your Feelings

The most feminine people I know are men who dress up and call themselves drag queens. The fact they can do that so convincingly, calls into question the notion of femininity and masculinity. Continue reading →

The Therapeutic Milieu

Some milieux (the plural form of a fancy French word for social settings) are therapeutic, meaning they bring out the best in people; others bring out the worst. If you need an example of those that consistently bring out the worst, think of a maximum-security prison, a busy highway, the cafeteria of a middle school,Continue reading “The Therapeutic Milieu”

Eleanor Oliphant Might Be Completely Fine But Using Therapists to Resolve Your Plot Isn’t

Ordinarily, I avoid reading books and watching movies that portray head shrinking because I’m careful to maintain a work/life balance. But I couldn’t ignore Eleanor Oliphant. Too many people recommended the novel as a delightful portrayal of someone with serious troubles. I soon saw they were right, and so was I. Eleanor is truly delightful,Continue reading “Eleanor Oliphant Might Be Completely Fine But Using Therapists to Resolve Your Plot Isn’t”

Cabin Fever: How Compulsion Feels from the Inside

I used to live in a cabin, so I should be an expert on cabin fever. At age nineteen, I emigrated to western New York to live on a remote piece of land, a quarter mile from the nearest neighbor and built that cabin. They didn’t plow my dirt road, so I’d be snowed inContinue reading “Cabin Fever: How Compulsion Feels from the Inside”