Archive for May 2025

I became a psychotherapist and psychologist to maximise the good I could do in the world. It seemed obvious that helping people by engaging with the root of their suffering would be the most helpful thing to do. I also became a child psychotherapist to address the roots of suffering in childhood, where they seemed to stem. I experienced how deepening into a feeling could transform it, and learned about pre-natal trauma; I even wrote a doctorate on trauma. Now, two decades into my career, I practise, lecture, supervise and write about all of these things, but increasingly I reject everything that I learned.

“Approximately 95 percent of the programs identified for waivers at the chancellor level had accreditation and licensure requirements attached to them,” said David J. English, the system’s senior vice president for academic affairs, during a UNC board committee meeting this week. English said these programs are in counseling, education, nursing, psychology and social work.

Sometimes the most haunting part of trauma isn’t what happened—it’s wondering what could have happened if you hadn’t trusted your gut.

Sweeping tax provision threatens to upend loan forgiveness plans for nonprofit workers…. This translates to roughly 6 million borrowers whose path to financial freedom could be abruptly terminated by a single administrative decision. These affected workers include:
– Healthcare professionals serving in nonprofit hospitals
– Teachers and staff at private educational institutions
– University employees across thousands of campuses
– Social workers addressing community needs
– Public interest attorneys providing legal aid
– Environmental researchers at conservation organizations
For these professionals, many of whom accepted lower salaries with the promise of eventual loan forgiveness, the proposed change represents an existential threat to their financial futures.

One such effort is Project Mayday, an all-volunteer harm reduction collective based in Charleston, West Virginia, the state with the highest overdose mortality rate in the nation. Despite unscientific restrictions on harm reduction services pushed by conservative state lawmakers, the group distributes first aid and other supplies that help drug users take control of their own health, including naloxone, the lifesaving medication that can reverse a potentially fatal opioid overdose.