“Learn the art of fragmented, irrational conversations and follow the patient’s lead instead of trying to control the dialogue.” Zen and the Art of Coping With Alzheimer’s In the days when there were video stores I would walk by the film “Iris” countless times, knowing it was a story of the writer Iris Murdoch and […]

“Few patients realize how deeply they can affect their doctors,” notes Dr. Scott Haig. In his Time Magazine article (10/5/2007) he goes on to say, “That is a big secret in medicine, which doctors hate to admit.

I recently stumbled upon a writing exercise completed by a patient who participated in the “Writing is Good Medicine”TM, program, which I created to help patients put words to their experience of living with illness. Participants were encouraged to share their writing with family and healthcare providers in order to open communication about issues and […]

In the early 2000’s the Center for Communication in Medicine created a program for physicians at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center titled “Doctors Conversation Hour.”

UNCERTAINTY IS THE REFUGE OF HOPE The Journal Intime Henri Frederic Amiel Recently, I was reminded of a patient from time passed who had asked me, “How does one live with uncertainty?” In The Wounded Story Teller writer and patient Arthur Frank notes, “When a doctor tells us we are sick they are not just […]