Before psychologists are unleashed on the public, they’re formally trained in a variety of therapeutic approaches, each with characteristic ways of looking at human behavior. But it’s the informal descriptions of human interaction that psychologists use most to understand and guide their clients. One of those I learned from Dr. Vilma Ginzberg, while attending one […]
What’s Your Comfort Restaurant?
I was talking to a group of polyamorous friends recently when a woman made an interesting comment. She likened lovemaking with men other than her husband to fine dining—different, exciting, and occasionally exceptional. By contrast, she said, sex with her husband was like returning to her favorite restaurant—comfortable, consistent, and deeply satisfying. “Like an old […]
Do the $1,000 an Hour Tasks and Delegate the Rest
Insights and discoveries come in a rush—more so I think when we’re young and eager. After all, it’s been said that scientists and mathematicians produce their best work in their 20s and 30s. I was 28, fresh out of graduate school, driving home from a client who was paying me mind-boggling fees of $50 an […]
Why I Started Screaming in the Lobby of Chase Bank
It had been building for months, though even I was surprised by the fury of my reaction. I’ve never been a violent person, physically or verbally, but there I was, standing before staff and customers, giving all who could hear a piece of my mind. I grew up in a world in which banks were […]
What Are the Odds?
For years, my partner, Debbie, and I had been trying to decide where to someday settle down, as if settling down was even possible. We weren’t going to stay in Chicago because of the cold, with both of us lean and perpetually frozen. Beautiful and vibrant Paris and Barcelona were frontrunners for a while, but […]