Good middle-of-the-week morning, AKA Wednesday.
I am one of those people who tends to get a bit down when the seasons change. Something about the passage of time, I think. I know it doesn’t have to do with the dread of winter specifically, because it happens in the spring-to-summer shift, too, and there’s certainly nothing not to look forward to about summer.
I’ve never really gotten to the root of the problem, though not for lack of trying. I’ve been going to therapy on and off since I was a teenager. We’re a big talk therapy family – on my mother’s side, at least, which probably has something to do with the fact that we have a therapist (now retired, but a specialist in PTSD at Four Winds when he was practicing) in the family.
As an extremely anxious, Type A+, insomniac, hypochondriac, and a few other things thrown in for good measure, I am not ashamed to say that it has been extremely helpful at times in my life to be able to talk to someone objective – not a friend, parent, or spouse with skin in my game – have them call me on my bullshit and help strategize a plan for addressing my challenges.
That said, I have also had some not-so-great therapy experiences. During the pandemic, for example, I was drawn in by an ad for online therapy – quick, easy, and accessible, or so they said. The person I matched with seemed like a good fit, until several weeks in she mentioned medication after I had made quite clear from the get-go that was not an option I was willing to entertain.
I terminated the relationship – and my online account.
For the record, I did try medication and it was not for me. I felt generally flat, which I did not enjoy, and the negative side effects outweighed the positive fact that I was no longer anxious – really, I was no longer feeling much of anything at all. I do know, however, that medication is a game changer for a lot of people, so my experience is in no way a commentary on medication and its efficacy, writ large.
Today is National Psychotherapy Day, which was created in 2012 by Dr. Ryan Howes, a clinical psychologist and author, to raise awareness about – and destigmatize – the various types of mental health treatment available to those in need.
We should start by saying that clinical psychology is a specialization that focuses on mental and behavioral health care for individuals, couples, families, and groups. Psychologists have advanced degrees, such as a PhD or PsyD, and provide therapy but can’t prescribe medication because they aren’t medical doctors.
The medication-prescribing folks in this space are psychiatrists. They diagnose and treat, and are trained to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems.
And then there are therapists, who may or may specialize (like family or marriage therapist, for example), and may or not be psychologists, master’s level counselors, psychoanalysts, mental health counselors, or psychiatrists.
In New York, one may only refer to oneself as a “licensed” therapist if one IS, in fact, licensed and also registered to practice with the state Education Department as a licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, creative arts therapist, or psychoanalyst.
As I read this, though, anyone can call themselves a “therapist”, but it’s the “licensed” qualifier where things get sticky.
Got all that? Not confusing at all. Perhaps you need some time on the proverbial couch to mull it all over. I think the long and short of it is: Check your therapist’s credentials, and don’t feel bound to continue with someone who doesn’t meet your needs. Break up with them and find someone else.
If you’re like me and your mood is impacted by the weather, I have some crummy news for you: Today will be on the gloomy side. It will be cloudy with the chance of a rain shower throughout the day. Temperatures will be in the mid-60s.
In the headlines…
The Security Council convened a session to discuss the war in Ukraine on the first day of the General Assembly’s annual summit meeting in New York.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine addressed the Council in a brief speech, appealing to its 15 members to continue supporting his country’s fight against Russia, which began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Russia is committing an international crime. This war can’t simply fade away, this war can’t be calmed by talks. Actions are needed,” Zelensky told the Council. “Russia can only be forced into peace.”
President Joe Biden used his final UN speech to celebrate his defense of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and his work to restore the US’ global alliances, but also warned the advances of his administration could fall apart if America returns to isolationism.
Former President Donald Trump told supporters in Georgia that he would take manufacturing jobs and factories from other countries if elected in November by luring them with offers including federal land, lower corporate taxes and slashed regulations.
Trump was briefed by intelligence officials about Iran’s alleged assassination threats against him, the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign said.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi fired back at Trump, condemning media coverage of his shots at the Vice President during a CNN appearance after he said Harris had “bigger cognitive problems” than Biden.
A federal judge rejected Trump’s lawyers’ effort to delay until after November an assessment of whether the indictment accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election can survive a Supreme Court ruling granting him broad immunity from prosecution.
A federal grand jury indicted the man accused of showing up at one of Trump’s golf courses with a rifle on charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate.
The new federal indictment in Florida comes on top of two gun charges against Ryan W. Routh, an itinerant contractor with an extensive criminal record.
Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, an independent who considered making a presidential run this year, said he would not endorse Harris after she reiterated her support for eliminating the Senate filibuster to pass abortion rights legislation.
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator JD Vance of Ohio will stand behind lecterns for their debate next week, according to four people briefed on the plans, the first time since 2008 that the vice-presidential candidates have not been sitting for a debate.
After years of antagonism between the labor movement and GOP leadership, more moderate Republican lawmakers are trying to break from their party’s union-hostile policies as they defend House swing seats this fall, and they have found surprising support.
Speaker Mike Johnson is preparing to steer around a bloc of conservative opposition to a bipartisan short-term agreement to fund the government by relying — yet again — on Democrats to provide the bulk of votes to pass the legislation.
Johnson is promising that the House will not approve a single, massive bill to fund the entire government in December — a scenario feared by conservatives — despite a stopgap that’s expected to clear the House this week expiring on Dec. 20.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that Biden has approved her request for a Major Disaster Declaration to provide federal assistance to communities impacted by Tropical Storm Debby on August 8-10.
Nurse practitioners employed by New York have filed a lawsuit against the state agency responsible for overseeing their title and salary structure, alleging they have long been underpaid based on their gender.
The City University of New York’s anti-discrimination policies “need to be significantly overhauled” to help protect Jewish students on campus, according to a third-party review released yesterday.
The 146-page report, conducted by former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and ordered nearly a year ago by Hochul, found CUNY’s system of handling complaints of antisemitism was ineffective and, in some cases, “may cause more harm than good.”
Activists at CUNY who despise Israel refused to cooperate with the state’s independent probe into rampant campus antisemitism, Lippman said.
Colleges and universities would be barred from accepting financial support or gifts from foreign nations that support terrorism under legislation introduced by two New York House members, who said taking the funds is “an act of national self-sabotage.”
Many New York voters like Hochul’s decision to pause a planned toll on certain Manhattan drivers and they like her push to ban cellphones in schools – but they’re far less enthusiastic about the governor herself.
A planned highway expansion in the Catskill region championed by Hochul would save drivers one to six minutes at a cost of at least $1.3 billion, according to a new study from the state Department of Transportation.
Hochul kicked off climate week in Midtown Manhattan, saying she’s standing with the Biden administration for a multimillion-dollar investment to build up New York’s workforce training tied to offshore wind projects.
The New York State United Teachers passed a resolution supporting a statewide law or policy restricting smartphones and other devices like smartwatches and earbuds in schools from school opening to dismissal, the union announced.
School districts in California will have to create rules restricting student smartphone use under a new law that the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, signed this week.
NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks, the hand-picked head of the nation’s largest school district and a long-time family friend of Mayor Adams, is set to resign at the end of the year amid a federal corruption investigation, PIX11 reported.
Banks reportedly called an emergency leadership meeting yesterday afternoon at the Education Department’s headquarters at Tweed Courthouse.
That Banks, one of the mayor’s closest allies, would announce his departure from the administration at its lowest moment — and in the middle of the school year — underscores the depth of the crisis gripping City Hall.
Adams insisted this is a normal turnover despite the growing list of legal investigations surrounding City Hall, saying: “People come in and out of government.”
Adams’s plan to ease New York City’s housing shortage by making way for more than 100,000 new homes is poised to clear the City Planning Commission today, setting up a much tougher fight between the administration and the City Council.
Adams responded to reports that subpoenas to him, his election committee and City Hall included demands for information about interactions with five countries as part of a probe into whether his 2021 campaign accepted illegal contributions from Turkey.
The mayor insisted the sprawling investigations and high-profile exits won’t stop him from doing his job, recruiting good talent, or being re-elected. “My job is to deliver for the people of this city and to stay focused,” Adams said.
“I’m stepping up, not stepping down,” Adams said at a press conference. “I have a city to run.”
Top Adams aide Tim Pearson is no longer in charge of city migrant contracts — the latest high-level shakeup as the vice of federal scrutiny tightens around City Hall.
A New York City COVID-19-era law that required food delivery companies to share customer data with restaurants is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled.
The mother of a Brooklyn teen who drowned in the Rockaways over the summer pleaded with lawmakers at City Hall to take steps to prevent more tragedies like her son’s.
Two Bronx residents were indicted for murder and other related charges after allegedly killing and dismembering a man, then transporting his remains on a Metro-North train to Yonkers, the Bronx district attorney’s office said.
Mets owner Steve Cohen has revealed fresh renderings of his proposed lavish new entertainment complex around Citi Field in Queens.
Sean Combs is reportedly living in the same unit of a Brooklyn jail as Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto mogul convicted of fraud, sleeping in a dormitory-style room with a group of other defendants assigned to the same section.
Stewart Rosenwasser, a Orange County DA’s Office prosecutor accused of taking bribes in a high-profile embezzlement case, died by suicide after exchanging gunfire with the FBI, according to a law enforcement source briefed on the case.
Rosenwasser was wanted in connection with a bribery case, in which he was accused of taking $48,000 from a man to prosecute the man’s sister and nephew.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown stands to be the highest-paid OTB executive in New York should he accept the offer to be Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.’s new president and CEO.
Attorneys for the three Rensselaer County officials on trial for conspiracy to commit ballot fraud accused federal prosecutors of “programming” witnesses during closing arguments in the case on Monday.
The parent company of Ellis Hospital will officially lay off 33 of the 194 employees at its nursing home and rehabilitation center on McClellan Street — although most are expected to find jobs in other facilities.
Anchor Emani Payne is out at CBS6 Albany after about a year at the station. The departure was seemingly abrupt.
Legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre revealed he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease while testifying at a congressional hearing on welfare misspending and reform yesterday.
Favre made the disclosure as part of his testimony about a welfare misspending scandal in Mississippi.
Jordan Chiles’ effort to get her bronze medal back continues with two new appeals filed in the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland.
Chiles’ attorneys filed a second appeal brief to overturn a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that resulted in the Olympic gymnast being stripped of her bronze medal after the Paris Games, the law firms representing Chiles announced.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
