Posts by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen
HE NAMED ME MALALA
A Father Gives A Daughter
Her Voice
Davis Guggenheim’s documentary film, He Named Me Malala, on the life of 18-year-old Pakistani Nobel Prize laureate and activist for the education of girls has opened in theaters to mixed reviews. I haven’t seen it yet, but I will. I’ve been thinking about the part a father plays in whether a daughter loves or hates…
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FRANCINE CHRISTOPHE’S CHOCOLATE
The Way A Baby Lives
Listen. It is 1941 in Bergen-Belson concentration camp, a non-extermination camp where many prisoners died nonetheless of starvation. Francine Christophe is 8 years old, bearing a large Star of David (Juif) on her chest, imprisoned there with her mother, the barracks head. A strong and reassuring mother, keeping chocolate for the moment her daughter needed it…
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SHYAMALAN’S THE VISIT
4 Signs Loss And Guilt
Are Too Scary To Feel
M. Night Shyamalan’s new psychological horror film, The Visit, has twists and turns and unexpected surprises that I wouldn’t think of revealing. And, of course, this film has one of Shyamalan’s shock endings – it wouldn’t be a Shyamalan film without it. But for me as a psychoanalyst, there’s something else of more interest. What…
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BUSYNESS
Are You Blocking Something Out?
Stuart Whatley of the Huffington Post headlines his 9/25/15 article called The Myth Of Busyness in this way: “We in the West aren’t as freed up as we should be, but we also aren’t as busy as we’re constantly told.” I found it interesting to read his detailed article on realities and fantasies about our…
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EMMY’S 2015
Jon Hamm Wins!
Early Losses Not To Be Forgotten
I’ve been rooting for Jon Hamm. As a Mad Men enthusiast and psychoanalyst, I’ve written a number of pieces on the effects of Don Draper’s early trauma. Not only that, I’ve long admired the way Hamm brings Don’s very real struggles to life. Little did I know that his own early history, in some critical…
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‘THERAPY SHAME’
Don’t Let These 3 Reasons
Stop You From Getting Help
It’s hard to admit you need help. Everyone knows that therapy is out there, but as soon as you consider it, a voice in your head tells you all the shameful reasons NOT to go. Don’t let that voice stop you. Therapy Shame is real. But, listen to what Jessie Rosen says instead. She’s been…
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