Posts by Dr. Sandra E. Cohen
NEVER RARELY
SOMETIMES ALWAYS
Secret World Of Sexual Abuse
Watching Autumn’s cautious troubled face in the quietness of Never Rarely Sometimes Always draws us into the dark shattered life of a traumatized girl. If she’d let us in. Autumn lives behind walls. Alone. Vigilant. Angry. Always afraid. Can’t allow help: “I’ve got it.” People aren’t to be trusted. That she’s learned. If you think…
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SHE DIES TOMORROW
What Makes This Conviction Unshakable?
The Real Culprit Is Loss
“I’m Ok. I’m Not Ok. It Just Is” (Is it?) You try to reassure yourself, but you can’t. Then you try to accept it. Whatever it is. In Amy Seimetz’s She Dies Tomorrow, that it is death. But, why tomorrow? Why is Amy’s (the character’s) conviction so unshakable? And contagious? Sure, we have the pandemic…
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STAND BY ME
Friendship Matters
In Grief, Loneliness & COVID-19
We all need friends. Like Gordie and Chris in Rob Reiner‘s 1986 film classic Stand by Me. Especially now. When the new fears of COVID-19 layer on top of old traumas, worries, and sadness – and can make them prey upon you like the gang of teenage bullies in the film. Won’t leave you alone.…
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PALM SPRINGS
How Loss Gets You Stuck
In A Time Loop
If You’re Afraid To Love Again
What gets you stuck in a time loop? A freak of quantum physics? The self-quarantine of COVID-19 in which one day seems like the last (or the next)? Or, could it be the cynical self-protective bubble that loss and fear of love creates? Palm Springs, Max Barbakow and Andy Siara’s endearingly creative, intelligent, sensitive, and…
Read MoreHAMILTON: Why Infidelity & What Can Turn It Around?
What does “I’m not throwing away my shot” have to do with infidelity in marriage? You’d be surprised. There’s a lesson in it, to be sure. Lin Manuel Miranda’s Tony-award-winning musical Hamilton holds many lessons on infidelity. To start, we need power, over the past and old hungers. If you’ve had a painful past, the after-effects…
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THE HATE U GIVE
Hate Yourself For Keeping Quiet?
Don’t Be Afraid Of Speaking Out
The world is filled with too much hate. This piece is in honor of Black Lives Matter. Dedicated to those who’ve spent their lives, like Starr Carter in The Hate U Give, having to hide, needing to code-switch to play it safe (as discussed on NPR’s Code Switch). George Tillman, Jr’s compellingly forceful film offers…
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