By Robert Goldman, Psy.D., J.D. and Jaclyn Gordon What is psychological safety and why do we need it now? The world is different than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic, as we all know. Personally, we also may have changed our opinions and values regarding certain issues, particularly physical space with others. What we are comfortable with, or our boundaries may be different now than they were before March of 2020. With many companies and workers returning to offices, whether it be full-time or hybrid models, there are bound to be many difficult social nuances to navigate. Determi ..read more

This post was written by Robert Goldman, Psy.D., J.D., and Jaclyn Gordon. Asking about someone’s vaccination status In addition to the legal implications of this question, the possibility of violating someone’s personal boundaries to the point of distress is also possible. How can we find a balance between protecting the legal rights of each other while also inquiring because of the moral obligations to public health and safety? Like most legal questions, “it depends.” Firstly, it is important to check with local state law. This issue is still evolving as employers grapple with the “new norma ..read more

Approximately 40,000 years ago, there were two Neanderthal men living in a cave. Their names were Worry and Carefree. It had been days since they had eaten. From a distance, they saw an object that they hoped to be a source of food. Worry stayed back, but Carefree went for it. As Carefree got closer to the object, he realized that the object was actually a group of lions feeding on a zebra’s carcass. Carefree began to run. His heart rate increased as adrenaline, blood, and cortisol all flowed in an effort to evade the predator. But alas, he couldn’t escape. Worry had been worried that his fr ..read more

By Robert Goldman, Psy.D., J.D. and Jaclyn Gordon Such are the expectations many employers have of their employees. However, how realistic is it to shut your mind from focusing on the stressors of life? Wellness requires effort. From our evolutionary instincts, the mind will often focus on the negative events in our life and ruminate on the worse case scenarios. While it is understandable that an employer does not want their employees’ personal life to interfere with their job performance, it is normal for this to happen. The employer does not want the employee to feel unsupported or apa ..read more

I have a confession to make. I am a devout New York Mets fan. It makes life easy. I like people who are fellow Mets fans and demonize Yankee fans. The only time this becomes a problem is when I see redeeming qualities in a Yankee fan. But I can avoid this by avoiding them. Such is the state of the dichotomous mind. This type of thinking assisted our evolutionary ancestors when they had to consider who was part of “Us” and who was part of “Them.” There was no time to seek the humanity behind the possible predator. This type of thinking continues to pervade our humanity. Hence, we are prewired ..read more

By Robert Goldman, Psy.D., J.D., Webb Garrison, Ph.D., and Jaclyn Gordon Mental Health Awareness Week in 2021 was October 3rd-9th. Dedicating only one week out of the year to mental health awareness is essentially the same as brushing your teeth for only a week out of the year. While the message and sentiment of Mental Health Awareness Week are important and well-intended, the reality is that wellness is an effort, and needs consistent and ongoing practice. Research reveals workplace mental health challenges Just recently, the American Psychological Association released the Well-Bei ..read more

While COVID-19 represented an existential threat for the world, many takeaways and learning experiences emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. People were forced to slow down, spend more time with family, and work from home. This resulted in taking an inventory of those things in life that we may have been avoiding, ignoring, or taking for granted. For example, spending more time with family may have revealed how fragmented communication is or how strong the bond might be. As we try to make a resilient return to the new normal, it is important that we not forget the valuable ..read more

By Robert Goldman, Psy.D., J.D., and Jaclyn Gordon In the past, I have been invited to participate in Superintendent’s Day training with numerous school districts. Most of the topics focused on addressing the student’s needs. Just recently, I was consulted to provide resiliency training for teachers. This was a courageous and important step by the superintendent, who acknowledged that something needed to be done to support our teachers. It is a paradigm shift that speaks to the recent survey of teachers nationwide, which demonstrated that 75% of them felt that their mental health ha ..read more

By Robert Goldman, JD, Psy.D, and Richard Bryan, MD, PhD. Why has the COVID virus been able to overcome all of the challenges that have stood in its way? Humanity is doing all it can to withstand the obstacles COVID has presented. If this was a Marvel Movie, it would be called, “The Battle of the Resiliencies.” As the story unfolds, a new variant called Omicron is spreading fear and panic throughout the world. To win the war, it is important to know the similarities and differences between the human race and the virus that make them both resilient. Both appear to have a dr ..read more

Mayor Elect of New York City, Eric Adams, recently cited a candidate’s emotional intelligence as being of primary importance in choosing leaders within his administration. Emotional intelligence is tied to one’s ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. A recent article in the Washington Post reported that we are in a national crisis of collective trauma after two years into the pandemic. The article provided numerous examples of emotional outbursts among people across the United States in the midst of a pande ..read more