Mark Rubinstein Blog

Just another WordPress site

Inventing Sex

by Leave a Comment

While doing psychiatric consultations at an Assisted Living facility, I sat in on a residents’ council meeting, where twenty people mostly in their 80s and largely cognitively intact, discussed issues of concern.

Various matters came up—dining room service; Sunday brunches; and other communal issues. The social worker leading the discussion was about 35 years old and seemed to relate to the residents in a slightly patronizing way. Sitting at the back of the room, I said nothing.

Read more on Psychology Today >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

A Shot in the Dark

by Leave a Comment

It was 5:00 PM on a cold winter evening. I’d testified at a Workers’ Compensation hearing and was walking toward my car with an attorney. We were the only two people on a lonely, narrow street. The stores were shuttered. The neighborhood was in a devastated section of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Suddenly, coming from across the street and down the block, we heard the cracks of two shots from a small-caliber pistol.

Read more on Psychology Today >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Sex with a Former Patient

by Leave a Comment

The temptations of the profession

Some years ago when I was single, Eva G began psychotherapy. She was unhappy because she was repeatedly involved in ungratifying relationships with men who were at least 20 years her senior. She was quite attractive, bright, articulate, and wanted to understand her need to date older men.

The psychotherapy continued once-weekly for about seven months. She quickly developed insight into the dynamics of her choices in men, and began making better decisions in her dating life. When it seemed Eva’s goals were reasonably met, the therapy came to an end. When we parted company, she knew the door to my office was open should she want to look deeper into her conflicts.

Read more on Psychology Today >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

A Dirty Little Secret

by

Mrs. Clark came to see me because of a problem beginning one year earlier. An attractive woman of 45, she’d noticed some white amidst her head of black hair. She’d decided to color her hair jet black.

On the day she treated her hair, she got some dye on her hands. No matter how often she washed them, she felt she couldn’t cleanse her hands. After many attempts, she grew frustrated and frightened. Over the next weeks and months, her worries about contamination spread. She repeatedly washed and re-washed the family’s laundry, but was convinced the clothing still wasn’t clean enough. She began scrubbing floors and vacuuming frenetically, always imagining dirt, no matter how thorough she’d been.

Read more on Psychology Today >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Saved by a Cup of Joe

by

A Life Changed in an Instant

Phil was a 40 year old cop with 18 years on the force. I saw him in consultation after an incident one night in Bridgeport.

While on patrol, Phil and his partner received a radio call about a fire in a clothing store. With Phil driving, they arrived at the scene and saw a burning carton inside the darkened store. Fire trucks were on the way.

Read more on Psychology Today >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

A Boundary Violation: Sex Therapy

by

I was in a restaurant having lunch with some psychiatrist colleagues. As is often the case, we talked about our practices, psychotherapy, medications, and other issues relating to the field of mental health. One man, a guy who fancied himself a bit of a bon vivant, made an interesting comment.

“I have this woman patient who’s extremely seductive.”

“Welcome to the club,” said another therapist.

“She has a terrible sex life with her husband…it’s virtually non-existent.”

“What do you think is behind it?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But I’m very tempted…”

Read more on Psychology Today >>

 

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

A Man of Means

by

I was working in a psychiatric emergency room when the police arrived with another potential patient. They routinely foisted disorderly drunks off on the hospital, rather than contend with the paperwork involved in tossing them in the drunk tank.

“There’s no alcohol on his breath,” said the cop, stating his case for a psych admission. “He was in front of the Regency Hotel, saying he planned to check into a suite. Claims he’s got loads of money. He’s got no ID, so he’s a John Doe.”

Read more on Psychology Today >>

 

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Who Gives a Diagnosis?

by

Some years ago, I was called upon by a plaintiff’s attorney to evaluate his client in relation to a personal injury lawsuit. She was a 55-year-old woman who had tripped on an ice-covered sidewalk and fractured an ankle. She also bumped her head, but had not lost consciousness or sustained any other physical injury. The attorney wanted to know if in addition to the fractured ankle, she’d sustained any psychiatric injury. If so, he would incorporate my opinion into the court papers he was filing for her lawsuit.

Mrs. Smith arrived at my office and we talked for an hour and a half. She had undergone appropriate treatment for the fractured ankle. For several months, she’d experienced considerable pain and difficulty from the injury, but had recuperated and was going about her usual routines with no limitations. When I saw her, she was neither depressed nor anxious; and presented with no psychiatric complaints. Of course, there had been pain and the customary problems associated with the injury itself and her rehabilitation; but those difficulties were in the past and did not figure into the life she was leading when she met with me.

Read more on Psychology Today >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

The Lost Weekend

by

 

Joe was a 30 year old man I evaluated in the context of his lawsuit.

One Friday evening, after everyone had gone home, he was working late at his Manhattan office. At 7:00 PM, he went downstairs to smoke a cigarette. Heading back to the office, he entered the elevator alone. Between the 30th and 31st floors, the elevator came to a sudden stop. He pushed every button, but the doors failed to open. No one responded to the alarm. He tried using the intercom; but still no response.

After an hour, he felt a sense of dread. He knew he was stuck. It was the beginning of a weekend, and the building would be empty until Monday morning. Neither the intercom nor alarm button worked, and no one was there to hear it, anyway. Joe had no food, no toilet, nothing to occupy him, and was alone in an eight by eight foot enclosure, hanging between floors in a Manhattan skyscraper. He was trapped.

Read more on Psychology Today >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Crossing the Line: Sometimes Rules Are Meant to Be Broken

by

Alice was a 38 year old, unmarried artist living in a Manhattan loft. She was depressed about her career and life’s direction. Above all, she was distressed that she’d been unable to sell her oil abstract paintings, although she’d displayed them at shows and at a prestigious gallery. Things had become so dire, she thought she might have to sell her loft apartment in order to pay for ordinary living expenses, and to continue painting.

She was seeing me once every two weeks for guidance and supportive sessions. At first, she was not depressed, but I become somewhat alarmed, when in addition to her lack of career success, a relationship with a man—a fellow artist—fell apart and Alice became despondent.

Read more on Psychology Today >>

 

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest