PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

400 Friends but Who Can I Call?

Val is a contributing blogger for Psychology Today. Her most recent posts:

The Loneliness of Unshareable Grief

One of the greatest causes of loneliness is grieving something that no one seems to understand or appreciate.

The Fear of Not Measuring Up (in Times of Social Distancing)

In these uncertain times, could our fear of social judgment be making us more lonely?

Breaking Out of Loneliness by Volunteering

If our friends are the families we choose, our volunteer site can be the community we choose.

Are You Judgmental of Lonely People? A Self-Test

Social stigma and stereotypes about lonely people might affect our attitudes towards others as well as ourselves when we feel lonely.

THE HEALTH STORY COLLABORATIVE BLOG

Brave New Normal: Keeping Conversations Vital in Healthcare

Robyn Houston Bean telling her story for families facing the opioid crisis.

Val also contributes to the Health Story Collaborative blog with her series of interviews, Brave New Normal: Keeping Conversations Vital in Healthcare. Chiming in with the Health Story Collaborative’s mission of “harnessing the healing power of stories,” Val’s interviews explore how we can preserve the role of conversation and storytelling in a healthcare setting.

Annie Brewster is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and a practicing Internist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. She is also a patient, diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2001.

In collaboration with Dr. Brewster, Val talks with innovative and outspoken experts who weigh in on how to have meaningful conversations in the hurried new normal of our digital age. She profiles authors, clinicians, educators and community leaders to inspire our confidence as communicators and advocates, reclaiming the power of person-to-person interaction in healing ourselves and our communities.

Allie Cashel, author of Suffering the Silence: Lyme Disease in an Age of Denial

Marisa Renee Lee, Co-founder, Supportal and the Pink Agenda

Dr. Kelsey Crowe, Co-author, There is No Good Card for This

Robyn Houston Bean, Founder of the Sun Will Rise Foundation

Dhruv Khullar,M.D., M.P.P., New York Times Health Contributor