Understanding and Responding to Ambiguous Loss
December 5, 2019
Hosted by Dr. Suzanne B. Phillips
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Guest Information
Episode Description
In this episode, Dr. Pauline Boss, esteemed scientist practitioner who coined the term 'Ambiguous Loss,' discusses the meaning of Ambiguous Loss and how it differs from other losses. Drawing upon powerful examples, Dr. Boss discusses physical ambiguous loss and psychological ambiguous loss due to dementia from disease, brain injury etc. She clarifies that Ambiguous Loss is not a result of pathology, but rather the ambiguity of the circumstances of loss. Using examples like the families of 9-11 she describes the understandable impact on a family when a parent is gone but loss cannot be substantiated. With the aim of building resilience rather than pathologizing, Dr. Boss discusses the Psychological Family, the Family Narrative and the ability to engage Dialectical Thinking - 'my husband is both absent and present in our hearts and minds.' Dr. Boss references Victor Frankel’s Importance Of Finding Meaning, Adjusting Mastery Up Or Down and discovering 'New Hope' by risking change.
Psych Up Live
Thursday at 11 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel
Psych Up Live turns up your psychological perspective on life issues. With a wide variety of guests, Host Suzanne Phillips passes forward the latest in books, findings, and information relevant to your life and the world you live in. She explores topics as varied as family relationships, binge eating and violence on campus. In a conversational style, Suzanne and her guests translate the latest in psychology to exemplify ways of coping with child rearing, divorce, medical diagnosis, campus violence and social anxiety. She engages her guests with questions, often voicing her own thoughts or sharing related stories. What is particularly exciting about Psych Up Live is the opportunity for you to call in with your own stories, questions and opinions. Psych Up Live captures your attention as it considers life issues that will intrigue and inform you each Thursday at 11 AM Pacific Time, 2PM Eastern Time on the VoiceAmerica Variety Channel.
Dr. Suzanne B. Phillips
Dr. Suzanne B. Phillips has been a practicing psychologist, psychoanalyst, group therapist for over 35 years and a newly retired Adjunct Full Professor of Clinical Psychology of 28 years from LIU. She is the co-author of three books and over 40 articles and chapters. Most recently, she co-authored "Healing Together: A Couple’s Guide to Coping with Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress." She has written and presented on a wide range of topics including couples, marriage, divorce, trauma, teens, bullying, pets, military, managing stress, infidelity, sexual violence, bereavement and building resilience. Her work has been recognized with awards such as The Suffolk County Psychological Association Psychologist of the Year Award, The Rutgers University GSAPP Lifelong Distinguished Achievement Award, and The American Group Psychotherapy Association Social Responsibility Award. She has given testimony before Congress for the needs of military families. Suzanne is a blogger for Psychology Today. She has also blogged for Psych Central and This Emotional Life on PBS. She has appeared on television programs such as Fox 5 Good Day New York and Good Day Street Talk. She has been a radio guest on many shows including Military Mom Talk Radio,Tom Matt��s Boomer Rock and NPR. From 2013- 2015, Suzanne hosted Psych Up on CoSozo radio and on WMIQ 1450 AM in Michigan. Since 2015, her show, "Psych Up Live," airs globally on VoiceAmerica and has had 300 episodes, available as podcasts on VoiceAmerica, iTunes, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple TV, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, iHeartRadio, etc.