AND THEN IT WAS OVER
by William W. Harris
And then it was over. yes, he was finally impeached.
>>> No, despite his claims to the contrary,
he was not exonerated.
>>> So the question is just what is his status at this point
in United States history?
>>> After binge watching news channels, for months
we have finally completed watching the impeachment
>>> trial.
>>> The house managers did a commendable Job
of Presenting the case against president Trump.
>>> The Republican managers’ defense was somewhere between histrionic, Embarrassing, and ineffective.
>>> Nevertheless, leader McConnell still rules
with an iron hand.
>>> The question remains, Will it make any difference?
>>> Assuming for the moment that it does not,
and that Trump continues as president
– at least until the election,
>>> what are those of us who are exhausted, dejected, demoralized, and depressed to do?
>>> Even if/when he is finally gone, he will leave residual images, feelings, of anger, depression in all of us
in his wake.
>>> How will we cope with these internal,
recurring images? Can we recover? How long will it take?
>>> It feels like we have been living in an earthquake
and we are left anxiously awaiting the aftershocks
which we know
>>> will come but we don’t know when and how severe
they will be. My fantasy is that we
>>> could turn our bodies and Our minds inside out and take a thorough “acid Bath” to rid ourselves of any leftover
>>> Trump images, sounds and feelings.
>>> How is it possible for us to erase completely
the images of the children in cages at the border?
How is it possible
>>> to watch the president and his many manifestations spouting total climate change denial?
>>> Will we ever be able to expunge Rudy Giuliani
and his two indicted sidekicks from our consciousness?
>>> What will be–or should be the therapeutic response
to dealing with these Trumpian aftershocks?
>>> For a family these after shocks Will also exist within spouses and children’ minds and bodies. How will parents deal
>>> with their childrens’ new nightmares?
How will the children deal with their parents nightmares?
>>> Even with a new president ( hopefully), these images and feelings will last. Addressing them in the therapeutic session will become a
>>> new challenge both for training and treatment.
>> For those of us who have been “binge watching” t v,
what’s next? Will we be able to adjust to life without Nicole, Chuck, Ari,
>> Chris, Chris, Rachel, and Brian?
Will we be able to just go to a movie again? ■
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William W. Harris, PhD, is a child advocate who works with policy makers on efforts to increase the government’s investment in low-income young children and families. He is chairman of Children’s Research and Education Institute and an adjunct professor at UCSF Medical School, in the Department of Psychiatry.
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Email: billywh@me.com
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