SPOTLIGHT -
May 3rd 2024
“The fundamental act of medical care is assumption of responsibility.”
April 26th 2024
"Otherwise it's spring, and everything looks frail; the sky is baby blue, and the just-unfurling leaves are full of infant chlorophyll, the very tint of inexperience."
April 22nd 2024
"I pulled my scuffle hoe hard through the clay’s crust and heard the blade scrape metal and earth."
April 19th 2024
"And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold, And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold."
April 12th 2024
"I shall forget civilization, I shall forget color, caste, I shall move in a fantastic world of raceless men and women..."
"The Algebra of Kindness"
"And we laughed again because he made us feel safe and loved, even when we stumbled, his calculated goal to teach us how to solve for X when X equals kindness."
The Algebra of Kindness
There are only three kinds of people in the world, those who are good at math and those who aren’t.
The Bridge
"And right here, walking down this street, I love the way we make a bridge..."
Bullets: Psychiatric and Humanistic Reflections in a Haiku
Catatonic Humanity
A psychiatrist reflects on society's catatonic state.
The Power of Words: Achieving Catharsis While Mourning Tragedies
Sometimes poetry can help in processing tragedies and traumas.
Today
"...well, today is just that kind of day."
Making a Fist
"Poetry calls us to pause. There is so much we overlook, while the abundance around us continues to shimmer, on its own."
Enough
A psychiatrist reflects on yesterday's tragedy in Texas.
"I Cursed Him"
"My mind screams, Sociopath! Liar! but I know he’s gone..."
I Hope
What do you do when there seems to be too much sorrow and hate in the world? One psychiatrist answers, "I hope..."
I Cursed Him
All in Green Went My Love Riding
"All in green went my love riding on a great horse of gold into the silver dawn..."
Personified Uterus
A psychiatrist reflects on recent events.
Psychological Reflections on Miscarriage
When helping patients in the hardest moments of their lives, it is important to have empathy for them—and for ourselves.
1969
"...we came in peace for all mankind. Then returned to continue the war."
A Headlong Act of Love: The Gerald F. Berlin Creative Writing Award
The Gerald F. Berlin Creative Writing Award is rewarding future doctors and poets alike.
Exfoliation
We can all benefit from a mental health facial.
Celebrating National Poetry Month
Psychiatric Times contributors share poems about psychiatric issues from grief to Black mental health.
"Sweat"
"When I was nineteen and still had time, I worked college breaks in my father’s factory, and let sweet leather’s smell soak into my skin..."
White Coat
What does a doctor look like?
Now That Anything Could Happen
"You know, now that anything can happen, it’s hard to know what will, and what will you do now that you know?"
Sweat
"And then he stepped back, straightened his hat, let me sweat my own decision."
"While Listening to Annie Lamott Give Tim Ferriss Her Advice for Writers"
"The clock just ticked minute 41, and Annie, just as you predict, my attention is wandering, even if I haven’t hit Step 3: Make the reader feel something is at stake, which I’ll have to focus on in my revision."
Looking at Photos
"...My mother like a distantly spilled perfume."
Doctoring
Reflections on National Doctor Day.
Communion
"I am her book of poems and it is I."
Pandemic Resilience? Remnants
“…we need a break.”
Embracing Hope
One medical student shares how writing poetry can help us embrace our creativity and cope with life’s challenges.
The Snow Is Deep on the Ground
"Always the light falls. Softly down on the hair of my belovèd."