Hello From Stockholm
Tuesday, January 12th 2010 @ 5:16 PM
Hello from Stockholm!
It is a magical place in winter. It gets dark around 3:00 in the afternoon and the temperature has been in the low teens. I know that doesn't sound like such a break from Michigan where I live, but it is completely different. We are staying in the old town section named Gamla Stan. Most of the buildings are 400 to 800 years old. There are relatively few cars here and in general many areas in the city are for just pedestrians. All the houses, all the resturants and buildings are filled with candleabras and candle lights and the snow on the ground lights up the city. We walk everywhere and navigating the ice all over the ground and looking out for falling icicles are part of the adventure. The coffee and the food are amazing.
I presented my all day class yesterday to almost 150 mental health professionals who came from all over Scandinavia. It was held at the Medical Association which is in a magnificent and stately building. I taught all about women and girls with ADD and my main message was that I wouldn't teach them a step by step method but rather my goal for the day was to give them an appreciation of the complexity of the lives of women with ADD who were not diagnosed as children - the complexity of their development, their inner experience, the diagnosis and the treatment. I wanted the group to understand that if the goal was to help women accept themselves and see themselves as whole, then as clinicians, they needed to be able to accept these women and see their strengths and be able to hold on to a vision of them and their possibilities so that in time their clients could internalize this view of themselves.
It was a very positive experience for me and I think for the participants. I met some wonderful people as I always do when I travel. I met a psychologist from a nearby country who showed me a beautiful charm bracelet she had to symbolize all the wonderful warmth and talents of women with ADD. If I hear from her I will let you know more about it and where she got it.The hardest part came at lunch where we were served a private lunch with the staff of the sponsoring organization and as I was about to start I looked at the beautiful meal in front of me and asked what it was - "Reindeer" I was told! They laughed at what they said was a look of horror on my face as I took a bite. The only reindeer I ever heard of all my live was of course- the beloved Rudolph!
Live from stockholm-Signing off for now-Sari