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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Richnorth who wrote (66160)	9/1/2005 1:48:16 PM
From: paret	Respond to of 81568

Kerry supporters seek therapy in South Florida Boca Raton trauma specialist has treated 15 patients Boca Raton News Tuesday, November 9, 2004 1:00 am by Sean Salai More than a dozen traumatized John Kerry supporters have sought and received therapy from a licensed Florida psychologist since their candidate lost to President Bush, the Boca Raton News learned Monday. Boca Raton trauma specialist Douglas Schooler said he has treated 15 clients and friends with “intense hypnotherapy” since the Democratic nominee conceded last Wednesday. “I had one friend tell me he’s never been so depressed and angry in his life,” Schooler said. “I observed patients threatening to leave the country or staring listlessly into space. They were emotionally paralyzed, shocked and devastated.” Schooler’s disclosure comes after the weekend discovery of a Kerry volunteer’s corpse at Ground Zero in New York City. Georgia resident Andrew Veal, 25, reportedly killed himself with a shotgun blast to the head due to Kerry’s loss and a girlfriend problem. Some mental health professionals in South Florida said Monday they have already developed a new category for the Kerry-related stress reactions. Because Palm Beach County voted heavily for Kerry, the therapists said, many residents hurt themselves by so anxiously expecting the Massachusetts senator to win – especially those who maintained unrealistic recount hopes after their candidate’s concession. “We’re calling it ‘post-election selection trauma’ and we’re working to develop a counseling program for it,” said Rob Gordon, the Boca-based executive director of the American Health Association. “It’s like post-traumatic stress syndrome, but it’s a short-term shock rather than a childhood trauma.” Gordon, the first American Red Cross psychotherapist sent to Ground Zero after the 9/11 terror attacks, said therapists’ main concern is to prevent the recurrence of Kerry-related suicides like the one in New York City. “There are definitely people depressed by John Kerry’s loss, and this can easily lead to suicides like the one we saw up in New York this weekend,” Gordon said. “Luckily, it can be treated if people seek help. We’re urging people to call us immediately if they feel depressed or know anyone who is seriously stressed out.” Also in Boca, at least one counseling center and an emotional support group were preparing for an influx of Kerry supporters at their first post-election meetings today. “We’ll let the Kerry voters talk about it and let off some steam, and by listening to other people’s stories, we’ll help them refocus and surrender to the things in their life which they can’t possibly change,” said a spokeswoman for Emotions Anonymous, a recovery group meeting tonight at Glades Presbyterian Church. “We’re referring people with election-related stress to the Democratic National Committee,” said Karen Jacobs of the Center for Group Counseling. “We’ll do what we can for anyone who shows up for our support group programs this week, but we haven’t implemented a specific program for Kerry-related trauma.” Schooler, practicing in Boca since 1984, said he treated his 15 patients last week with hypnosis-based rapid response trauma therapy. This week, he is charging a sliding fee to non-clients who feel they need the one-time “election therapy” session. South Floridians can contact him at 561-395-3033. “A lot of Kerry voters don’t know what to do with their anger, because there was no recount, so they’ve kept it bottled up,” said Schooler, who also is a certified sex therapist. “I help them transform the anger into more positive emotions.” Asked to describe symptoms of the post-election trauma, Schooler said, “They include feelings of extreme anger, despair, hopelessness, powerlessness, a failure to function behaviorally, a sense of disillusionment, of not wanting to vote anymore – that sort of thing. We’re talking about a deep, unhealthy personal suffering that can best be remedied by intensive short-term therapy.” Copyright 2004 - Boca Raton News bocanews.com

To: Richnorth who wrote (66160)	9/1/2005 1:50:45 PM
From: paret	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

First post-therapy Kerry supporter speaks out publicly Boca Raton News Sunday, November 14, 2004 1:00 am by Sean Salai bocaratonnews.com A post-therapy John Kerry supporter spoke out about her trauma treatment for the first time this weekend, saying Florida psychologist Douglas Schooler took her from the depths of despair over President Bush’s victory to a new lease on life. Forty-four year old Karen of Boca Raton, a divorced mother of one who didn’t want her last name in print, called the trauma specialist’s intensive election therapy “profoundly effective” and described his hypnosis technique as “a healing process.” “I wasn’t sleeping,” Karen told the Boca Raton News in an interview. “I was very devastated and very astonished that people would re-elect this president. I was moody about the war and economic issues. I felt very unsettled and fearful. I thought, ‘Oh no, what will happen for four years?’” Karen, whose medical insurance covers the treatment, said she approached Schooler last week after finding herself unable to function publicly due to President Bush’s re-election. “Dr. Schooler absolutely understood the pain this election caused me and he opened my mind to a new point of view,” Karen said. “You’re relaxed, he talks to you and you just come out of it feeling more positive and renewed. It took one session. He did some relaxation techniques and probably did some things I didn’t even realize.” A Schooler client for seven years, dating back to her divorce, Karen said the doctor helped her realize it had been unhealthy for her to expect Kerry to win. “If I’d had time, I would have volunteered for Kerry, but I work full-time,” Karen said. “I was so invested emotionally, watching the debates, and was very disturbed whenever I heard a Marine has been killed. I thought Bush’s actions were war crimes. But I’m sleeping again since the therapy and have felt better ever since. I don’t know what will happen now, but I’m going to take it day by day and see what happens.” The Boca Raton News reported last week that more than 45 South Florida Kerry supporters sought psychological help after the Democratic candidate conceded to Bush on Nov. 3. That number, including 20 patients treated by Schooler, had risen to more than 50 by the weekend. “One woman I treated the other day said the election triggered other issues in her life,” Schooler said. “Stuff she had been working on for a long time became worse. That’s pretty common in trauma cases: A small thing like an election triggers longstanding mental problems.” In addition to Schooler’s one-shot hypnotherapy, more than 30 people have called the non-profit American Health Association at 561-361-9091 to sign up for free support group therapy. Executive Director Rob Gordon said Friday that AHA’s first election support group is scheduled for after Thanksgiving. The Boca-based charity, which has more than 500 professional and non-professional volunteers in Palm Beach and Broward counties, is offering the free sessions through the end of the year. “I’ve been talking to people and coaching them on the phone,” Gordon said. “Most are older than 50 and their mental issues stem from the 2000 election.” Gordon said no one outside Florida had contacted AHA about treatment for the new form of trauma, which his organization has dubbed Post Election Selection Trauma (PEST). “These unresolved issues from four years ago seem worst in Palm Beach County because this is where the pregnant chad scandal happened,” he said. “People here still think Bush was appointed, not elected. But I’m sure psychologists in California and maybe New York are also organizing group therapy sessions.” Since the Boca News broke the election therapy story on Monday, Gordon said he had been flooded by calls from Republicans who don’t take the trauma seriously. However, he said he received a phone call Friday afternoon from FOX News commentator Bill O’Reilly and expects to defend his diagnosis on The O’Reilly Factor next week. A psychologist at the Boca-based Center for Group Counseling, whose spokeswoman last Monday was referring depressed Kerry voters to the Democratic National Committee, said he thinks AHA and Schooler are unethically using the Kerry supporters’ misery for self-promotion. “The word ‘trauma’ is overused and I haven’t seen Kerry voters traumatized according to the existing definition,” said William A. Weitz, adult program manager. “Certainly we’ve had people discussing their responses to the election at regular support group meetings, but the idea you would use hypnosis on them doesn’t make sense to me.” Boca Mayor Steven L. Abrams, a Republican, said post-election therapy is “more of the same” in a city where people already spend tens of thousands of dollars a pop on plastic surgeons, beauticians and matchmakers. “I do think it’s silly,” Abrams said. “I also think these front-page conspiracy theories are silly. People are saying the election was fixed in Democratic counties that voted for Bush. But these are, like, the rural Democratic counties that have consistently cast tons of votes for Republican presidential candidates. That’s why they call them ‘Dixiecrats.’ One of the counties is literally Dixie County.” Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@bocanews.com or 561-893-6427.