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Read about my latest book: Tilt: Seeking Balance in Troubled Times. Available on Kindle NOW!
AUTHOR | PSYCHOTHERAPIST | MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER | ARTIST


My Blog
Short 2-4 minute reads often on current topics, providing tools for addressing communication issues that we all face. These skills come from my forty year career as a psychotherapist. I design original chalk art for each post.
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Spring Lake
Yesterday I passed by my 11 year old grandson closing the backdoor as he watched his father back the truck out of the garage. He said,...

Dr. Vin
Apr 30, 20182 min read
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How to Conquer Listening Blocks
(The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book on communication skills. This piece focuses on identifying and overcoming listening...

Dr. Vin
Apr 21, 20183 min read
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Spring Break
Last week we took a pleasant 10 hour road trip from Southern California to spend a week in the San Francisco Bay Area. The weather was...

Dr. Vin
Apr 9, 20183 min read
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No Zen Grief Today
I can’t seem to draw, which often makes me feel better – as an avenue of expressing difficult feelings. I’m sunk in sadness. I feel very...

Dr. Vin
Mar 23, 20183 min read
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Express Blocked Emotions with Pillows
BACKGROUND: We all long to connect with others and communicate who we are. But sometimes that is difficult. While situations vary as to...

Dr. Vin
Mar 16, 20182 min read
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Legacy: What Gets Passed On
BACKGROUND: My siblings and I were remembering our Irish grandmother, born in 1900, as yesterday was the anniversary of her birthday. I...

Dr. Vin
Mar 8, 20183 min read
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Shame and Guns in America
BACKGROUND: Corporations are beginning to divest themselves of their connections to the NRA (National Rifle Association), as waves swell...

Dr. Vin
Feb 28, 20183 min read
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Dispersing Mob Mentality
BACKGROUND: Impassioned teenage survivors of the February 14th high school mass murder in Florida stormed the airwaves with their anger...

Dr. Vin
Feb 21, 20182 min read
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The Brain after Death and Valentines Day
Today I learned that after you die, your brain stays alive for ten minutes. The last part of your brain to die is the hippocampus, which...

Dr. Vin
Feb 14, 20182 min read
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Spider Silk
BACKGROUND: Mary was bemoaning the fact that she needed money and asked for my advice. PROBLEM: How do you go about organizing a plan to...

Dr. Vin
Feb 8, 20182 min read
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Managing Codependency and Anger
BACKGROUND: My previous post (January 17, 2018) was about accepting and having compassion for all your feelings, from irritation to joy....

Dr. Vin
Jan 31, 20182 min read
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Communication Toolbox
I want to introduce a new format for some of my communication blog posts for 2018. Each blog post will include a problem, a solution...

Dr. Vin
Jan 18, 20182 min read
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Better Communication for a Better Life
I just asked Alexa to play classical Christmas music while I write this note to my readers. I have written 27 blog posts in the past 27...

Dr. Vin
Dec 11, 20172 min read
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Holiday Balancing Act
As December comes around I’ve always felt the holiday spirit beckoning me to abandon the routine – schoolwork and chores as a kid,...

Dr. Vin
Dec 4, 20173 min read
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Thanksgiving Spread (the love)
I sat with my visiting 10 year old great-nephew, Elijah, inviting him to write appreciation notes on the inside of each person’s name...

Dr. Vin
Nov 27, 20172 min read
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Good Grief Garden
Today would have been my father’s 99th birthday. He died two years ago at Christmas time in 2015. He said, “You do not keep having...

Dr. Vin
Nov 20, 20173 min read
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Ignoring the Wisdom of the Body
We all have ignored our body’s signals at times, like when we are tired and resist rest, hungry and avoid eating, or in physical pain...

Dr. Vin
Nov 13, 20174 min read
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Hallowed Hugs on my Autumn Visit
I just spent eleven days visiting my daughter in her bustling Midwest home, weaving myself into her daily life to join the family of five...

Dr. Vin
Nov 7, 20174 min read
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Do You Want to go to Heaven?
A priest stands outside of Walmart offering free cards to customers entering or leaving the store. He asks passersby the question, “Do...

Dr. Vin
Oct 30, 20173 min read
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Hurricane Harvey and the Dynamics of Sexual Abuse
Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul, was recently disgraced by allegations of decades of sexual harassment of young female actors. This...

Dr. Vin
Oct 23, 20175 min read
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