The answer is yes—and she must, says clinical psychologist Cecilia Dintino. As a psychologist, I have been dealing with change in women’s lives for decades. Recently, I noticed that the process can be a bit more challenging for women over 50, myself included. The other day I was sitting in a session with Lucy,* a woman in her mid-50s. She cried as she told me that her husband had recently left her. She felt alone and confused,...
Karen sits in my office pounding her fist on the arm of her chair. “This is not where my life was supposed to go. It’s too late for me to do anything new. I made some bad choices, in career and relationships, and at my age, there’s nothing out there for me.”
For years I have been teaching and coaching clients to use certain skills during painful times. Lately I've been teaching the skills to middle-aged women. Dialectical Behavior Therapy—DBT—is a solution-focused, active treatment with the overarching goal to build a life worth living.
When Maura was told that her job was in jeopardy she immediately ran out of the office, through the hallway, into the elevator and out to her car. She called me as she was driving, 80 miles an hour, banging on the horn and yelling obscenities to everyone who came into her path. “I can’t take any more of this sh*t, “ she screamed into the phone. “My whole life has been one failure after...
Has it ever happened that you find yourself, figuratively or literally, banging your fists, head and body against a wall, a wall with a sign that reads: It’s not supposed to be this way? While you bang on the wall, you hear yourself proclaim: “I can’t take this.” You are suffering. You resist reality. When midlife hits there are so many things to resist. For Lynn it was the death of her husband, for Annette...
Here are a few imagined plot twists for older women. Marta was awarded her silk robe on her 80th birthday. She decided her new name would be Supreme Listening One. She has honed the skill of listening well beyond the expertise of others. She listens better than the best psychotherapist. People say that she listens with her organs, not just her ears. Google and Amazon are currently vying to hire her in a high earning...
Autopilot is death. Choose where to invest your energy, and do so intentionally, because the clearest path to a robust life is purposeful engagement. ~ Barbara Bradley Hagerty in Life Reimagined: The Science, Art and Opportunity of Midlife. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, (DBT) created by Marsha Linehan, offers skills to build a life worth living. Lately, I teach the skills to women who want to make the most of the midlife experience. This is the second...
Each week Dr. Cecilia Dintino and Psychotherapist Hannah Murray Starobin will speak with women who have twisted their plots and discovered that life after 50 can be filled with imagination, inspiration, laughter, and endless possibilities.