Loss and Love
Jacob Ham Jacob Ham

Loss and Love

I work with a group of advocates who champion the cause of encouraging adoption of transition age youth. They go around the city talking to youth about holding on to the hope for unconditional family love and commitment, and they recruit parents to fulfill those dreams.

They hurt today when one young man in the audience despaired, “fuck family!”

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Jacob Ham Jacob Ham

Cardozo Lecture Video Remastered

Ok, I wasted the weekend editing the Cardozo lecture so people can actually see the video and my talk at the same time. And I shrank it down to 35 minutes! I hope you enjoy it. I think it's kinda funny yet educational. After this talk, the NYC Dept of Education asked me to helped them improve youth development and school safety. 

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Protecting Children's Worlds
Jacob Ham Jacob Ham

Protecting Children's Worlds

Today, a mother shared memories of being one of those little children who dallied walking to and fro from school, dreaming up fantastic elaborate worlds of little fairies hiding under blades of grass, building cities in piles of sidewalk snow. She was punished by her teachers for being so late, and now she worries that her own child will lose that precious imagination if labeled ADHD and medicated.

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On the Gift of Being a Therapist
Therapy Jacob Ham Therapy Jacob Ham

On the Gift of Being a Therapist

I spent the day at a conference with panels and panels of renowned experts examining the nature of psychotherapy. These people have devoted their careers to understanding the process through which psychotherapy works. Yet, the discussion was leaving me bored and uninspired. 

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Jacob Ham Jacob Ham

Dealing with Angry Ghosts in Psychotherapy

Though many therapists are trained to believe that they need to suppress or control feelings of anger, I think it is incredibly important to use them in therapy because they often reveal important patterns in the patient’s life--ghosts of relationships past. When these feelings go unexamined, they can harm the patient because they can slip out in hurtful ways. But, when examined, they can be some of the most healing moments in therapy.

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Jacob Ham Jacob Ham

Two weeks in my life working in the world of juvenile detention

This post describes some heart warming events that happened when I visited a juvenile detention center last week. 

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