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| LIFE ISN'T A BOWL OF CHERRIES ... |
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| ABUSE
ANXIETY CHILDREN COUNSELING DEPRESSION DREAMS FAMILY HYPNOSIS INDIVIDUAL PARTNERS SENIORS TALK THERAPY TESTING TRANSITION WAR |
| © Margaret L. Cunningham, PhD 2002 |
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| I had my first child, a daughter, in FL. My son was born 6 years later in Washington State. My marriage of 17 years began in Florida and ended in Washington. In between, we lost a pregnancy. |
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| As a Public Health nurse in a Miami ghetto, I learned to listen and actually hear what patients said. I saw the importance of heritage and environment in the lives of those I was trying to help. |
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| Much of my nursing career has been in pediatrics. I also worked with newborns in Florida, and as a geriatric nurse in WA State. |
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There were many emotional highs and lows in those years. Early in life, I had learned to be stoic. I didn’t show emotions; I suppressed them; I rarely felt them. My "mask" was that of a permanently cheerful nurse. |
| I learned piano in my 30’s and learned to swim just before turning 40. I took college classes wherever we lived – after 20 years I completed a BA. |
| The degree, divorce, and mid-life arrived in quick succession and pushed me into despair and depression. Fortunately, they also pushed me into therapy with a Jungian therapist/ spiritual guide. |
| To paraphrase Jung: the right path to wholeness is made up of wrong-turnings and fateful detours. I certainly had my share. |
| Finally, I had "a blinding flash of the obvious" and knew I wanted to be a therapist. Then doors were suddenly wide open. |
| Dr.Maggie |