My interest in our emotional lives began years ago when I became the Editor-in-Chief of HEALTH Magazine. Readers expressed a desire for better physical and psychological wellbeing. So, in addition to publishing medical and health-related articles, I assigned and wrote pieces on intimate relationships and their role in enhancing or draining vitality. I found out about the importance of deep connection, not only with others but with ourselves.  My subsequent work looked more deeply into how our vital inner “self” grows; how it goes missing; how it can and must be reclaimed. The stories I told hit a nerve worldwide: My columns won awards; my books, The Erotic Silence of the American Wife; Marriage Shock; and Drama Kings, have been published in 35 countries and became bestsellers here and abroad.

I love to work with those who feel their voices have been silenced or unheard: Women, for example, who leave relationships when others feel they should stay; or who stay but feel they have mysteriously lost some integral part of themselves and can’t find the words to explain how or why. People who are ill or recovering from illness and don’t feel seen by their medical team. Caregivers, too exhausted from arranging various therapies for their loved ones to seek care or psychotherapy for themselves. Pet-owners devastated by the loss of their adored companion animals—but told by family and friends to get over it.  These people feel “disappeared” rather than validated, and their pain only intensifies the longer it languishes. These are my ideal clients, as they have been such ideal interviews in my books.

***

I received my BA in English and Psychology from The University of Southern California, and my MA in Social Work from New York University.

***

Delma works at Connecticut health and is a contributor to holisticactions.com