Third, we need to be acutely aware of the potential abuse of substances—be they alcoholic drinks, tobacco products or heavier duty drugs. Remember the poppy fields on Dorothy’s journey to the Emerald City! We even need to be thoughtful about our consumption of caffeinated drinks. A colleague of mind, John Preston, is a noted clinical psychologist who cautioned all potential psychotherapy clients to moderate or even reduce their caffeine intake while undergoing therapy. Caffeine can make us “trigger happy” when we confront personal challenges during therapy sessions. We are already aroused by the coffee we drank before coming to the therapy session and are likely to become even more aroused (and less competent in addressing the therapeutic challenges). Preston has assisted his clients by creating a Caffeine checklist. I have modified this checklist and include it as Appendix D.
Conclusions
I close by acknowledging that Dorothy (and her colleagues) each deserve considerable credit for the engagement of their individual wisdom, compassion and courage. Each of them could not have healed their own heats without the assistance of their colleagues. However, their own strengths and strategies played a major role in their successful journey to the Emerald City—and in healing the hearts that each brought on the way to meet the Wizard of Oz. The Wizard might have been a huckster and charlatan, but he seemed to know something about the spirit and soul of those people with whom he interacted. The emerald glow of Oz conveyed hope and healing—outcomes that would bless the life each of us is now living in a world of VUCA-Plus.
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References
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