The Currency of Our Stories
“Expanding the circle of affection.” -Einstein My Godfather and namesake, the wonderful actor, Bradford Dillman (who I lovingly refer to as The Old Wrangler) and my father, Pete Bancroft, are now 86 years old. These two men have been close friends for 68 years. They...
Music Performance as Therapy
I adore my work at the VA (The Veterans Administration) and I love being in that community. Everyone is cordial and respectful to each other, part of the honor of having served. And yet, even though I did not serve this country as they did, they know I am serving them...
The Flipper Song
One Child’s Technique for Dealing with Nightmares I loved the Flipper Song when I was a little boy. I never actually knew the words to the song, but I sang it a lot in the middle of the night as protection. Most of the time it worked. When I was about 6 or so, we...
Compassion, Kindness and Humor:
One Therapist’s First Experience on Working with the Mentally Challenged I’ll tell you a funny story. I got “bamboozled”, many years ago, into working with my first group of mentally challenged patients at our local community outreach center. I am a Creative Arts...
The Client as Therapist
DRAMA THERAPY IN A ONE ON ONE SESSION I had a sense of what was going on in him before he entered the office; anxious, ashamed, full of doubt and self loathing. We hadn’t seen each other in awhile, but had been working a long time together before this catch up...
The Effects of a Smile
Have you ever wondered what the effect of a smile has on people? Have you ever noticed what happens when you smile at a total stranger? My wife and I were down at the Hermosa Beach Fiesta over the weekend at a gigantic open air market in which we had set up a booth to...
