N is for News from New York City

September 20, 2025

Yesterday I learned of the sudden passing of a young man who was a dear former student in our doctoral counseling psychology program. B was a lovely gentle human being. He spent most of his growing up years in Pittsburgh, attending Duquesne University as an undergrad and doing his graduate work at Chatham University where I came to know him.

When it came time to do the year-long predoctoral internship, B took a big risk for a home-town boy - he moved to Alaska! There he worked to provide mental health support for severely underserved folks, often flying in a small plane to reach remote villages where help was desperately needed.

B’s decision to pursue training in psychology arose from his own experiences of loss and grief when his father died during his childhood. He wanted to be there for others who were hurting, as professionals had been there for him during his childhood.

I know from my own experiences as a psychologist and as an educator of counselors and psychologists that we pursue this path of helping for many different reasons, most of them very personal. We may have experienced distress as a young child and have been helped, as was the case with B - or maybe were NOT helped and want to help others. We may have witnessed family members or friends who were hurting.

We may also have been drawn to the work from observing the world’s pain at more of a distance, feeling called to do one’s part to heal the world - so have sought a profession which provides a vast network of people who support such work.

Today I participated in the Draw the Line/Make Billionaires Pay protest march in New York City. Cities across the world also held similar rallies - and there are more to come throughout the fall. As I have often observed at past rallies, all kinds of people show up for such events - young, old, different races/ethnic groups/nationalities. As I watched them today, I wondered about what had inspired each person to show up.

Have the changes in our government affected them personally in negative ways? Today there were lots of people out to support migrants, some whose signs indicated personal experiences. Have they witnessed harms perpetrated on people around them? Today, yes, that was the case for many.

Have they felt that basic human rights have been taken away, that the foundations, imperfect as they may be, on which our country was founded have been nullified? Yes, many came for those reasons.

Did they feel drawn to being among thousands of other people who were united in their desires to make things better, to heal this nation, the world? I would say that the majority of folks present relished being part of something bigger than they are, were comforted with the realization that they are not alone in their concerns and their desires to act.

Among the issues that were addressed today were climate change, migrant issues and deportation, the decline in rule of law and due process, the deterioration in policies related to education and science and health care, genocide and war across the world - in general the cruelty and lack of compassion and empathy evident in policies and actions/inactions.

Overarching were concerns that decisions are being made that benefit just a few, mostly very wealthy men. There were concerns that these decisions harm many, and that the few who are benefiting are not doing their share to strengthen our common society.

There were lots of intriguing signs and banners. One banner was carried horizontally - it was longer than a city block and could thus not be held vertically. Its title was Polluters’ Climate Bills, and it listed climate crisis-related natural disasters from the last ten years or so (that was the best that I could see - the time span might have been longer), as well as the dollar costs (hard to calculate the human costs). Those companies whose operations contribute the most to climate change have not been held to account for these damages and costs.

It felt good to be among so many people who were taking some time to voice their opinions, with others, and also to share information about specific actions that we can take for many of the issues.

And it felt good to know that people are willing to take risks to voice their opinions. I know that, judging from comments overheard, this was the first protest rally for many of the marchers today. A couple hundred NYPD police officers were present but they served only to direct traffic and keep things safe. It was a peaceful rally, hopefully one that will inspire newcomers to keep at it.

As I walked among the crowds today, I kept thinking of B - the risks he took to do his work and the light he brought to it, doing his part to heal the world. You are missed, dear B.

Just a few pictures from the march...