Tuesday, June 17, 2025

In The Cupboard: Toxins In The American Home



Robert Fettgather taught adults with developmental disabilities at Agnews Developmental Center from 1979 to 2005, focusing on language development, sensorimotor development, and independent living skills. Furthermore, Robert Fettgather volunteered with the Coalition for Elder and Disability Rights in Saratoga, California, where he spoke at conferences on elder and disability rights, and visited elders while providing family support. A writer, Robert Fettgather has received recognition for his work, including a Certificate of Recognition for Published Work from Santa Clara University in 1991.


We should all take a look at the content of cupboards throughout the home. The list of potential toxins might surprise you!

Our homes themselves can be sources of indoor pollution especially pressed-wood furniture, carpets, and vinyl fooring-again formaldehyde. Moving to the kitchen, that hallowed space for food prep often contains cookware with teflon and a myriad of plastric (not so good for health) containers.  Cleaning supplies may contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia, chlorine, and phthalates, which can irritate the skin, eyes, and your respiratory tract. Even Air fresheners and scented candles can contain benzene formaldehyde. Not so refreshing after all!

Water and food! Water is essential to our lives. It is wise to be aware of potential contaminants in water supplied to the home. EWG has a Tap Water Defense data base that can be searched by zip code. Grocery shop with care. Read labels. Avoid pesticides, especially the "dirty dozen"

Household toxins can be a threat-in plain sight! Information and an in home survey with corrective measures can promote the health of our families. After all, our home  should be a "home sweet home"!



Friday, June 13, 2025

Talk Therapy

 



Dr. Robert Fettgather holds a PhD in psychology, master’s degrees in psychology and special education, and a bachelor of arts in psychology. Since 1980 Robert Fettgathere has served as an associate faculty member with Mission College, where his course offerings have included developmental and abnormal psychology, and general psychology. Robert Fettgather previously volunteered with the Coalition for Elder and Disability Rights, supporting the organization’s efforts to promote human rights for seniors and adults with disabilities. 


Talk therapy, otherwise known as psychotherapy, has evolved through the centuries into a more viable treatment option for mental illness. However, mental illness was not always considered a medical condition. 

In the Middle Ages, following the fall of the Roman Empire, mental illness was regarded as a supernatural problem; “to be touched by witchcraft” was how some described the condition. And people who exhibited symptoms were tortured and forced to confess. However, the Ancient Greeks recognized mental illness as a medical problem. They developed condition specific methods for treating mental disorders such as bathing for depression and blood-letting for psychosis. Paracelsus, a Swiss physician who lived during the Renaissance, found the idea of demonic possession - the explanation for mental illness in the Middle Ages - absurd. A dissonance- a lack of psychological harmony- between man and the society he lives in was a better explanation. Most importantly, Paracelsus believed in the ideas that would influence psychotherapy tenets: prescription instructions, persuasion, and exhortation. “Psycho-therapeia’ was introduced by Walter Cooper Dendy, a London surgeon, in his 1853 treatise, Psyche: A discourse on the birth and pilgrimage of thought. 

Two decades later, Daniel Tuke adopted the term “psycho-therapeutics” to describe the healing power of the imagination over the body, giving rise to the construction of mental institutions across the United States and Europe in the 19th century. Despite many of the methods employed by these institutions, including conversations between patients and staff in sober, structured environments, detached from the chaos of the cities, discharge rates were low while the number of intakes spiked. The inability to rehabilitate patients in these asylums drove further explorations of new forms of therapy. German physician Franz Mesmer was convinced that within the mind existed hidden forces. A professor of medicine, Hippolyte Bernheim, described his use of hypnosis to treat his patients as psychotherapy. Paul Dubois rejected this view of psychotherapy, adopting the term to describe his method of treatment, dubbed “rational therapy.” 

Elsewhere in Europe, the collaborative efforts of Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, and Josef Breuer, an Austrian physician and physiologist, laid the foundation for modern-day psychotherapy. The duo co-authored a book entitled “Studies on Hysteria” in 1895 and are credited with officially establishing psychoanalysis. Keeping memories or thoughts in the subconscious, Freud believed, was what caused mental illness. He also believed that listening to the patient while interpreting their words, bringing memories to the fore, improved the treatment’s success and reduced the symptoms. In their book, Studies on Hysteria, they described the Cathartic Method, which they had applied to a patient called Ana O (whose real name was Bertha Pappenheim). Subsequently, together they developed free association, the archetypical picture of psychotherapy where a patient is lying on a couch, discussing with a therapist. 

America’s psychotherapy scene became redefined by a wave of psychoanalysts who flooded the New World after the Nazi’s conquest of Germany in 1933. The trained emigres, including Heinz Hartmann and Erik Erikson, would modify many of Freud’s concepts. Columbia graduate Carl Rogers wrote the first of many books in 1939 which explored his approach to psychotherapy. Instead of a strict technique, he encouraged a free-form process. He preferred the term “client” to “patient” and created client-centered therapy. This form of therapy became first-choice among American psychologists and social workers after the war.

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Monday, June 2, 2025

Meditation and Sangha




Robert Fettgather has a bachelor's degree in psychology from San Jose State University, as well as a master's degree in education and a Ph.D. in psychology. With an interest in psychology, spirituality and religion, Robert Fettgather practices meditation and also teaches at Mission College. Alongside work, Robert Fettgather is passionate about Buddhism and spirituality and served as a co-founder and discussion leader at the Tashi Lhunpo Sangha group.


Meditation can help practitioners unwind from the stress of their daily lives. Anyone can use spiritual meditation at home or in a house of worship. Various forms of meditation exist. Focused attention meditation may be the easiest form for beginners. It entails focusing on a particular thing, sound, or sensation. 

A common stimulus is breath awareness, in which practitioners gently release all other thoughts and focus on their breathing. Primordial Sound Meditation (PSM) or mantra-based meditation uses a mantra unique to each practitioner. Individuals silently repeat the mantra, like thinking a sound, which helps focus attention and calm the mind. Transcendental meditation is also a mantra-based meditation, developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It uses mantras and promotes inner calmness, creativity, energy, mind clarity, and happiness. Meditation groups with both secular and religious emphases are increasingly common.

The Tashi Lhunpo Sangha is a Buddhist meditation group in Palo Alto, California that offers a haven for individuals looking for peace of mind and connection. It aims to create a community of friends who practice the dharma together and mutually foster and enjoy awareness, love, harmony, and acceptance. The group originally organized  under the guidance of Abbott Khen Rinpoche Zeekgyab Tulku of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, located in India. The meditation sessions are open to everyone, regardless of background or experience. Since its inception in 2007 and officially opening up to the public in 2010, the community has grown to about 1000 "Meet Up" members who contribute and benefit from the Sangha. The participants meet every Wednesday and Sunday starting at 7 pm. The 30 minute meditation sessions are open to people across all levels of experience. The Sunday evening meeting also features a pertinent reading with discussion. The sessions are free, but visitors are welcome to make donations to support the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.

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Thursday, May 29, 2025

A Cascade Special




An associate professor in the psychology department at Mission College, Robert Fettgather has taught courses such as developmental psychology, abnormal psychology, and general psychology for more than 35 years. Robert Fettgather also spent 25 years as a teacher at Agnews Developmental Center in Santa Clara, California, through a developmental center based community college program. Robert Fettgather has published in the Transactional Analysis Journal and Voices: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy.


The western Cascade mountain range has many wonders-among them Mt. Shasta.

Mount Shasta has interested geologists, Native American tribes, spiritual seekers, and even conspiracy theorists. The mountain's dual identity - as a natural wonder and a vortex of mysticism - makes it worth our investigation. It is stratovolcano rising 14,179 feet above sea level in Northern California. And we will establish that it is is more than just a geographical landmark but alsoa tpography of legend and matters of the spirit.

Geologists explain that themountain is actually a complex of four overlapping volcanic cones, each from different periods of eruptive activity. Moreover, Shasta's diverse landscape includes glaciers, lava domes, and lava tubes. The Whitney Glacier on the mountain's north side is the longest glacier in California. Let's not forget water- a critical element of the California landscape. Shasta serves as a vital water source for surrounding communities, with snowmelt feeding into the Sacramento River and underground aquifers.

Mount Shasta has been linked to UAP sightings and stories of covert government bases, and even time portals. While none of these claims are supported by scientific evidence, it is probable that no true investigative science has been financed or applied to these hypotheses.

Native tribes considered the mountain a place of spiritual power, healing, and “vision quests” and to this day, many Indigenous people continue to perform rituals and ceremonies on or near the mountain. After all, it is a spot of gods, spirits, and supernatural forces!

The Cascades in general and Mt. Shasta specifically are all worth a visit!



In The Cupboard: Toxins In The American Home

Robert Fettgather taught adults with developmental disabilities at Agnews Developmental Center from 1979 to 2005, focusing on language devel...