Licensed Psychologist & Humor Consultant
Director of Psychological Services
INTROSPECT of BuxMont
2321 Broad Street
Colmar, PA 18915
215-997-9596
fax: 215-997-9409
**See Phyliss Shanken’s Author Webpage
Eye of Irene
by Phyliss Shanken
Everyone has a story, even old people -- especially old people.
Old people are just young people who grew up.
Eye of Irene depicts the adventures of senior citizens who refuse to evacuate Atlantic County during Hurricane Irene in 2011 and how they and the young interlopers who take refuge in their building are impacted by each other.
The-old-folks look backward while wishing for a redo; the-young-folks seek a crystal ball view. Through a series of mishaps, they meet at the midpoint of their not-so-differing perspectives.
The five college-age adults who were kicked out of the Tropicana Hotel, which closed its doors in preparation for the storm, sneak into The Empire condominiums, where they try to avoid detection from the seniors they deem as past their prime.
Amidst the frightening sounds of the storm outside, the fun-seekers inside eavesdrop on The Empire residents who, under the threat of potential disaster, search for meaning by confessing intimate secrets and regrets. The behind-the-scene youths gradually absorb bits of wisdom from these aging but experienced grownups.
Eye of Irene goes deeper than traditional tales of young people who live "happily-ever-after." With stories about old people, you don't have to guess how the story ends. You travel to yesteryear and beyond to the "ever after" of "happily-ever-after."
*also available at amazon/kindle
CONVERSATIONS WITH PERFECT STRANGERS; Memoirs of a Psychologist
Conversations with Perfect Strangers
Memoirs of a Psychologist
by Phyliss Shanken
Become a fly on the wall of a psychologist's and her patients' inner sanctum and end up learning about yourself!
Did you ever wonder what goes on in a psychologist's office? How does she keep secrets? Is she ever bored, unsure, afraid, angry or impatient? Does she confuse one person's story with another or get too emotionally involved? What does she actually do to facilitate change besides saying, What do you mean by that?
Conversations with Perfect Strangers: Memoirs of a Psychologist is a fictionalized* journey through one psychologist's practice and into the hearts and minds of the 'perfect' strangers who, by sharing their secrets, enrich and inform her life. About her forty years in practice, Phyliss Shanken says: "I shelter the memory of my patients' struggles in a special place deep within my heart. I celebrate their triumphs. I am changed because of them."
Sit in on heartwarming, enlightening, sometimes funny and sometimes scary sessions with strangers you come to know well. Answer questions the psychologist directly asks you so you can learn about your own issues. Become better able to listen and solve problems, use laughter to muddle through life's crises, and develop into a more effective spouse, parent, worker or friend.
This book is for those who wonder what their therapists are really thinking, for healthcare professionals, and for anyone interested in the troubled side of human nature or who desire a unique opportunity for personal growth.
* Due to confidentiality considerations, Phyliss Shanken intertwined her skills as psychologist and fiction writer: The patients are imaginary characters, but her own reactions are true to her personal and professional experience.
Official National Release on August 13, 2013 - Amazon and Barnes & Noble
What to Expect in Therapy & Why I Love My Job
by Phyliss Shanken, M.A.
Video: Phyliss Shanken: How Did You Become Interested in Psychology?
Video: Phyliss Shanken: How Do You Conduct Your Therapy Sessions?
BIOGRAPHY
Phyliss Shanken is a licensed psychologist and Director of Psychological Services at INTROSPECT of BuxMont. She specializes in the psychotherapeutic treatment of adolescents and adults in individual, group, couples and family psychotherapy:
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•anxiety
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•depression
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•eating disorders
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•pain management
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•relationships
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•self-esteem & confidence
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•stress
She is founder of INTROSPECT's Women's Actualization and Food Abuse programs, and has developed a fresh approach to the treatment of eating disorders which combines insight, metaphor, group dynamics and relationship-oriented psychotherapy in an intensive outpatient setting.
She collaborates extensively with physicians and with INTROSPECT's dietitian to design an outpatient treatment team. The goal is for patients to reach successful outcomes without having to be hospitalized or enrolled in partial hospital programs.
As an organizational and HUMOR consultant, Phyliss Shanken designs and facilitates programs for industrial, professional and educational groups. She helps groups learn to accept each other's differences and to understand how and why humor can be abused.
As a public speaker to over 300 hundred audiences, her most popular topics include:
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•Laughter & Stress
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•Food Abuse
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•Helping People Cope With Physical and Emotional Pain
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•Assertiveness and Self-Confidence
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•Diversity
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•Love
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•Women's Issues
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•Coping with Change
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•Parenting
Phyliss Shanken has conducted staff development training and lectured on eating disorders at such facilities as Renfrew Center, Belmont, and others. She sits on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Bulimia and Anorexia (AABA).
PUBLICATIONS**
Phyliss Shanken, M.A. has been published in numerous psychological, review and literary journals, has received literary awards and has been a newspaper columnist. A few years ago, she wrote about diversity issues in her monthly column, Grassroots, which appeared in Next Step: A Magazine About People Coming Together.
Phyliss Shanken designed INTROSPECT's Eating Obsessions Quiz.
Her book in progress is entitled, CONVERSATIONS WITH PERFECT STRANGERS : Memoirs of a Psychologist (June 2013).
PHYLISS SHANKEN’S NOVEL: HEART of BOYNTON BEACH CLUB, 2011, is based on the critically acclaimed movie.
Heart of Boynton Beach Club delves deeper into the characters’ personal histories and motivations, along with their marital relationships, fears, dreams and joys. The bereaved spouses learn that there are no shortcuts to the grieving process, but they do experience renewed vision for dealing with the challenges and changes facing them as single adults. Readers gain a new understanding of what it means to be supportive in times of loss and that for anyone, healing can occur, another day will dawn and new love is possible. Heart of Boynton Beach Club depicts the beauty and resilience of the human soul—we are strong and courageous individuals who don’t always know it until we are tested. But we can prevail.
and Laughter is a StressBuster.
Phyliss Shanken won awards for her screenplay LOVE ON THE OTHER SIDE.
Phyliss Shanken served as Script Consultant for Susan Seidelman's feature film, Boynton Beach.
She is a contributor to the anthology, FROM EULOGY TO JOY. Look for her story called, A Laugher’s Last Laugh on p. 148.
Phyliss Shanken is a contributor to Steve Ferber’s 21 RULES TO LIVE BY: A Pathway to Personal Growth, a book she highly recommends. Look for her article, Laughing all the way...to work, on page 62.
**also see Phyliss Shanken’s Author Webpage
A Memory of the Therapy Experience
From a Former Patient with her permission
designed by Phyliss Shanken, M.A.
GROUP THERAPY:
Group Agreement for Group Therapy
Letter from Former Group Member 1
Letter from Former Group Member 2
Letter from Former Group Member 3
ANOREXIA NERVOSA
An Anorexic Patient Discusses Her Identity
PERSONAL COACHING
Coach and Psychotherapist Collaborate
portions of this article were published in The Inuiry in March 2
GENERAL ARTICLES
Can Perfect Women Be Happy? Or --
Is Liberation All It's Cracked Up to Be?
Everything is Funny-- As Long As It's Happening to Someone Else!
A Screenplay by Phyliss Shanken
REFLEX SYMPATHETIC DYSTROPHY
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy: A Personal Perspective by a Psychologist
by Phyliss Shanken, M.A.
Comments about this article from Michele Langstaff, a fellow RSD sufferer: ” I feel a mixture of gratitude, relief, a sense of “hurray” someone is expressing to the world what it’s like to have RSD, from the inside out. It’s easy to find clinical descriptions of the disorder, but this allows someone who has not had it, to have some grasp of how it feels, physically, psychologically, emotionally. I related to so many things that you said...how you felt about/were treated by the western medical system, a general hyper-sensitivity before coming down with RSD, the myriad of methods you concocted to make your life more bearable, reaction to the support group, and on and on.”
Pain Management of RSD:
Support for People with RSD Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
by Phyliss Shanken, M.A.
Comments about this article from Michele Langstaff, a fellow RSD sufferer:”Thank you for your compassionate and understanding article published on the RSDSA web site. It is an enormous help to have something like this from a professional.”
