Dorothy R. Cotton, Ph.D.
I am a clinical psychologist who specializes in issues surrounding spousal loss, and I'm a widow as well. I know first-hand and through my many years of private practice how the pain of widowhood can be overwhelming and how society so often gets it wrong about what healing requires. And so I speak to bereavement and elderly groups as well as to professionals to share what I firmly believe is the most compassionate and effective way to treat the trauma and loss of widowhood. In the 1980s I was producer and co-host for a local cable television talk show titled "Gray Matters," and I was also an on-air psychologist and co-host on local radio. The many, many elderly people I connected with inspired me to delve deeper into the unexplored land of widowhood, and I've dedicated myself to helping others understand that land as well. This year I addressed the Massachusetts Senior Psychological Association, where psychologists seemed to find it quite a revelation that there are in fact no set stages in the process of mourning, no progression through gradations of sorrow to a perfect healing! "Out of the Ark" is filled with the voices of all who know the real story, and I hope it speaks to you.
Acknowledgements
The content of this website originally appeared in a booklet which I dedicated to the memory of my husband, Richard, who always urged me, "Put your thoughts on paper." He would have applauded their appearance online as well!
Thank you to the people who helped form the bereavement group that inspired "Out of the Ark": the Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Dodie Bump, Louise Slotnick, and Nina Epstein. Thank you also to the courageous widows who have come to our bereavement group meetings and so candidly shared their deepest feelings. Thank you especially to my daughter Lisa, who edited and designed this booklet and website with skill, love, and sensitivity.
The content of this website originally appeared in a booklet which I dedicated to the memory of my husband, Richard, who always urged me, "Put your thoughts on paper." He would have applauded their appearance online as well!
Thank you to the people who helped form the bereavement group that inspired "Out of the Ark": the Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Dodie Bump, Louise Slotnick, and Nina Epstein. Thank you also to the courageous widows who have come to our bereavement group meetings and so candidly shared their deepest feelings. Thank you especially to my daughter Lisa, who edited and designed this booklet and website with skill, love, and sensitivity.