Therapy with Kiersten Marek, LICSW

Another Super Food -- Mushrooms!

Kiersten Marek — Fri, 25 May 2012 22:59:41 +0000

Reblogged from Let's Get in Shape Together:

Mushrooms, along with cruciferous vegetables and onions are another Super Food!

Mushrooms are not a vegetable, but rather are classified as fungi. Yes, I agree, that sounds gross, but mushrooms have amazing anti cancer and disease preventing properties.

Mushrooms have a long history dating back to the ancient Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The Chinese used mushrooms to treat cold and flu symptoms.

Nature's Little Secret – Lemons and Limes

Kiersten Marek — Fri, 25 May 2012 22:52:44 +0000

Reblogged from :

by Kim Pullon, CNS

While oranges straight from Mother Nature’s medicine cabinet are an obvious choice for healing all sorts of maladies, both lemons and limes are its underrated and often forgotten siblings. Lemons are rich in vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Limes are higher in vitamin C than lemons also contain calcium and phosphorus. Besides having unique antioxidant compounds, both also help strengthen immune systems and have anti-cancer properties.

Report finds increase in "kinship care" over the last decade

Kiersten Marek — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:20:35 +0000

Reblogged from The Education Blog:

More children are living with grandparents and other relatives, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In Rhode Island, an estimated 6,000 children are in that situation. Rhode Island Kids Count Executive Director Elizabeth Burke Bryant says it’s not always easy for grandparents or aunts and uncles to become primary caretakers.

“It’s a hard job, it’s something that really strains resources in their own family structure,” Burke Bryant explains.

The Controversial Placebo Effect of Antidepressants

Kiersten Marek — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:00:01 +0000

Reblogged from Kmareka.com:

The article linked below captures many facets of the complicated beast known as psychiatry under the influence of corporate pressure from Big Pharma. In particular what struck me were the descriptions of how colleagues of Irving Kirsch, whose research exposes that antidepressants on the whole are no more effective than placebo, have been ostracized and dressed down for supporting him.

Rhode Island Schools Removing 'Pink Slime' from the Menu

Kiersten Marek — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:16:36 +0000

Reblogged from Kmareka.com:

You may remember the video we posted a few weeks back about Pink Slime. I’m happy to report that we were part of the national momentum of disgust that has prompted the right response from our state: School removing ‘pink slime’ from the menu | Turn to 10.

Winning the war on pink slime!

Come to my Free 6-week Writing Workshop Using the Archetypes

Kiersten Marek — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:49:10 +0000

UPDATE: This workshop starts tonight! Looking forward to it!

Innocent ❂ Wounded Child

Warrior ❂ Caregiver

Explorer ❂ Soul Mate ❂ Destroyer ❂ Artist

Leader ❂ Guru ❂ Healer ❂ Fool

“Creative Writing Through the Archetypes”

a 6-Week Writing Workshop

When: starting Thursday, April 5th, 2012, from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Where: William H. Hall Free Library,

1825 Broad Street, Cranston RI

To Register: Contact Kiersten Marek at kiersten.marek@gmail.com

This workshop will use the archetypes as inspiration for writing exercises. Each week we will review two archetypes and do two writing exercises. We will end with sharing and discussion. This workshop is free and sponsored by The Newport Review and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Participation is limited to 14 members.

About Kiersten Marek: Kiersten is a psychotherapist, blogger and fiction writer living in Cranston. She has written fiction for print and online publications and has been blogging at Kmareka.com for a growing audience since 2002. Through her clinical and creative work, she has drafted a book called “Know Thyself: A Kid’s Guide to the Archetypes” which helps children and families use archetypes to understand themselves and live better.

Video: April Fool's Day - Ten Infamous Hoaxes

Kiersten Marek — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:47:51 +0000

Reblogged from NiagaraHub:

When played correctly, April Fool’s Day can be a wonderful holiday. Its always fun to pull a harmless prank… very soul fulfilling. Here is a celebration of some of the best:

Happy April Fool's Day!

My Two Left Thumbs

Kiersten Marek — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:55:28 +0000

Reblogged from Get Write Down To It:

While texting was technically invented in the early nineties, it only started to gain widespread popularity in the last six years (or so). For five out of those six years, I was perched high atop my soapbox, proclaiming that texting would be the death of all meaningful human interaction. If someone had handed me a megaphone, I would have shouted, “Why don’t you people ever…

The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Fiction - NYTimes.com

Kiersten Marek — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:55:50 +0000

Reblogged from Kmareka.com:

Why (some of us) love fiction and feel like it is more powerful than real life at times. The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Fiction – NYTimes.com.

"I do not know . . ."

Kiersten Marek — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:53:34 +0000

Reblogged from Truss Communicate's Blog:

I’ve been on spring break this week, so instead of writing my own post, I’ve decided to share another excerpt from one of my favorite authors, Dr. Atul Gawande. Gawande discusses the difficulty—and the inevitability—of uncertainty in medicine, something for which both doctors and patients have not been well socialized to handle . . .

“Seeing patients with one of the surgery professors in his clinic one afternoon, I was struck by how often he had to answer his patients’ questions, “I do not know.” These are four little words a doctor tends to be reluctant to utter.