My practice is that of general neurosurgery. I take care of people with spine disease (neck as well as back), have the usual number of brain tumor cases; and, in the past, have had a fairly strong emphasis on trauma cases, both acute and more chronic. I do not restrict my referral base, accepting all forms of insurance which will accept me as a provider, and I am a fully-participating physician in the Federal Medicare Program. I will also accept Medicaid/Medi-Cal patients if they are referred by another physician.

I practice in Berkeley and see patients from all over the San Francisco Bay Area. My primary hospitals are Alta Bates Medical Center, a large, private hospital which is in the forefront of Networking in health care, and Doctors Medical Center, Pinole and San Pablo, a District Hospital partially supported by public funds and home to a Regional Cancer Center for the East Bay. I also am on staff at several other hospitals in the area, but my surgical practice is basically at the two hospitals above.

Our philosophy of medical practice is that of a small-town office. We only have two employees, both of whom have been employed in excess of fifteen years. The patients know our personnel well and the atmosphere of the practice is almost like that of a Family Practitioner's office, despite the high-tech specialty. Our practice volume is low (a new patient receives an hour of time and a return patient receives a half-hour), and, unless an emergency situation supervenes, we run on time and there is little, if any, waiting by the patients if they keep their appointments in a timely fashion.

I also am spending time in my practice as an evaluator for Medicolegal and Workers Compensation cases. I perform Independent Medical Evaluations, for Workers Compensation cases, and other evaluations as requested. I also serve as an evaluator in forensic cases, both civil and criminal, and serve in such capacity for either Plaintiff/Prosecution or the Defense.

I have also been a participant in a number of national and Internet-related discussion groups dealing with the current radical changes in health care delivery, and an article, "The Decapitation of Health Care" has been published on the Internet, this dealing with the potential deterioration of American medicine under economic pressures from Government and private industry. Please feel free to read this article, and feedback is appreciated.

^ back to top

The Emotional Side of Medicine

The practice of neurological surgery, a "high-tech" and sophisticated branch of medicine, deals with issues that produce, often in a sudden and cataclysmic fashion, deep impact upon patients and families. Thus, the victim of a brain tumor, a major physical trauma, severe and chronic intractable pain, a sudden loss of livelihood, and major medical expenses, is suddenly faced with an overwhelming assault on his or her well-being and interrelationships with family, job, and community.

Traditional mental health disciplines (psychiatry, psychology, rehabilitative counseling) often do not supply the resources which patients need as they are recovering from their medical condition. Such disciplines are often oriented towards "fixing the problem", developing accommodations between patient and employer, managing legal controversies (common in cases of Workers Compensation injuries); and these disciplines, while valuable in themselves, often do not prepare a patient and his/her family for the major adjustments which must occur after neurological injury and/or illness. Such adjustment requires "re-education", this for both patient and family, and often, what is needed is much more than traditional "therapy" (psychotherapy and drugs), but rather a "return to school", an Emotional School where the patient can learn and develop the skills necessary to return to a happy and productive life after the medical issues have stabilized.

^ back to top

Emotional Literacy

In the past several years, I have had the good fortune of becoming aware of a new concept in the educational and mental health disciplines. This concept, called Emotional Literacy has been described and adapted by a colleague, Ilene L. Dillon, M.S.W., a Family Therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I practice; and I have been working with Ilene in situations where patients require more than just "high-tech" medical and surgical therapy. In October, 1998, Ilene and I were married, and we share some office space together.

Just as historical writings speak of the "Seven Deadly Sins", there are, in the human psychology, the "Seven Lively Emotions". These are:

• Anger
• Fear
• Grief
• Guilt
• Hurt
• Jealousy
• Loneliness

Each of these quite normal emotions can serve either to assist a recovering patient to adjust to new demands of life; or, as often occurs, the uncontrolled and misunderstood reactions to these powerful feelings can multiply the pain and suffering of one who is already dealing with the effects of major illness. Ilene is the author of a series of manuals on these seven emotions, and has lectured extensively on these and other related topics.

These publications, low in cost, are available for purchase via Ilene's Web Page, or by sending e-mail directly to ilene@emotionalpro.com.

Ilene is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Marriage, Family, and Child Counselor, with a private practice in Kentfield, California; just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area, and she also has limited office hours in our Berkeley Office near the campus of the University of California. Write to her.

^ back to top