Cathren is a community collaborative artist who has been working with the Community Libraries of Providence and other non-profits since 2012, developing arts and literacy programs and creating public art installations. She has been an artist in residence at Hattie Ide Chaffee Home since 2023, implementing visual arts and health programs with seniors and dementia patients. Website: ArtHouseRI.com
HEAT The first heat wave of 2019 has come and gone, leaving a few fatalities in its wake. In the US nationwide, at least six deaths were caused by excessive heat. And on Sunday, July 1, three dogs died in Jamestown after being left in a car with the windows rolled up. It was nearly […]
Dear Dr. B and C, I don’t know what to do. I am extremely upset and agitated, and I haven’t slept since I’ve found out. In a way, I feel violated all over again. I should tell you what happened. Thirty years ago, when I was 15, something terrible happened that I don’t want to […]
I like to check out the CDC.gov website at least every other week to catch the latest Vital Signs and outbreak warnings. I’ve become accustomed to the posts about Ebola and measles, but on July 9, the CDC headlines were about a rare but serious illness I’d never heard of before – acute flaccid myelitis, […]
Dear C and Dr. B; My sister is mentally ill, and can also be just mean. This Saturday, on her birthday, I was supposed to call her at 10am. As I was reaching for the phone at 10:01am, it rang. It was my sister, yelling: “You were supposed to call me at 10!” I humored […]
I began taking an interest in the recent medical findings on CBD after the product itself invaded my online life. I couldn’t open my email without 50 offers cluttering my box – CBD coffee, oil, gummy bears and herbal capsules, all of them promising to change my life. And it wasn’t just my mail. Advertising […]
Dear C and Dr. B.; I smoke marijuana nightly because it helps calm my mind and makes it easier to fall and stay asleep. What I want to know is why my psychiatrist tells me it is not really a great idea and that in the long run, I am harming myself. He also says […]
My friend Laura turned 65 last week and she’s angry as hell. As well she might be – the US government threw her one helluva surprise party. Laura has been a freelance artist her entire adult life. For most of that time, she was without health insurance, but in 2014, Obamacare bestowed the gift of […]
Dear C and Dr. B; I’m 18 and this is my first year in college. I found a boyfriend and I am really into him, but I have a problem – I just can’t get intimate with him. I want to, but I feel repulsed just thinking about it. I keep the feeling to myself, […]
Dear C and Dr. B; The first time I saw Brian was at the Starbucks downtown, and I remember thinking that he had the most beautiful face I’d ever seen – soulful eyes, chiseled cheekbones, a perfect mouth. He seemed unapproachable and totally out of my league. He was also the saddest looking guy I’d […]
Dear C and Dr. B; I had lunch with my cousin Mary today, and I mentioned a problem to her about a male friend who got unexpectedly pushy and I had to slap him and throw him out. She said, “Really? That happened to me last month, but I didn’t want to hurt the guy’s […]