Resource Articles

E-mail is a convenient form of communication, but it has its limitations and associated problems.  For example, it can be stressful to receive an e-mail from someone that has a “tone” that feels harsh or attacking.  The sender may not have intended to convey his or her message in that way, but the receiver may misinterpret or puzzle over the actual intent of the message. Here are 12 easy to follow tips for sending professional e-mails and reducing the potential for miscommunication:

​Work/Life Connections-EAP coordinates Crisis Intervention Services and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Services for the VUMC community. Definition: A Critical Incident is "any event which has the potential to produce unusual or distressing emotional symptoms such as an accident, injury, death, disaster, threat or act of violence, or other traumatic event at the workplace."

If your spouse or significant other displays a combination of these behaviors, he/she may be a potential batterer:

Decide to save some money and resources.

Few stressors in life are more distressing than having creditors calling and then feeling out of control because your spending has exceeded your income. It is overwhelming! Trouble with debt cuts across all social strata from doctors, professors, lawyers to clerks and food service employees. Those who make over $100,000 annually and those who live below the poverty level may owe beyond their ability to pay their bills. Debt is debt.

Stress is inevitable. Whether it's triggered by an attacking lion in a pre-historic jungle or by the sales quotas of the "corporate jungle" of today, it is a fact of life. Today's stress may even be more intense and unrelenting than that felt by our ancestors.

Written by Ellen Clark, L.C.S.W. The holiday season brings an onslaught of media messages that say that this is "the happiest, most joyful time of the year." Holiday songs convey this message. Magazine covers extol the fun of decorating, cooking, and family gatherings. Consumers are pursued relentlessly to buy, buy, buy, and get that perfect gift. The holiday bar is set high. So why is it that many people find the holidays stressful, lonely, sad, and depressing?

From time to time, life happens and each of us may have the need for expert legal advice (wills, trusts, divorce, disputes, contracts, and other services.)

All of us will grieve at one time or another. Grief is related to love and attachment; it is love under the condition of absence. Grieving is caring about someone who is no longer present. Loss, death and grief are part of the human experience. To grieve is normal; to not grieve is pathological.

It is natural for organisms in nature to gravitate toward homeostasis or equilibrium. Change, whether positive or negative, requires us to adapt, adopt, alter or accept. Change is inevitable. In a healthcare environment, change represents responses to changes in the marketplace, to economic pressures and to external forces. It is not a choice. It is necessary for survival.