Retiring Retirement
Pandemic connections This is the first in a two-part series.
room. Admittedly, Fast went through a learning curve. But techniques, such as configuring the size of his head on the screen so that it’s similar to real life and peering into the camera’s eye instead of looking down at the computer screen, helped bring it “home.”
M
aking wise choices doesn’t stop for the mature person and nowhere has this been more accentuated than in the past year. Psychologist Brian Fast, 66, of Delmar’s CCAHope faced these challenges head-on and borrowed from his experiences to promote growth in his patients.
by
Robert LaCosta
For example, he was skeptical about telehealth until he realized that emotions and tears and growth flow because of his relationships with his clients – not simply because he was physically in the same
One of the great senior citizen pandemic fronts was technology. Many elders had rarely used Zoom and social media platforms.
“If you opt out of technology,” Fast said, “you could be accepting isolation. And what is a worse punishment than solitary confinement? You can make a good choice many times a week to go to a dinner
Over the past year, Psychologist Brian Fast, 66, has used technology to connect with his patients and his grandchildren, pictured at left. at a family member’s house or to emotionally risk inviting someone to share mealtime together through Zoom.” Fast points to a classic contrast that people in New York City can be isolated while folks in the country can be more connected than ever before. It’s all about daily decisions. “Intimacy is emotional or
from all of us at:
spiritual or physical closeness with another person,” said Fast. “And it occurs as much – or as little – in virtual settings as it does in ordinary in-person life. There is always risk in drawing close or allowing someone close to us. So we typically avoid it and opt for pseudo-intimate interaction that feel less risky but are also less satisfying. We can
Continued on Page 17
FamilyNow CAPITAL DISTRICT
GENERATIONS TOGETHER
113643_4
March 2021 — cdFamilyNow.com 15
