Tragedy

The shootings in Newtown Connecticut are close to us geographically. And they have been brought even closer because one of the children shot was the daughter of one of our Klingberg employees. Nelba Marquez-Greene is the new Co-ordinator of our Family Therapy Institute, and a wonderful new addition to our staff. She and her husband, the jazz musician Jimmy Greene, lost their daughter Ana in the shooting.

I have been thinking about Newtown, Nelba and their family almost constantly, as I am sure many others have.

There have been many different clamors for many different solutions. More gun control! Easier access to mental health treatment! We wish so badly that there was a solution, something to do, a law to pass.

As a person who teaches others about treatment, I of course think of the shooter. Do we know what treatment would keep this from happening? I have read speculation that the shooter had Aspergers.  If he had received the most caring and skillful treatment possible, could we have presented this? We don’t know yet whether he ever had treatment. I do feel confident that any treatment that emphasized relationship, safety, caring and finding your voice would have had a better chance of reaching him than a  harsh, punitive approach would have.

But this is all speculation at this point. What is not speculation is the love and connection we are sending to Nelba and her family. We comfort each other by gathering and by sharing in an open hearted way. We can’t make sense of what has happened. But we can use our connection to each other to get through it and to strengthen our commitment to the work we do.

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