“How Are You? Connection in a Virtual Age” by leading psychotherapist Dr. Therese Rosenblatt tells of lives plunged precipitously into a pandemic. “How are
You?” depicts stories of loss and adaptation in a time of crisis and a brave new world of all-virtual therapy.  Written for the general public with a unique perspective and conversational tone, “How Are You?” is at once a memoir, a pandemic chronicle and a provocative contemplation of life and the search for meaning and purpose.

From her privileged front row view into the hearts and minds of her patients during this strange and unique time in our history, Rosenblatt portrays her patients’ struggles and how they cope, from the dark early days of the pandemic through its long societal progression.

Rosenblatt equally trains her attuned eyes and ears onto herself, sharing her own experiences, challenges and reactions as she navigates with her patients
through this new and eerie reality.  By examining her dialogues in the virtual consulting room, her stories of therapy during a pandemic are not only about therapy or pandemics; they are about life itself, our human condition, which the pandemic unmasked.  “Although we were collectively living through a global trauma, we were, each of us, also alone,” Rosenblatt says. “We were all in unchartered territory filled with fear, anxiety, depression, helplessness, and the constant of not knowing. I became challenged to fill the role of partner in crisis and post-crisis recovery and guide at the same time.”

How Are You?” journeys deep  into the regions of the private therapy space with vignettes from virtual patient sessions. The book offers an intimate view of what it is like for patient and therapist to tackle poignant and pivotal aspects of their lives—difficult marriages, ambivalence about pregnancy, young adults trying to launch their lives while locked down with their parents.

Patients faced challenges as new pressures arose during the pandemic and old tensions intensified.  Patients with young children were overwhelmed with remote learning requirements.  Struggles with substance use were heightened.  People did not have access to their usual support  systems.  Daunting decisions
were always presented.

Also revealed are the unexpected pleasures that Rosenblatt and her patients discovered in the confinement of pandemic life.  Many are thrilled with the way
their work and private lives are both concentrated at home. In her own life, Rosenblatt finds silver linings in pandemic life, including newfound time and a rediscovery of nature and the simple pleasures of a social pod, a backyard and a bicycle.

“As we faced the cataclysmic impact of the pandemic, many of my patients openly grieved their losses,” Rosenblatt says. “Some were overwhelmed, almost to the breaking point, by the pressures imposed on them. To survive, I had to develop a newfound friendship, a close and compassionate relationship… with myself.”

Rosenblatt offers a breadth of insight for those seeking guidance to cope with a crisis and with the heightened demands of living, loving, working, connecting and finding meaning in a world lived increasingly online. The book is released as we envision a post pandemic life and wonder to what extent we will resume our old ways and to what extent we will retain our new ways.

”We are only really beginning the process of emerging from this crisis. We are recalibrating psychically, after more than a year of trying to protect ourselves
from a deadly illness,” Rosenblatt adds. “As we go forward, my hope is that empathy, which is at the foundation of good therapy, will be appreciated as a value
in the wider world and in our most intimate relationships. Our changing world calls for adaptation.  I am reinventing myself in my work and in my life, as are my patients.” (Submitted)