Called to Serve

Like most, Dr. 罗伯特·芬克(Robert Fink)设想，退休后的第一年，他会继续从事一些临床工作, writing and reading, enjoying time with family and friends, 探索不用每周工作65小时的生活会是什么样子. Instead, 他发现自己有一种使命，并在全球大流行期间继续通过免费的虚拟咨询服务为他的社区服务. 

Fink, now professor emeritus, began his career at Oakland University in 1974, 他在哪里工作直到2019年夏天退休. During his 45 years at OU, he filled several roles, such as assistant professor in the Psychology Department, 格雷厄姆咨询和心理诊所的主任, and most recently, associate professor in the Counseling Department. 

芬克的教学重点主要是临床导向的课程, 而他的学术研究则是关于创伤及其治疗, and in his final years, the writing of clinical stories and poems. 他在10个欧洲国家举办了创伤治疗研讨会，并在博士生准备论文时积极参与工作. 他主持了16篇成功完成的博士论文.

“Regardless of my position, 我在公开大学的职业生涯始终如一的主题是，我致力于引导研究生成长为高质量的心理健康临床医生, clinical teachers and leaders in the field,” he said. 

退休后，芬克对这个领域的投入并没有消退. In late March, 他开始为COVID区域内的第一响应者提供志愿时间的虚拟创伤汇报和危机咨询. 

“当我听到新闻报道，读到急救人员的经历时, 我很快发现，他们经历的多重维度使他们非常容易受到创伤,” he said.

Fink felt a strong moral call to help. 鉴于他在创伤治疗方面的专业知识，许多急救人员可能患有创伤后应激障碍(PTSD), 他知道他有一些有意义的贡献，不仅可以为这些人提供所需的心理支持, but would also, indirectly, help their sick and frightened hospitalized patients. 

“袖手旁观将是一种道德上的放弃，”他说. 

To connect himself with doctors and nurses, 芬克加入了一个全国精神健康提供者网络，他们自愿做创伤报告. He also reached out to hospital-based friends, 熟人和同事的同事帮助那些在社会上不太显眼的急救人员, nurse aides and EMTs), have fewer resources (financial, 保险和社会支持)，但却非常脆弱.

All of the services were provided virtually. 作为虚拟咨询领域的新手，芬克经历了一段漫长的学习过程. 

“Prior to the pandemic, 我唯一接触远程咨询的机会是偶尔与已有的病人进行电话交谈,” he said. “Face-to-face sessions had been the norm.”

累积了四个多月的虚拟咨询经验, 芬克很快在使用媒体方面变得更加博学和有影响力. 

“尽管我仍然认为面对面的交流往往是更丰富、更深入的对话, 我开始欣赏虚拟平台的高效和可访问性,” he said. 

Without the convenience of the virtual platform, 很多针对创伤的咨询都不会发生. 芬克的许多同事都是在工作间隙和他见面的, 或者在漫长而辛苦的一天结束后坐在车里. 

在整个大流行期间，要求提供创伤情况汇报咨询的人数并没有减少. 

“由于对急救人员的压力和威胁要求有所减少, 他们有更多的机会反思和感受他们在过去五个月里所面临的死亡和危险,” Fink said. 

For many first-responders, 这种反思导致了创伤性记忆的激增，而这些记忆在他们忙碌的时候很容易被忽视.

“There is a reason why clinical trauma is known as post-traumatic stress disorder.”

与芬克一起工作的许多急救人员都能够处理和释放他们的创伤压力, making his experience both impactful and gratifying. One very defining value in Fink’s life, he explained, 是拉比希勒尔的教诲:“如果我不是为我自己, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?” 

With so many unforeseen circumstances, 芬克退休的第一年并没有像他预期的那样顺利. 

“I did not expect to have a mission,” he said. “但这场大流行成为全球、社会和个人层面的一个决定性‘时刻’. So a mission called me. If not now, when?”