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Sheree Pollock |
In my 30 plus years working at a major psychiatric hospital just outside of Boston, I have worked with countless patients and staff on both locked and unlocked settings. One of the most creative of these people is Sheree Pollock, a veteran psychiatric nurse. Pollock is a dramatic personality, and uses her knowledge of theater, literature, gardening and other creative passions to engage the patients on a more human level. The minute she walks through the door her presence is known, and she is not too shy to quote Bette Davis, or Joan Crawford--or belt out a few lyrics from a Judy Garland song to make her point. She is a natural storyteller and thespian--and makes what can often be a purely clinical experience into a richer milieu. I had the pleasure of interviewing Pollock on my Somerville Community Access TV show
Poet to Poet Writer to Writer.
"My
goal is to engage every client in an authentic way. I learned long
ago that we may not be able to change the clients lives but we can
control what happens on a daily basis while they are with us. So my
goal is to improve their lives while they are in the hospital. That may
be with Karaoke, Movies, Food, Gardening, Fashion or whatever their
personal interests may be. The goal is to engage them. I am dramatic
because it is engaging. They may love me or hate me but I hope to get
them engaged in the present."