Richard Harvey

I very much appreciated the ideas of 'safety' as flowing from the hospital staff showing their own faces almost as selfies for the patients comfort. I am wondering if the social workers and artists who are doing this are aware that this was an important intervention, during the civil war, by the great poet Walt Whitman, who worked tirelessly as a 'social worker' (before that occupation had been invented or formalized) in comforting the sick and wounded soldiers who landed up in Washington military hospitals. His idea was that separately from essential surgical and medical attention, these hurt men badly needed (lacked) recognition of their identity -- and that is what Whitman offered, patient, loving friendship, as comfort and personalization. Additionally, I would like to remark that a modern style of this is present in the theory and practice of polyvagal therapy. Anyway, congratulation on these important interventions. Rick (Canada)