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WOUNDED WORKERS
TALES FROM A WORKING MAN’S SHRINK
Author Presentation and Book Signing with Dr. Bob Larsen
Thursday September 15th 5 p.m.Main Library 145 Washington Ave, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Wounded Workers: Tales from a Working Man’s Shrink is Dr. Bob Larsen’s first book intended for an audience of folks who have worked or are still working. The book recounts the stories of America’s workforce subjected to physical and psychological trauma for doing their jobs. Tales from the trenches, of workers tormented by ill fortune, both natural and man-made, is the book’s focus. A bank teller robbed one too many times, a paramedic who cannot save his own father’s life, a prostitute who becomes an advocate for sex workers and other unfortunate employees find themselves sent to Dr. Bob.
Wounded Workers will grab your attention while experiencing the human response to horrific, yet common critical incidents. Clinical terminology is minimized. You won’t need a medical degree to understand what these workers go through. Dr. Bob’s personal journey as a working-class kid who becomes a scientist, physician and professor is intertwined with the dynamics of victimization, recovery, and advocacy. Readers will be exposed to stories of workers subjected to shootings, amputations, sexual assaults and healthcare-induced disability. Readers will relate to the plight, courage and persistence of victims who could be your neighbor, friend, family member or co-worker. You will be glued to the couch while turning pages.
More information about Wounded Workers can be found at workingmansshrink.com.
Dr. Bob Larsen is a working-class kid who grew up to become a ‘working man’s shrink.’ He has more degrees than a thermometer. Forsaking a career in molecular and cellular biology, Dr. Bob opted to attend medical school at Northwestern University where he was smitten by the field of psychiatry, never having taken a course in psychology. He then bypassed his alma mater in Colorado to complete a residency at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), a Robert Wood Johnson fellowship at Stanford/UCSF, and a Masters in Public Health at the University of California in Berkeley. As an active physician, yet retired Clinical Professor at UCSF, his expertise is in the fields of occupational and forensic psychiatry. Dr. Bob served on the Industrial Medical Council for the State of California for its entire thirteen-year existence. He has done yeoman’s work for impaired physicians, seriously injured workers, and all who confront stodgy bureaucrats in America’s healthcare system. He’s a member of the American College of Psychiatrists and the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. Not a blind advocate, yet hopefully a man of the people.
Official NFAA Review
Even before the pandemic began to take its toll on our workforce, the increase in the frequency of stories about workers being verbally, mentally, even physically abused in the workplace was becoming more commonplace. These have now become daily news items.
Dr. Bob Larsen’s Wounded Workers puts several such stories front and center. Including his own journey throughout the book’s pages, Dr. Bob writes of true-life accounts of workers whose mental health has been challenged, whose spirits have been broken, and whose very lives have been changed because of a single–or even ongoing–event that takes place during their workday.
But Wounded Workers is not just a gripping retelling of some of our country’s darker moments in the workplace setting. True to his personal mission as a physician and psychiatrist, Dr. Bob explores professional ways medical personnel can help such victims, and practical ways all of us can be of service in even some small way to those who have suffered in this way. Wounded Workers is a well-researched book written with empathy and thoughtfulness on a very sensitive and relatable topic.
~ Nonfiction Authors Association Book Awards Program
I love books that, besides being well-written and entertaining, help me learn something important. Wounded Workers is one of those!
Dr. Bob Larsen skillfully interweaves the inspiring story of his development from a self-described nerdy kid to a well-regarded psychiatrist and advocate for working people. The text explodes with fascinating stories of clients Dr. Bob has helped and with tales of those who mentored and helped him.
A crusader for making mental health care accessible as a basic human right, Dr. Bob’s advocacy sought to persuade insurance companies and employers to consider the long-term psychological impact of debilitating work-related injuries.
Some of the many moving encounters highlight the amazing resilience of maimed and traumatized workers who, instead of giving up, found value in the life that was left for them. Dr. Bob’s descriptions of how his clients struggled to deal with the psychological effects of loss of limbs, scarring accidents, and other traumatic events testify to the need for major and compassionate change. Many of the stories focus on “essential workers,” people who need the practical and kind advice of a working man’s shrink more than ever. His astute observations on overcoming victimization and the inspiring reality of Post Traumatic Growth resonated deeply with me, especially in the trying times of COVID grief and isolation.
Wounded Workers will resonate with general readers as well as anyone with a special interest in mental health care and making it more accessible as a basic human right.
~ Anne Hillerman, N. Y. Times’ Best Selling Author
