by Nicholas Hack, Psy.D.

I’ve spent 2022 listening for silences.

At the start of the year our Editor-In-Chief, June Lin-Arlow, invited Impulse contributors to think and write about silence. As somebody who spends quite a bit of time with each article and each issue, that invitation has frequently been at the front of my mind. As the year draws to a close and June’s tenure ends, I find myself reflecting on the impact that invitation has had in my clinical practice and personal life.

I tend to be curious about what’s not being said, but this year in particular I’ve noticed the presence of silence so much more. I’ve heard people describe an interior bodily silence, while at the same time having a skin-barrier that screams with information. I’ve heard others express fury about areas of life where there’s an absence of talking, for the deep terror and threat that it indicates an absence of thinking. I’ve felt more acutely the quality and textures of silences: when they feel warm, when they feel hostile, when they are shared, and when they are not. I’ve attended to silence as a void, where thinking and feeling can’t find a foothold, and where it has been a devouring blackhole, consuming aliveness and hope. I’ve also felt silence in the dyad as an awakening, like the quiet moment when one first opens their eyes.

In my personal life, I’ve found myself more aware of and curious about certain kinds of silences in groups. Why can one group talk about race but not sex? Why can another talk about personal trauma but not personal finance? I’ve also felt invited to take up the courage to break those silences and see what happens.

Which is all to say that this year, with that invitation, the presence of Impulse in my clinical and personal life expanded far beyond a once-a-month publication date.

***

As I wrap up here, I’m realizing what this article is. This is partly a goodbye to our most recent Editor-in-Chief. (June, thank you for all the unseen work that goes into keeping this ship moving forward.) This is partly a thank you to her for the invitation to explore silence and see where it goes. And this is partly a reflection on the kind of influence I think this newsletter can ultimately have.

We’ll soon welcome a new EIC (watch this space!) and with them a new mind and new set of questions. However, we are still accepting inquiries for those of you interested in sharing your voice, reaching our local analytic community, and raising questions of your own that may resonate with others. If you’d like to know more about becoming a contributor, please get in touch: info@ncspp.org.