Timothy Mason Clark – 50th Reunion Essay

Timothy Mason Clark

40 Seabrook Road

Hyannis, MA 02601

timothymason@comcast.net

508-737-2701

Education: Yale Divinity School MAR ’80, Fordham MSW ‘81

Career: psychotherapy private practice specializing in trauma certified in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy I

Avocations: performance of classical piano, member of Yale Alumni Chorus, T’ai Chi Chih

College: Ezra Stiles

I will start with the present. I have two knee replacements, and have fully recovered from two strokes. I have a full private psychotherapy practice in West Barnstable on Cape Cod in a quiet spot overlooking marshes with Cape Cod Bay in the distance. I specialize in the treatment of psychological trauma (PTSD). I am certified in sensorimotor psychotherapy, and also employ EMDR. I live alone in Hyannis with my ancient standard poodle. My 98-year-old mother lives alone in her home across the street. My mother recently gifted me with a Steinway baby grand. I practice classical piano every day and study with an 80-year-old graduate of Juilliard who had been a concert pianist. I belong to a piano club that meets regularly. I practice t’ai chi, swim and work with a personal trainer. I have been a member of the Yale Alumni Chorus for several years.

After graduating from Yale College, I entered the Yale Divinity School. Through an internship at the Connecticut Mental Health Center I discovered my calling as a psychotherapist. I worked as a paraprofessional there for 10 years, culminating in (1) doing a year at the Yale Psychiatric Institute, (2) being awarded my MAR from the Yale Divinity School in 1980, (3) earning my MSW from Fordham Graduate School of Social Service at Lincoln Center in 1981, and (4) finally leaving New Haven to join a private practice on Cape Cod.

In 1974 I met my life partner in New York City. He was from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. We shared a life together for 28 years until he died of lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 53. Both of us had been very active in providing assistance to those affected by AIDS. Both of us loved our home and poodles and Cape Cod and Diana Ross. A wide network of family and friends supported me for years after the loss of him.

I look forward to more years of productive work in my psychotherapy practice, traveling with Yale Alumni Chorus, mastering all the Chopin Preludes, being able to do the Tree in yoga, and having fabulous second chances with friends from the past. Life sometimes surprises and delights.