M
plummet below zero at night and reach only the low teens during building a life so far away from everything familiar. But if the child
the day Snow flurries blowing, wind whipping, Cockrell pushes on. reveals the adult, hints of Cockrell’s life direction were there all
He pulls the new shearling coat up around his along. His favorite television program growing
neck, as he walks beside and listens tohis patient N Here, nobody h as up was "Yhe Bob New/azzrt S/wu/’ whose main
who is somehow invigorated by the frigid , character was an unflappable and likeable psy-
weather. Both men exhale, their warm breath dis- any Idea   when chologist. ln high school, Cockrell discovered
solving as soon as it hits the brittle air.   pass u s thgylfg an interest in acting, which he pursued in col-
For all the benehts ofthe uni ue counselin , · le e with a minor in theater arts. He en`oyed
Cockrell does pay a physical prie. Yes, he ha? Watqhlng a thera   criating a character and understandinglthe mo-
lost 20 pounds. His cholesterol and blood pres- SESSION IH aCtIOn.” tivation. Even as a young boy, he was always a
sure are also down. But he suffers from sore feet _   Cockrell good listener and loved trying to Hgure out why
and frequent blisters. With his fair skin and people behaved the way they did. And a nick-
reddish blonde hair, he can’t escape wind and name his great uncle still calls him? Cassius,
harmful rays, even with hefty and multiple applications of sun- after Kentucky’s famous abolitionist, Cassius Marcellus Clay
screen. He won’t wear sunglasses because he doesn’t want to put Many words have been used to describe Mr. Clay but probably the
any barriers between him and his patient. As a result, bright days most common is unconventional.
can leave him with severe headaches. And walking for fun? Forget For his part, Cockrell is taking his unorthodox thinking to the
about it. “We don’t go on vacation to go hiking,” he says. “We go next step in wwwonlinepsychotherapy.com, which allows patients
on vacation to sit on a beach.” to receive face-to-face counseling from him, using video-telecon-
On a beautiful spring day, Cockrell heads out for another ses- ferencing mechanisms such as Skype and iChat. 1t’s just one more
sion in Central Park. He does have a “bricks and mortar” location tool Cockrell has created to get people the treatment they need
in Manhattan, but this is his real office: 843 acres, seven bodies of and when they need it.
water, 21 playgrounds, 26,000 trees. Few people realize that Cen- ln 1852, Olmsted’s Hrst book, "VWzZks and Yhlks gpm/z American
tral Park is completely man-made. Workers blasted boulders and Farmer in EngZzzmL” was published. Now a century and a half later,
moved tons of earth and stone over 20 years to create the land- the renowned landscape architect and the Kentucky-born psychol-
scape jewel ofthe Northeast. ogist are connected by a park and a coincidental title. American
Cockrell can relate to this heavy lifting. That’s exactly what his poet Wallace Stevens once wrote that,   the truth depends on a
clients do — excavate the disappointment, pain, and yes, even dirt, walk around a lake.” Perhaps this is what Cockrell is doing with his
to gain a fuller, richer life. Over the course of their treatment, his special kind of therapy, helping patients Hnd their own personal
patients will wander past some ofthe 9,000 benches and 51 sculp- truth — one step at a time.
tures, Hnding their way through the great, grassy expanse and per-
sonal issues. Beverly K. Bell is a freelance writer in Lexington.
More Unconventional Therapy
And 500 miles away in Cockrell’s hometown, some who knew (`mljghxtra W¤t€h video 0f Clay C0€kT€ll in Céntral Park at
him might describe him as daring, picking up his belongings and L" www·¤k¤|¤m¤¤·¤<=·t, k<=·vw¤rd= C¤¤kr<=*||
Fun Times In The City
"I like good stories/’C|ay Cockrell says. and ’U.B.,"the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Archibald
And clearly, he and wife, UK alumna Sandy Harper Cock- lVlacLeish.The company has its own Web site at
rell, are pursuing those stories with passion and persever- www.jcity.org
ance. Four years ago, they formed J City Theater, a Clay Cockrell has even been able to translate some of
production company located in Jersey City, N.J., where his theatrical experiences to his therapy sessions. Using
they live, directly across the Hudson River from IVIanhat- lines from plays or movies, stressing the importance of
tan. Clay serves as executive producer and Sandy is the nourishing the artistic side, ,1   I) , 1,,,,, 
artistic director. even facing fears like those _  I I     e  
While both graduated from UK- she earned a master’s resulting from auditions and   ( e {C Q,
in theater in 1981 with an emphasis on directing — they on-stage performances — all e '   I ‘ ' S
started dating when both lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. He ofthese can be helpful anec-  ~
was working in a substance abuse center, pursuing his dotes for his patients. *2 `
master’s degree through UK’s satellite campus at North- "I remember watching, ’The `
ern Kentucky University. She was earning her MFA from Queen’with Helen IVIirren,   "
the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of IVIusic. and at one point, Queen Eliz- 9
Now, with their own company, they have the opportu- abeth says,'| think better on l • Q
nity to stage the shows that most interest them. These my feet/and I thought, I j ‘i ., .
have included ’7l Tuna Christmas/’ "The God Committee/’ should use that quote!" ,
www.ukalumni.net 13 (