As a marriage and family therapist, the biggest hurdle that I see individuals and couples face in realizing the goals for their relationships is that they keep doing what they have been doing, in spite of having learned a better way. So, as the Nike ad says, “Just do it.” … Read More
New Ideas for Resolutions
It can be easy to get stuck in the same routine where you make the same resolutions year after year. I can’t count the number of times I have promised myself to drink less caffeine! If you have tried the same few resolutions each year, why not try something different … Read More
Good Pictures Bad Pictures
Some researchers are citing the age of 8 – eight years old!! – as the average age of exposure to pornography. And – that’s an average. Meaning that kids also encounter pornography at ages even younger than 8. Prior to the Internet era children typically didn’t discover porn until age … Read More
Mental Health In Our Schools and How We Can Help Students
About one in five children in the United States show signs of a mental health disorder – anything from ADHD to eating disorders and suicide. And yet, as NPR has been reporting in their series on the mental health crisis in U.S. schools, many schools aren’t prepared to work with … Read More
The Perfectionist Child
A little perfectionist likes order, rules, and thrives on certainty. Perfectionism can start at an early age and when parents or caregivers give these children the support they need, they will thrive. However, it can be challenging to teach young children how to to deal with the inevitable reality that … Read More
Defense Mechanisms & Coping Skills – Denial – Part 2
One of our most primitive defense mechanisms is denial. Mark Twain perfectly captured the essence of denial when he quipped, Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. In effect, denial is an effort to avoid the pain or discomfort of reality by pretending it doesn’t exist. It is the emotional … Read More
The Post Holiday Blues
For many parents, the Christmas holiday is a time that they can see their family again. They can have all their children under one roof and operate happily amidst all the noise that was so familiar when the kids were growing up. But then the holiday hustle and bustle stop, … Read More
The Gift of Failure
Parenthood sparks a powerful, instinctive drive to protect. But, in reality, we do our kids a disservice when we do not allow them the space and opportunity to make decisions with the potential outcome of failure. Like Clark Kent, we are transformed from mild-mannered, everyday people into Authority Figures, Responsible Parties…Tooth … Read More
The Promise of the Holiday Season
In a world consumed with commercialism, it can be easy to lose sight of what the holiday season is really about. We tend to focus on superficial aspects of life and then fall hard when those things crumble before our eyes. Delicious food, presents, and lots of laughs are part … Read More
Cultivating Gratitude in Your Kids
Many of us today have so much that it can be easy to take it for granted. Especially for children, whose developmental level lends itself to entitlement, it can be hard to maintain a sense of gratitude for the things they have rather than dissatisfaction over the things they don’t. … Read More
