What Parents Need to Know "My teenager is so disrespectful." I hear this at least once a week in my practice. Parents come in frustrated, sometimes at their wit's end, because their once-compliant child now questions everything, pushes back, and seems to challenge them at every turn. Here's what I've learned after 25 years of working with families: what parents...[ read more ]
You're furious. Your heart is racing. Your muscles are tense. Someone tells you to "just calm down," and that makes you even angrier. If you struggle with anger, you've probably been told you need to control it better. Just breathe. Just walk away. Just don't get so upset. But here's what most people don't understand: anger isn't something you can...[ read more ]
It's that time of year again. You're thinking about what you want to change - lose weight, exercise more, be more patient, get organized, save money, spend more time with family. You're motivated. You're hopeful. This year will be different. Except it probably won't be. Most New Year's resolutions fail by February. And you're left feeling like you failed again,...[ read more ]
“Because I said so!!”How many times did your parents say this phrase to you? How often were you spanked as a child? How much yelling was there in your house growing up?It’s safe to say that parenting styles have changed over the years. While spanking may have been deemed okay years ago, most parents agree now that hitting a child...[ read more ]
Racial trauma, also sometimes referred to as race-based traumatic stress (RBTS), refers to mental and emotional stress that is a result of racial bias, discrimination, and hate crimes. Those individuals who experience these types of encounters can subsequently deal with negative repercussions.The Mental Health Impacts of Racial TraumaIndividuals who experience racial trauma not only deal with the initial event, but...[ read more ]
We live in a society that values things that appear perfect. And I suppose there are things that can be perfect. Architects can draw the perfect straight line, mathematicians can solve an equation with a perfect calculation, and a chocolate cake can be perfectly moist.But as human beings, we can never reach a state of perfection because we will always...[ read more ]
Codependency is a term that describes an unhealthy or unbalanced relationship where one person’s needs are met while the others aren’t. Codependent people are said to “enable” the bad behavior of a loved one by supporting them, no matter if it negatively affects their own well-being.As an example, a parent may have a hard time setting healthy boundaries by telling...[ read more ]
Many of us grew up in households that were dysfunctional, where boundaries between parents and adults were blurred in unhealthy ways. Emotional incest is not of a sexual nature, but it does describe unhealthy emotional interactions between adults and children that are psychologically inappropriate.What this looks like in a real-life is a parent treating their child as a partner, relying...[ read more ]
November 21st is International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, an event that brings together survivors of suicide to share their experiences and offer hope and encouragement to others. Loss is never easy, but losing a loved one to suicide is particularly painful. Sadly, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that roughly 800,000 people die from suicide each year around the globe. That’s...[ read more ]
Adopting a child can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Opening your home and heart to a child in need often leads to a bond that enriches both the parent and the child’s life.But sometimes the road to “happily ever after” is paved with potholes. Sometimes adoptive children suffer from attachment issues, which means they have an...[ read more ]