21Nov

The Death of Should

“Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.” ― Rabindranath Tagore If there’s one thing I know for sure “should” shouldn’t exist. It is a word and a concept that causes so much frustration, grief, anxiety, envy, depression, resentment and rage that I’d like to see […]

11Nov

Children and Emotional Distress

One of the most challenging experiences for a parent is learning how to help a child in emotional distress.  A parent can feel overwhelmed and inadequate, when faced with the acute emotional distress of their child; especially when they try to respond by attempting to calm the child down or with problem solving…and it doesn’t work. Panic can […]

06Nov

Care for the Caregiver — The Personal Side

For the personal piece on caregiving, I wanted to share some advice from a dear friend. My friend of many years—let’s call her Lily—is caregiver to a young son who is currently struggling with two different types of mental illness.

01Nov

Care for the Caregiver — The Practical Side

Do you live with someone struggling with a mental illness? Are you a caregiver for an aging parent or seriously ill spouse? Do you have an active relationship with a close friend battling depression? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you are caring for someone with special needs and are a “caregiver,” […]

26Oct

Thinking Makes It So

As a therapist I am constantly seeking to help my clients envision a multitude of possibilities when processing troubling life events. As humans we often tend to explain situations in rigid terms of right and wrong, good or bad, or black and white. When something happens to us, we immediately begin to create a story […]

19Oct

Finding a Forever Home

Adoption can be a wonderful gift to all those involved. However, creating a new forever home for a child, may also come with some unexpected stressors. Many people do not consider the negative aspects of adoptions when they are hoping to grow their family. There are 7 core issues of adoptions that all families should […]

13Oct

“Who Are You?”

“I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” -Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland In Alice in Wonderland the caterpillar asks Alice a very important question. As whirling smoke billows from his pipe he says, “Who are you?” Alice says she does not know. Since entering Wonderland she has changed so much, and […]

07Oct

Domestic Violence (DV) — The Personal Side

When I was in high school, one of my friends (let’s call her Laura) dated a guy who often abused her both physically and emotionally. She was tragically affected by domestic violence, but at the time I had no idea. All I knew was that her boyfriend (let’s call him Rob) did not seem very […]

01Oct

Domestic Violence (DV) — The Practical Side

Whether you watch football or just follow the news, you may by now have heard that the NFL has put new policy in place to crack down on players who commit acts of domestic violence. This policy comes on the heels of a domestic violence case involving Ravens running back Ray Rice. Rice has been […]

25Sep

Each One Teach One: Spreading LGBT Equality

Members of the LGBT community are faced with a variety of challenges that can lead them to seek counseling. Although, as a nation, our acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people has steadily grown (especially within the last ten years); discrimination, marginalization and even oppression persist. Additionally, coming out to family, friends, and at […]