26Dec

Inside Out & Lost and Confused

Watching the Disney PIXAR movie Inside Out, I was reminded of my work with children. They experience the world in such different ways than adults. Children have feelings and emotions that they may not understand and cannot put into words. To them, these feelings have a life of their own, as they may take over […]

26Nov

Innocence Lost

Having a teen with a substance abuse problem may be one of the most difficult things that any parents could face while raising a child. They might ask themselves, where did we go wrong? Could we have done anything in our power to prevent our son or daughter from feeling lost and going to the dark side of addiction? As […]

13Aug

Bullying

So often lately I have heard adults discussing bullying. What many don’t seem to understand is that although bulling has always been around, it has morphed into something very different from when they were growing up.  I have even heard adults make statements such as, “I was bullied as a child, and I survived” or “it […]

09Jun

My Teen Has Been Abducted by Aliens!

“And so, rather than ignoring the ESSENCE of adolescence, what if we shaped our culture-in our homes, in our schools, and in our larger society-to cherish and cultivate these qualities?” -Dr. Daniel J. Siegel Adolescent years often bring confusion…not just for adolescents themselves…but for their parents, who no longer recognize their children. It’s as if […]

20Jul

Self-Esteem and Adolescence

The teenage years. For some parents, this time period can evoke feelings of fear, frustration, and despair. Why did he/she say that? Why did he/she do that? What was he/she thinking?! These are some of the many questions one asks oneself when dealing with the seemingly strange and unwise decisions made by our youth. Most […]