When Sue came to see me for counseling, she was under great stress. There were too many tasks to accomplish, places to go, and people…
The Best Gift for Your Teen or Adult Child: Admit Your Biggest Mistakes
Parents love to joke about their worst moments in parenting. For example, we laugh about that time that we forgot to strap in the car…
Rethinking New Year’s Resolutions
By this point in the year you may be making great strides toward your New Year’s resolutions, feeling frustrated that you haven’t made as much…
If Your Relationship Feels Stuck, Could Not Listening the Problem?
If you find that your relationship is lacking in closeness, you may just want to ask yourself if you’re a good listener. Because I can…
Assertiveness: Why Does It Matter, When Others Won’t Change?
Counselors spend a fair amount of their time teaching assertiveness skills, because people frequently come in with low self-esteem, feeling very disempowered. Often they grew…
Good Guilt: When Feeling Guilty Means You’re on the Right Track
Change is hard. When people come in for counseling, they want change, and often this requires that they themselves change their own behavior or their…
Coping with Family Dysfunction at the Holidays
On the wall of my office where I do counseling I have a sketch that says, “Rules for a Successful Holiday: 1. Get together with…
Postpartum Anxiety: More Common than Postpartum Depression
When Michelle first sought help after the birth of her first baby, she couldn’t figure out what the problem was. All she had ever heard…
Turning Life’s Detours into Opportunities
Driving down interstate 90, thinking about getting to my destination at a decent hour, my excitement for the night’s plans suddenly came to a stop.…
Why “Should” Is Ruining Your Life
I grew up reading Harry Potter, and I fell in love with the story about rag-tag characters who defy all odds and come out on…
Politics, Anxiety, and Emotional Distress
Elizabeth sat in front of me in her therapy session crying. If anyone had a reason to be stressed out, it was her. The parent…
When You Lose It with Your Kids, the Problem Is Usually Boundaries, Not Anger
In the world of perfection parenting that we’re immersed in, many moms are worried they don’t measure up, a major reason being that they lose…
