By: Joe Soll, LCSW
Without blaming anyone, I suggest we take a look at the respect missing in adoption. To start with, we need to look at the beginning. The beginning was birth and separation for the mother and child. For the adoptive parents, the beginning was the discovery of being infertile or being unable to bring a child into the family any other way. (more…)
By: Mitchell Milch
Click here to contact Mitchelle and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile
Watch Jane or Bob max out on their credit cards. Is that their partner Jim or Mary registering a feeble protest? Listen to Spot bark and scratch his neck in befuddlement when Jim or Mary pay off the abused credit cards and then, look stunned when the sun rises on another spending spree? Was Spot’s ears playing tricks on him when after one of Jane or Bob’s rants about their partners not contributing enough to their respective households, then agreeing to take out a loan to renovate their kitchen? Could it be that this actually came out of Jim and Mary’s mouths; the same Jim and Mary who are in charge of the finances and know full well they will once again have to rob Peter to pay Paul this month? Did Spot really hear Jim and Mary say to Jane and Bob after screaming at Jane and Bob: “Don’t worry about the finances I’ve got matters under control?” Is insanity reining king and queen with these folks? (more…)
By: Roz Van Meter, MA, LMFT, AASECT diplomate
SELECTION SNAGS AND SNARES TO BEWARE OF
Many a woman has tripped over some of these—maybe several of them, several times—before she woke up and smelled the coffee.
Rehab Project: Believing a fixer-upper will become kind/romantic/trustworthy/fair/sober/adult through the magic of being with you. Particularly dangerous when your goal is to make someone else happy. Can’t be done. Your love can only help create an environment in which he’ll be happy if he decides to. (more…)
By: Gabriele M Smith, MA
1. BELIEVE you can accomplish your goal.
2. VISUALIZE your success. (more…)
By: Carol L. Skolnick
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There is a teaching story from the Eastern tradition in which a guru instructs his devotee, “My child, sit in meditation, but whatever you do, do not meditate on a monkey.” Of course, the thought of a monkey comes to awareness and the disciple discovers he can focus on nothing else. Meditation teachers are familiar with this phenomenon of “monkey mind,” yet, contrary to the story, many teach that it is necessary and even possible to bypass the mind. (more…)
By: Dore E. Frances, M.A.
What is an “Alternative School” <!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>
An alternative school is an educational setting designed to accommodate behavioral, educational, and/or medical needs of adolescents that may not be adequately addressed in a traditional public or private school environment.
Alternative schools have been established since about the late 1970s to meet the needs of children and adolescents who cannot learn effectively in a traditional school environment (i.e., conventional public or private schools) due to behavioral issues, certain medical conditions, learning challenges, and or psychological issues. (more…)
By: Karen Golob, CCDC, CAMF, CH
The Executive Vice President of a large corporation in Los Angeles contacted me seeking assistance with a valuable staff member who was exhibiting an aggressive edge that was causing tension at their workplace. (more…)
By: Jodi Blackley, M.S., M.F.T.
If you are female and either considering a divorce or already g <!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>
If you are female and either considering a divorce or already going through the process, then you need to read this article. Why? Because divorce is an emotional process to a business-like decision. Whether you have been married for 6 months or 40 years, you invested much of yourself emotionally. You probably entered this marriage believing “’til death do you part.” Suddenly, you realize your life may not be including this person any longer. (more…)
By: Mitchell Milch, LCSW
Click here to contact Mitchell and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile
Let’s face it, we all want to avoid making the same mistakes raising our kids we believe our parents or surrogate parents made raising us. This is especially the case when we still hold grudges toward parents for what has or has not become of us. Under this historical cloud, we know yet may not admit to the old adage: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” What this adage speaks to is the IMPOSSIBILITY of NEVER being like the parents we recall as having “screwed us up.” As much as we swear that we will never treat our kids the way we were treated, the moments inevitably arise when we sound and act like our parents. This is human nature. We will on occasion, identify and repeat the most noxious and self defeating parenting practices employed by our parents. (more…)
By: Beth S. Patterson, MA
Click here to contact Beth and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile
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Helen Keller has said that “the only way to get to the other side is to go through the door.” This is particularly true in the work of grief, both the small losses inherent in day-to-day life transitions, and larger losses like the death of a loved one. (more…)