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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

By: Dennis Gowin. LMHC NBCC and Cheryl Gowin

Click here to contact Dennis and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

Many of us have times when we feel out of control and unsteady. The problem is to determine how we got there – stuck – in the first place and then to find the solution to getting out of the pattern – or unstuck.

So how do we get stuck? Read the rest of this entry »

By: Cynthia Peikoff, LCSW

Click here to contact Cynthia and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Are you feeling like a rat caught up in the rat race?

As a counselor I see clients in my office for one hour of their busy lives per week. They come to me with worries, dilemmas, in moods of all type. What amazes me about them is how accomplished and hard working they are. Most enjoy their chosen work. Many have lovely homes in beautiful Orange County, California. A lot of them workout regularly. On weekends, their productivity continues by taking care of shopping, cooking, cleaning, making house repairs or driving to Costco to save money buying in bulk. Read the rest of this entry »

By: Imam Arthur L. Farahkhan

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Dear Honored Guest,

Thank you for reading these few words about gang violence. It seems that we are hearing a lot in the media recently about gang violence, and that is why we are writing this newsletter. We have asked a question of gang members for many years. This question is, “ why don’t you get along with each other”? The overwhelming answer is, “yall don’t get along “. Read the rest of this entry »

By: Lynne Angela Santiago, MS, LMHC, Certified Sex Therapist

Authentic living and the transgendered person <!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>

To live authentically means to be the author of ones own life, to live based on one’s own truths about self, honoring your true nature and expressing it to the world.

For many of us, this is our life challenge. Influenced by the should and the should nots of our external world, we may make life decisions that are not really in congruence with our true self. Careers, relationships, life styles, religious and political beliefs, are just a few of the things we may choose to own, in an effort to gain approval from others or keep the boat of life steady. Yet they may be choices made and lived that do not truly reflect our inner being. Read the rest of this entry »

By: Mary Ellen Barnes, Ph.D.

Click here to contact Mary and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Effective help with alcohol abuse and dependence is hard to come by, despite large numbers of treatment programs. The problem is that a majority of these programs have grown from a single - and ineffective – male model whose business success has long overridden client needs despite dismal outcomes. The result, for women, is that most options omit a number of the research based components that include: Read the rest of this entry »