Trauma: What It Is and How to Cope

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, one criteria for PTSD is “having a near death experience.” As a therapist, I’m not the judge of what is truly diagnosable as “trauma.” I personally believe the true judge of something being traumatic is how our bodies respond to it. Our bodies communicate many messages…

My Child Won’t Tell Me How They Feel

I often encounter parents who are concerned because their child doesn’t talk about their feelings. Whether it’s in response to a separation or divorce, the death of a loved one, bullying at school, or any other number of issues, parents desire to help their children talk through their emotions. But therein lies the problem: Children…

Fighting the Stigma of Therapy

One of my jobs as a therapist is to make sure that whoever walks into my office for the first time feels safe and comfortable. One way I often do this, is through humor.  Here is a common exchange I engage in if they are new to therapy:   Therapist: So… is this your first…

The (Power) Struggle is Real

As I sit with parents before meeting their children for the first time, I often hear the same things over and over: “It’s a constant power struggle. I can’t trust them to do anything on their own, and I’m exhausted from always having to step in.” This repetitive topic doesn’t come up because the parent…

The Key to Successfully Blending Families

Parenting, itself, is a challenge. But when parents are trying to raise children who are blended from different families, it is an even bigger one. When blending a family, a biological parent may feel disillusion that they found a new partner to share their life with and yet still feel like a single parent! A…

Kid Gifts to Inspire and Build Confidence

What if you could gift your child more than just a physical toy for Christmas this year? What if you could inspire them, build confidence, and encourage growth with the simple joy of a toy? The truth is, the kinds of toys we choose for our children can either inspire or stunt imagination, learning, confidence,…

Gratitude-Giving

With everyone’s favorite turkey-eating and cornucopia-decorating holiday just around the corner, I thought it the best time to share a thought about thankfulness versus gratitude. Although the two ideas are often synonymous, there’s an important distinction between the two. Thankfulness is traditionally defined as an expression of appreciation for things received. Being thankful often involves…

Reinvest in the Empty Nest

Every autumn my friends and I return to familiar conversations as one-by-one we become empty nesters. We often lament the loss of our roles as parents and the day-to-day interactions we had with our children. We wonder in what new ways we should invest the time and energy we now have at our disposal. But…

Resetting Your Path

We all get off course sometimes.  We face hardship and challenges that derail our plans and cause us to question what we’re doing and where we’re headed.  We make poor choices that take us down dark alleys that seem to have no way out.  Sometimes we’re left spinning out of control, and sometimes we’re stopped…