At the age of 10, after my parents split, I chose to live with my father. It was the mid-80’s and we moved into a full-service building that had doormen. This was good because my father worked, and I spent a number of hours home alone with the condo staff to keep an eye on me. It was a safe environment. Lest you worry I was hurt in any way, I was not.
I was just emerging from a fraught and unamicable divorce in which I was privy to adult … Read More
Weighed down by your responsibilities? Feeling stressed out or even dread about all you “have to” do and take care of? Well, I hear you my friend and I’ve been reflecting about this word “responsibility”, the responsibilities that fill our lives and how we relate to them. Let’s take a look…
Part of this reflection was prompted by my noticing and dislike of hearing myself begin sentences with, “I have to…” or “I’ve got to…” or “I need to…” or some slang gripe about what I was about to do … Read More
Our children are facing a unique experience of childhood in the age of technology and fast data. The advancements in technology and the proliferation and reach of social media has not only added new dimensions, gifts as well as dangers, but they are also changing the tapestry of relationships and what it means to form relationships thereby impacting our children’s social emotional development. As if caring for a little person and raising them to be the best human being they can be isn’t challenging enough in its own right, doing … Read More
It’s September, post Labor Day, back to school time is here in much of the Northeast. Personally – and please hear me out before you judge me for sounding too Pollyanna-ish, but I truly love this time of year, always have! This turning of the weather as the nights become cooler, feeling the fall breathing its crisp air over summers dissolution to me cues a building anticipation for September. For me, it is the time when we are perched upon the crest of a new wave of possibility, so much … Read More
Recently we have noticed a marked increase in calls from distressed and anguished parents seeking help for their distressed, depressed, withdrawn and anxious college students. A number of these students are either struggling while away at school, have returned home mid-semester taking a leave of absence or planning not to return to school at all after winter break. It’s a challenging time for all replete with worry, shame and feelings of failure for all involved.
Attending a 4-year college away from home as long been regarded as our cultural equivalence … Read More