As we are approaching the season for graduations, there are many reasons to pause for reflection. Typically, milestones such as graduation, certain birthdays (18, 21, 30, 40, 50, etc. ), life events (birth of a sibling, the birth of a child, marriage or partnership commitment, illness, divorce, etc.) and other life transitions are all causes […]
Graduation and other life transitions Read More »
Jorge Luis Borges’ beautiful and seemingly simple poem, Simplicity for Haydée Lange captures perhaps the highest human aspiration – to allow oneself to be known. The beauty of the poem belies the extraordinary achievement such intimate acceptance represents. Of course, at some level, we all want to “simply be accepted as part of an undeniable Reality.”
(Borges and) The Exquisite Vulnerability of Being Known Read More »
Anxiety is a problem which has many faces. Many times we do not even know we are experiencing anxiety. To make matters even worse, when we don’t know we are anxious, we cannot deal with the problem, respond appropriately, or deal with our mate properly
Anxiety: What You Need to Know Read More »
Here is a “Top 10” list of tips that can help you improve your relationship. These tips come from our experience with individual, couples and group therapy. Here goes: 1. Don’t blame your partner. Often times we expect our partner to be perfect (despite the fact that we are not!). We often hold our
10 Easy Tips to Help You Improve Your Relationship Read More »
“I lost my job the other day. Well, it’s not that I lost my job, but when I got there, there was some other guy doing it.” Comedian Bob “Bobcat” Goldthwait. This quote captures the common and normal experience of sibling rivalry; a difficulty of the older sibling. It was his/her place, to be the
Sibling Rivalry: A Normal Crisis Read More »
Marriage poses a paradox. We really do best in a marriage when we can be mature, understand our limitations and foibles and learn to be patient/mature with our spouse. However, there are strong regressive pulls in marriage. We often look to our partner to make up for things in our family of origin. We can benefit from appreciating the wonderful qualities of our partner, even from a dreamy perspective – however, we really do need to balance the dreaminess with the patience that comes from mature love.
Premarital Counseling Read More »
A common phenomenon is when a child is tall, the adults around her expect more from her than is reasonable. Let’s say the child is in 3rd grade, but she is as tall as a 5th grader. Teachers and parents (as well as other adults) can often have the experience of demanding more from her
Want to help your child grow up with less anxiety? A couple of simple steps can go a very long way. Children need to know they are safe. They thrive on consistency and predictability. We offer some easy to implement suggestions.
Anxiety, Safety and Structure Read More »
America is seen in many other countries as a place in which the streets are lined with gold. One culture calls San Francisco “Gold Mountain.” However, immigrants come here and face often unforeseen difficulties which impact them and their families in many ways.
The Immigrant and The American Myth Read More »
One of the biggest concerns for parents is how to build their child’s sense of self esteem. Of course we all want our children to be happy, successful and to feel they belong in the world. Let’s reverse-engineer a bit here: we know that children admire their parents. First off, why is that? Well, if
Easily Improve Your Child’s Self Esteem Read More »