Most parents want to do what’s best for their children when it comes to their physical and emotional well-being. However, teaching them about boundaries related to sexuality often falls off the list of “important conversations” to have with young children...

According to the data available on the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s (NCADV) website, one in 15 children in the U.S. witnessed IPV in 2010. One in three children who were exposed to IPV were themselves victims of abuse....

Recent and some not-so-recent events have highlighted the many ways we have found to divide us. How do we navigate different beliefs, values and opinions with compassion and respect for our significant others, parents, siblings or close friends?...

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a modality developed in the late 1970s by Dr. Marsha M. Linehan, a psychology researcher at the University of Washington. DBT became the gold star treatment for borderline personality disorder, which had always been resistant...

Have you ever wondered why it is so difficult to choose just one emoji to express your reaction to a friend’s Facebook post? If yes, then you might find it interesting to learn about the multiplicity principle frequently mentioned in...

Along with all the physical changes of pregnancy and childbirth come a host of emotional changes, from euphoria to sadness. That sadness also has a spectrum, from a ...

Whether planned or unplanned, through birth or adoption, the anticipation and ultimate arrival of a baby generates a wide range of emotions. Regardless of how much you’ve prepared, how many magazine articles you’ve read, how many nieces and nephews you’ve...

Autumn. Kids are back in school and family routines have gotten back to normal after summer break. However, for many parents with children who’ve gone away to college or have left home to pursue other opportunities, that may mean finding...

“What’s for dinner?” can be the most depressing and difficult question for busy parents to answer. After all, dinner is relentless. Night after night, whether you’re hitting the fast food drive-thru on the way to your kid’s lacrosse practice or...

The holidays are a time for celebration and happy gatherings with family and friends. Some people, however, find that celebrating the holidays in the traditional sense brings anything but peace and joy. Rather than looking forward to it, this time...

Have you ever noticed that most commercials around the holidays depict charming scenes of happy, well-dressed families and immaculate homes decorated to perfection, but most holiday movies center on something (or everything) going wrong?  The reality we strive for takes...

“Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” – Elizabeth Stone Although parenting is one of the most common human experiences, for...

Adolescence, those unmistakable years between childhood and adulthood, is famous for being one of the most challenging times of life – for the teens themselves, for their parents, and for all the other adults they interact with. This is the...

Tips for Navigating the Back-To-School Transition Heading back to school brings a range of emotions for both kids and parents.  On one hand, we hate to say goodbye to summer and the increased family time.  On the other hand, we’re...

The term “sandwich generation” was coined by social worker Dorothy Miller in 1981 to describe a new generation of women who were taking care of both their own children and one or both aging parents.  Since then, the definition has...

Purposeful Parenting: Summer Playtime Carving out meaningful time with each of your children every day can simultaneously sound like a no-brainer and — in the midst of all the scheduled activities and day-to-day responsibilities — a daunting task.  As parents,...

Keep the Fireworks in Your Marriage – And Be a Good Parent New parents, as well as those who have been at it for a while, can find themselves  drifting apart as they put more and more effort into caring...

Kirk always knew that he wanted to be a father.  As a single gay man in his late 20s, however, he wasn’t sure how fatherhood would become a reality. “I started putting feelers out about how to do it.  I...

Perfectionism As parents, we want to help our children succeed, yet that can be a difficult challenge.  The stakes seem to get higher and higher and we think about how to set them up for success earlier and earlier. Getting...

September 11, 2001, changed the way we view the world. A rise in enlistment numbers following 9/11 reflect that many men and women felt compelled to answer the call to serve their country. For military couples or families, the aftermath...

Having a baby is one of the most natural and universal experiences human beings have – unless you are struggling with infertility. For millions of people, the inability to have this most common experience can lead to a heightened sense...

In popular culture, mothers are often revered as both the backbone of our families and vilified as the source of all our problems. For better or worse, mothers shape who we are. And this Sunday, we honor them. It’s been said that motherhood...

Honoring lost loved ones can help ease grief Despite the wealth of books and blogs on the topic, the experience of grieving is, in many ways, uncharted territory. Grief is personal and variable. You may think you know how you...

Honor the Spirit of Giving The holiday gift-giving season is in full swing and got us thinking about ways to honor the true meaning of “giving.” (Hint: It has little to do with buying stuff that most people don’t really...

More than any other time of the year, the holiday season emphasizes family. Images of happy families gathered around a Thanksgiving feast are all over television commercials and magazines. Everyone seems to be making plans to be somewhere with family....

  How did my kid become a bully and what can I do about it? So, it turns out your sweet bundle of joy is not so sweet to everyone. Perhaps you’ve suspected this, but have chosen to chalk it...

Joel Silverman, MA LPC discusses couples and the importance of integrating the values and expectations that originated from their families of origin to improve communication and understanding.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vh4qOLrmy8 Joel Silverman, MA LPC  works with people who have experienced trauma...

By Michele Battle, MA, NCC I never liked the term “Empty Nest”. To me, it sounded like a bleak, hollow place where youth and laughter once reverberated. Then suddenly, the children leave, and only silence and the prospect of aging...

by Marta Oko-Riebau, MA “Fairy tales to me are never happy, sweet stories. They’re moral stories about overcoming the dark side and the bad.” – Joe Wright As a young child I used to love to hear dark stories. Happy,...

by Chris Lewis, Ed.S., LPC You have read all the co-parenting how-to books. You’ve got your co-parenting plan written in detail and your weekly update phone call with your ex scripted, even with a Plan B just in case he...