This year I started asking my clients three questions at the end of every counseling session. …
Continue Reading about Self-Compassion is the New Self-Esteem: How to Not Be So Mean to Yourself. →
Blindsided by Estrangement: Can You Love Your Child Right Out of Your Life?
Blindsided by Estrangement: Can You Love Your Child Right Out Of Your Life? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biXYbxKwT6c Abuse? Neglect? It's easy to understand why an adult child decides to have nothing to do with a parent who subjected them to either. Parental alienation from a messy divorce? When kids are forced to choose sides, it's no surprise that adult-child estrangement is an unfortunate consequence. But a close family with good kids? A single parent with a strong bond? No wonder …
Continue Reading about Blindsided by Estrangement: Can You Love Your Child Right Out of Your Life? →
How to Have a Breakthrough Without Going Through a Breakdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nTYCcSAltA "Why do you keep going back if it's making you feel worse?" my boyfriend asked. We were talking about one of the most unsettling experiences of my young adult life — don't laugh — psychotherapy. …
Continue Reading about How to Have a Breakthrough Without Going Through a Breakdown →
Estranged: When Holidays Hurt
Whether it’s low contact or no contact, the holidays can be some of the hardest days of the year for parents estranged from a son or daughter. …
The Upside of a Self-Absorbed Mother
Along with all the downsides, I consider myself fortunate to have grown up with a self-absorbed mother. (My father was, too, but that's another story.) If you've ever seen a Tennessee Williams play, you'd recognize my mother right away. Whether it's Blanche DuBois, Maggie the Cat, or Amanda Wingfield, my mother was a mashup of them all. Like all these female characters, my mother was a product of her generation, a time when a woman had a fat chance of getting the life she wanted. But she …
Continue Reading about The Upside of a Self-Absorbed Mother →
Suicidal Thoughts? They’re Not a Good Predictor of Suicide
Thinking about suicide is not a very good predictor of a suicide attempt. Thinking about suicide isn't even one of the eight big risk factors for a suicide attempt. …
Continue Reading about Suicidal Thoughts? They’re Not a Good Predictor of Suicide →