There are any number of reasons for why we fall into the trap of being what Alfred Adler (1870-1937) termed over-protective parents. The first being, this was how we were raised. Growing up with a model of parenting where everything was done for the child was and is a...
In my practice I often run into individuals who are having difficulty maintaining their roles as a functioning parent, spouse, co-worker due to their drinking. Yet these individuals are nowhere near “rock bottom” as the AA big book says one needs to be in order to truly seek deliverance....
“ Alzheimer’s initially attacks the cognitive functions of the brain, so sufferers are said to be existing in an emotional world rather than the rational. Being confronted by reasoning that the Alzheimer’s sufferer may not understand will cause confusion and anxiety, leading to emotional outbursts.” So I say in...
Older generations of men, notably our post WWII males, come to therapy reluctantly, if at all. Many men today are not so standoffish when it comes to therapy. However, men still tend to wait longer to seek help and guidance for their emotional issues than do women. At times,...
Robert Ryan, Art Psychotherapist, Chicago; Dr. Neelum Aggarwal, neurologist at Rush University Medical Center; and Skip Landt, music teacher at the Old Town School of Folk Music join Dave Hoekstra as he shares some of his own experience in caring for a loved one with dementia. Over 90 minutes...
Parents and educators often think of wintertime as given over to academic learning, chauffeuring to and from after-school activities and, as often as not, punctuated with cases of cabin fever leading to frustrations as family members react to long months indoors together. But winter is a prime time to...
The Old Irving Park Community Clinic is a free, primary care facility founded in 2007 by George Maltezos, LCPC and Dr. Charles Martinez on the belief that all people, regardless of socio-economic status, have the right to quality health care. I started volunteering for the clinic in early 2012...
I did not write the following, however I post it here as I have almost never read a more heartfelt and helpful description of grief and the grieving process. The original post can be found here on reddit. I’m old. What that means is that I’ve survived (so far)...
No one wants to waste their time, and let’s face it, those copays add up, so I decided to distribute this article to help you get the most out of your counseling. As a therapist, I love helping clients get better. Some of the changes I’ve witnessed have been...
Aging is not a disorder, though for many healthy adults aging is treated as just that, a disorder. As we age what we may lose in muscle mass and flexibility, we gain in foresight and the ability to see connections between the past and the present. We may lose...
