It may come as a surprise to those who know me or rely on me for their emotional stability, but from time to time I too suffer from bouts of depression and anxiety. Every therapist does, just as every healthy person experiences mood vacillations. Like waves in the sea,...
Someone once said, “In the land of the free it’s my right to have an open lane in front of me at all times, and Lord help the person who transgresses.” This sentiment seems to say, That’s my roadway and I was just about to use it. Or to...
Why do I volunteer as a Victories staff person? Twenty one years ago a good friend of mine, my therapist at the time, suggested I take a chance on making a change in my life. I was less than fulfilled in my career and was ready for something, but...
Couples counseling is often a more directive process than individual therapy, meaning simply that the counselor has more direct input into how the session progresses. What I tell couples who first seek me out is that couples counseling in my practice is a structure-based, communications-focused method of reaching out...
Two recent events prompted me to write down some thoughts on the growing field of Art Therapy. First came Andrea Watkins’ informative article on the Adult Coloring Craze, its benefits and its limitations. The second being the death of one of Chicago’s own, Art Therapy pioneer Harriet Wadeson. Ms Wadeson...
This article was initially conceived as an advice piece for business owners and executives – individuals who by their own choice eat, sleep, and breathe their businesses – and the positive effects counseling can have on productiveness at work. As so often happens, however, when a topic is examined...
If your high school aged students are lucky enough to attend one of our area’s more affluent high schools, you’re familiar with the pressures to excel placed on many students within these schools and how the phrase “failure is not an option” has long been replaced by an attitude...
Talking about abuse and neglect in children is such a difficult topic. Until roughly 20 years ago the professional literature including the DSM took a stance that abuse and neglect were very rare occurrences in the United States. So it is understandable that as a nation we have little...
Contrary to the label, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), this disorder’s symptoms often include a hyper awareness of internal and external stimuli, not a deficit of attention. It is in the outward appearance of an individual’s actions and inability to stay focused where the descriptor “Deficit” comes from. Individuals...
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...
