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...
Mar152018
Counseling
May172017
Men, Consider Changing the Course of Your Life
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...
Mar022016
What to Expect in Couples Counseling
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...
Feb122016
Art Therapy: What is it.
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...
Jan212016
The importance of finding balance
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...
Dec282015
Raising adolescents in a society that limits options.
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pressures to excel placed on many students within these schools and how the phrase “failure is not an option” has long been replaced by an attitude...
Oct222015
Developmental Effects of Childhood Abuse and Neglect
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...
Aug162015
Living With ADHD
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...
Jul072015
Over-Protective Parenting
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...
Jun122015
Alcohol Use Disorder, There is Treatment beyond AA
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....