As a child growing up, I felt that few adults really understood me. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel loved—I did. But everyone was so busy. I didn’t think that they really “saw” me. I remember my youngest daughter expressing the same thought when she was a child. And, I have to admit that there were many things about her I didn’t really get. She was right.

Our role as parents obscures our vision. Parenthood is filled with responsibilities, demands, and challenges. These pressures and our inherent lack of objectivity blocks our deeper understanding of our children. Read more about Helping your children find mentors

A recent survey of the National Sleep Foundation (www.sleepfoundation.org) found that, on average, Americans sleep 6.9 hours per night—6.8 hours during the week and 7.4 hours on the weekends. With 8 hours as the recommended average, we are losing one hour a night! Read more about Who Needs More Sleep?

Joe and Mary sat on the love seat, tense and angry. “He never tells me he loves me! He doesn’t give me a hug or a kiss. He comes home, nods at me, plays with the kids, watches TV and falls sound asleep”. Joe is confused. “Of course, I love her! We both agreed that our kids come first. I shouldn’t have to tell her something she should know!” Read more about Marriage 101: Showing up

Autumn has finally arrived! No one disagrees, we had a fantastic summer! The weather was great and the sun was shining, starting in June all the way through September. We can all look back at those lazy, bright days of summer with warm nostalgia. Read more about Turn on the lights! Seasonal Affective Disorder

Larry, a middle aged man, sits in my office, talking about Al-Anon, the 12-step program fashioned after Alcoholics Anonymous for family and friends of individuals with alcoholism or chemical dependency. He tells me his story---“I got a phone call from my son’s school when Joey was 14 years old. He was caught drinking at school with his buddies. At the time, I thought --“boys will be boys”, and didn’t think much of it. The progression of the disease is slow, so it was hard to see.  But as time went on, more signs of his drinking problem appeared. Read more about Alcoholism is a family disease