A few weeks back my husband, Dr. Roger Doss, and I gave a continuing education workshop for about 100 professionals in the mental health field. The topic was grief. Because Roger and I enjoy presenting workshops in an interactive style, we started this one by asking the participants to write down–anonymously–their greatest losses. We asked […]
“My mother and I–along with she and my sister–have been fighting. She is erratic and moody. Today things took a very bad turn. I had planned to visit my parents today (they live about 8 miles away), but my mother called while I was preparing to leave and said my father was sick with a […]
There are lots of professionals who urge forgiveness, saying that forgiving helps victims heal. This is true, but knowing how to forgive a straying lover or a childhood persecutor or abuser still eludes many. Whether the damage done has to do with being physically or verbally assaulted or if someone was particularly mean to you, […]
Ask any teacher and they’ll tell you that bullying is a growing problem in the school, so yes, you care. You don’t want your kid picked on or harrassed. But bullying by definition refers to any overbearing person who intimidates individuals who are weaker or smaller…. This could describe your boss. Individuals who use power […]
“I’ve been with this guy for twelve years. We have two kids together and one on the way. For the past two years, we’ve been having problems, mostly financial and dealing with me going to school. Once I got into school and started meeting people to study with or get help with my homework, he […]
“I’m barely 20 years old, and I feel like the last seven years of my life have been dedicated to depression and other issues. My life is a huge cycle of eating disorders, drugs, depression and finally a period of carelessness. I feel like lately I’ve dug myself even deeper into this hole, and I […]
Before anyone accuses me of being anti-family, let me say that I think family is very important…but maybe not the most important thing, depending on your family. Having loving supportive parents and siblings is a wonderful luck of the draw. Some people are fortunate enough to be born into families that encourage and add to […]
Lisa writes: “I’m 17. All my family does is fight. My family downgrades me every chance they get. They sometimes hit me and always cuss and yell at me. I feel like I have so many secrets and no one to talk to…I know my family wouldn’t believe me. I don’t know what to do […]
I took a daughter of mine to a distant city yesterday and left her there. She’s entering a doc grad program at a university and is now immersed in adjusting to a new city and teaching her first class. Your kids may be your kids all your life, but good parenting means setting them up […]
I have a lot of wonderful aspects of my life–a happy marriage, a nice place to live, work I love and a really hot sports car (that didn’t cost a huge amount of money. I feel good about that), but I also have crappy days when nothing seems to go right. I mess up and […]