“But Amy, I would do anything to get her. She is smart, beautiful, and kind but, no matter what I do, she won’t give me the time of day.” Mike, 22 “I can’t do it. Yes I want to lose weight, yes...
“I don’t care about his words. He says the kids and I are the most important people in the world to him. He says he’s always loved me and will always be here for me. What does it matter? His actions...
Suzy gives me that look I’ve learned to recognize in my counseling office. It’s a unique combination of disbelief tinged with frustration and sadness, a hint of hope and overall irritation. It’s usually followed with, “A—MY.” It’s my cue that I’ve said...
“Doesn’t matter where I am or who I’m with; when I take a bite of fried chicken I’m transported to my mother’s kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. As the sun filters through the white cotton curtains, I can hear the hot grease bubbling on...
“He’s applying for jobs all over the country, but he’s not thinking about if he can really do them or not. I mean, he’s qualified and smart, but what if he takes a new job and then he can’t follow through?” Jane had...
“I want the cute new boy to like me, I want my parents to stop bugging me about homework and I want to get straight A’s,” said Sarah. “But the new boy drinks a lot and you don’t drink at all. How is...
Elizabeth kept her distance from me unless she needed someone who spoke English. The other Mexican women sought me out, asking a myriad of questions about the United States and, once I started eating pickled jalapeños, I became fast friends with the children in...
Her shoulders curled in so tightly her chest looked like a small, shallow bowl. Her blond hair hung in stringy pieces over her face, covering her dulled blue eyes. She had crisscrossed the country following bands, joining ashrams, working odd jobs, running from...
A couple will get to the point where they have tried everything—their friends’ therapist’s suggestions, the latest book, whatever they found on google—and are feeling desperate. That’s when they come to my office. (Might I take a moment to suggest it really is...
So there we all were going about our daily lives, getting used to the kids being back at school, talking about if winter would be mild or hard, deciding if we needed to buy wood this year or if we had enough...
