“I have a good job, pay my bills, spend time with my kids, and remember to call family and friends on their birthdays. I’m not perfect; I could be in better shape or volunteer more often. But Amy, I’m sick and tired of...
It’s a warm, sunny afternoon outside, but inside an upset mother is recounting her young daughter’s latest week. “I just don’t know what to do with her anymore. I don’t let her have play dates and all her activities have been cancelled, but...
“Every morning I drag myself out of bed, get the kids ready for school, and barely make it on time to work. My job’s fine, not great, but it pays the bills. My marriage’s ok. I don’t really have anything to complain...
“Please just make these feelings go away.” Jerald looked up from our game of Sorry! with big blue tear-filled eyes. “I don’t want to be sad anymore. Can’t you tell me how to make it stop?” Jerald, in his seven-year-old wisdom,...
“She was my one true love. We met in high school, full of acne and awful hair styles. Neither of us were college people, so we graduated, got married and started working hard. We never had luxuries, but we had enough. ...
My first job out of college was at a program for single mothers and my responsibilities included creating life skills classes. I had no idea what that meant, but my boss gave me a curriculum about finding your “inner child” that I was supposed to...
I’m often asked what exactly I do during a counseling session. “Isn’t counseling just for people who don’t have family or friends to talk to?” The belief is that as a psychotherapist I play the role of a confidante; mostly listening, sometimes giving advice, never...
I sit quietly on the brightly-carpeted floor waiting to see what toy or game Mark will pick during our first play therapy session together. Mark soon discovers the shields and swords, crown, knight helmet and dragon puppet. His shyness dissipates as he quickly begins to...
The counselor’s chair offers me a unique perspective on people. Like a bad Hollywood movie, sometimes it feels like if only I could rearrange people’s lives everyone would find happiness. Joe was sitting in my office bemoaning his life. He was stuck in a job...
Even though I’ve seen it many times, I’m still surprised when someone on the verge of meeting their goals quits counseling. Working with Alexis for over a year she’d moved from a dead-end job she despised to a career path she loved. She stopped renting,...
