Posted on: February 21st, 2013

“So, Mrs. Cohen, we spoke on the phone about why Baruch is coming in today, but Baruch, why don’t you tell me why you think you are here?” “I’m bad at school,” Baruch said, barely glancing in my direction.“ Do you mean that you don’t get the grades you would like?” “No, I’m just not good at school. My teachers don’t like me, my tests are horrible, and my friends think I’m dumb.”

Posted on: February 21st, 2013

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Posted on: February 21st, 2013

As a child and a young adult, I always liked going to Shalom Zachors on Friday night. I loved the sense of joy and anticipation for what is the greatest gift imaginable. I was convinced that my real motivation was to gain a greater perspective on the thoughts and opinions of the members of the community, although there is no question that the good food was a major motivating factor.

Posted on: February 14th, 2013

Mirroring is a good way to start actively listening. To mirror, you simply paraphrase or repeat back to your spouse what he or she is saying to you.

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Posted on: February 14th, 2013

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky, Hall of Fame Hockey Player “I can’t seem to focus.” “For as long as I can remember, I have been struggling with organization.” “I’m really bad at sitting still.” “I just can’t lose weight.” “I will never make it to the dinner on […]

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Posted on: February 14th, 2013

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Posted on: February 14th, 2013

The difficulty lies in how teenagers perceive their surroundings. They often see the world as revolving around them and cannot understand why parents are always asking them to do things.

Posted on: February 7th, 2013

Explain to them that you'll try to be there for them when they "need" your help, but that you may have to sometimes take a rain check when they simply "want" your help.

Posted on: February 7th, 2013

Chaya had a knack for numbers from when she was young. While baking with her mother as a four year old, Chaya would double recipes easily.

Posted on: February 7th, 2013

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Posted on: February 7th, 2013

Recently a popular Jewish weekly magazine featured a story depicting the life of a young boy whose parents were divorced. Each parent had re-married, establishing new families. Their shared custody of this son, and he spent substantial time with each of his parent's new families. Giving a voice to the child of divorce was the intention of the story. It highlighted the distress children feel as well as the confusing messages they often receive from the adults in their lives.

Posted on: February 1st, 2013

And underneath there exists the same deep desire for connecting with others that all of us have. More desperate, perhaps, because the desire is trapped inside a mind that doesn't know how to reach out.

Posted on: February 1st, 2013

Dear Dr. Respler: The letter from the husband lamenting his family’s difficulties brought on by his wife’s physical impairments (“For Better Or Worse – Or Bailing Out,” 1-11) brings back memories of my experience. I was the wife who one day found herself physically incapacitated and unable to do the simplest acts.

Posted on: January 31st, 2013

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Posted on: January 31st, 2013

Yossi’s mother was at her wit’s end. Yossi’s grey pants were wet again. It was the second time that week.

Posted on: January 25th, 2013

In his best selling book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business, Charles Duhigg argues that most of the choices we make may feel like products of well-considered decision making. In reality, they are not.

Posted on: January 25th, 2013

David and his wife had been married for 15 years and believed they knew what each other really wanted. While attending a marriage seminar on communication, David and his wife listened to the instructor declare, “It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.”

Posted on: January 25th, 2013

I feel so much shame about my disease and the pain I have caused my family and friends. I am trying to make things better now, and hopefully I will be able to beat this disease for good. As they say in the meetings: “One day at a time!”

Posted on: January 25th, 2013

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Posted on: January 24th, 2013

Dear Dr. Yael: I have, Baruch Hashem, a beautiful family with children and several grandchildren. I am fortunate to be close with all of them. I also work and take care of my parents, like many others in the “sandwich generation.” While I love my life, I am constantly exhausted and overworked.