Communicating Effectively (Part II)

Posted on: June 23rd, 2010

A political figure refuses to comment on a current news story in which he is involved.. In the hope of avoiding a scuffle with her parents, a teenager, who has broken curfew, quietly opens up the front door. As she makes a mad dash to her room, she tries to avoid being noticed and questioned. In both situations, a lack of communication may be perceived as failure on the part of the individual to take responsibility for his/her actions, and/or an admission of guilt. In such cases when the person does not say yes, the message being conveyed to others can be perceived as noby default, and vice versa.

Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities – 6/25/10

Posted on: June 23rd, 2010

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Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities – 6/18/10

Posted on: June 16th, 2010

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De-escalating Crises at Home

Posted on: June 16th, 2010

Mr. and Mrs. S. came into the office with their ten-year-old daughter, Sharon. They were very distraught and had numerous complaints about Sharon’s behaviors. Not only was she having problems academically and behaviorally in school, but they also complained that every time they asked Sharon to do something at home it became a major altercation.

Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities – 6/11/10

Posted on: June 9th, 2010

Readers Speak Up

‘Kids In Pain’: Brooklyn’s Our Place Helps Teens At Risk Of Being Forgotten

Posted on: June 9th, 2010

It is a testament to the authenticity and devotion of the staff at Our Place - a group of drop-in centers in Flatbush that cater to what most people would simply term "at-risk" teens - that none of them wanted to be mentioned by name in this article. In fact, the majority of them were even cautious about speaking with a reporter, so protective are they of their children, whom they consider very nearly their own.

Mentoring

Posted on: June 9th, 2010

When the parent-teen relationship is strained or just needs improvement parents can utilize outside help to bring about a change. When necessary, one of the most effective ways of wielding indirect control is by having the teenager meet with a mentor. As a third person, uninvolved in family conflicts, a mentor is able to interact with a teenager and provide an informal means of solving problems at school, help the teen do homework or simply be a friend.

Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities – 6/04/10

Posted on: June 2nd, 2010

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Being A Good Wife Is Sometimes Not Enough

Posted on: June 2nd, 2010

Sometimes a few sessions of marital therapy can solve problems that were festering for years. The married couple have often locked themselves into such a struggle; they need help to simply untangle the knot. This has a lot to do with the high level of emotion they are feeling - just think of the expression "I am so angry I can't think straight. The husband and wife often cannot think logically or clearly. Every issue between them is filled with layers of anger, hurt, betrayal and fear that has built up over the years due to miscommunication.

Being A Good Wife Is Sometimes Not Enough

Posted on: June 2nd, 2010

Sometimes a few sessions of marital therapy can solve problems that were festering for years. The married couple have often locked themselves into such a struggle; they need help to simply untangle the knot. This has a lot to do with the high level of emotion they are feeling - just think of the expression "I am so angry I can't think straight. The husband and wife often cannot think logically or clearly. Every issue between them is filled with layers of anger, hurt, betrayal and fear that has built up over the years due to miscommunication.

Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities – 5/28/10

Posted on: May 26th, 2010

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Communicating Effectively (Part I)

Posted on: May 17th, 2010

The Meaning of The Communication Is The Response It Elicits

Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities – 5/21/10

Posted on: May 17th, 2010

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Teaching Organization To Children

Posted on: May 12th, 2010

Dear Rivka, Help! My 8 year old daughter is terribly disorganized! Any tips for helping me help her change ? I am motivated to teach her as it is making me crazy.

Closet Claustrophobia

Posted on: May 12th, 2010

If you knew how much trouble I had getting gay men to be interviewed by me, you would doubt that the term "gay" applies to them. Their elusive hesitance, their resistance to revealing any identifying information including their phone numbers and the need for my repeated reassurances that I would respect their privacy and exercise discretion further evidences that they are not happy with their former identities and associations and have chosen a different path because "gay" and homosexual are not necessarily synonymous. In fact Dan (not his real name) was quick to confirm my assumptions. He felt it was very much an oxymoron to be gay and happy in his life.

Moti’s Street Clothes

Posted on: May 12th, 2010

I once received a call from a forty-seven year old distraught mother whose seventeen-year-old son Moti had changed his style of dress, wearing jeans and refusing to wear a hat. She explained that he had gone through a difficult time in school and was now hanging around the house instead of studying in yeshiva. He was also mixed up with the wrong crowd and was associating with at-risk teenagers late at night on the street. She was very concerned as she had an older son who had gone "off the path" and was worried that Moti was going in the same direction. She believed that Moti could be helped if he would be willing to talk with someone.

Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities – 5/14/10

Posted on: May 12th, 2010

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The Tyranny Of OCD

Posted on: May 5th, 2010

With Pesach behind us, what better time to take a closer look at the annual burst of intensity that propelled us, in the weeks and days leading to the yom tov, into a frenzy of cleaning? That sustained embrace of scrupulous cleaning offers insight into a subject that has lately received a great deal of attention in psycho-educational literature. The topic, OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, might be understood by comparing it with that exhausting endeavor from which many of us are just starting to recover.

Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities – 5/07/10

Posted on: May 5th, 2010

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Control Issue

Posted on: April 28th, 2010

In our rapidly changing world, the idea of control has begun to change quicker than anyone can imagine. A metamorphosis of unparalleled proportion is taking place and many parents feel that they are unequipped to deal with the challenges that it will demand.