Family Therapy
Camp, I’m not going back!
Q: My child came home from camp declaring, “I’m bored and have no friends!” Now she’s begging to stay home, but I’ve paid for the entire session and need camp for childcare. Help!” A: Our parenting psychologist, Dr. Jill Jacobson, recommends the following: First acknowledge your feelings so you can support your child most effectively….
Less Yelling in 2023: Steps for Better Communication With Your Kids.
Q: As I am thinking about New Year’s Resolutions, my goal is to not yell at my kids as frequently. As a working mother, it has been challenging to give my kids attention. By the end of the day, I lose my temper and yell at them. I later felt guilty and eventually apologized to…
Am I being a Scrooge to my over-giving in-laws?
Q: My values during the holidays are to focus on my family and gratitude, but my in-laws want to shower my kids with an obscene number of gifts. I don’t want to offend them, but it makes me uncomfortable, and it is not the sort of value I want to convey to my kids. What…
Homework Help! 6 Tips for Parents Facing Homework Pushback
Is your elementary school child struggling with homework? You’re not alone! Homework is designed to provide extra practice of skills learned at school and to help your child develop good study habits. However, homework time can become a battle, and it can test your patience and persistence! Try these six tips to make homework go…
Child Middleman for Parent’s Communication
Q: My parents got divorced a few months ago, and our family life has been a mess ever since. When they first separated, my mom started communicating parenting logistics to my dad through me. I didn’t mind at first because it meant they wouldn’t fight, but then my dad started doing the same. It grew…
Unwelcome In-law Opinions
Q: I am a stay at home mom and my eight-year-old son, Sammy, has some behavioral issues. He gets upset very easily and lashes out unpredictably. Through a lot of work, and therapy, he has gotten much better. My wife and I have learned that when he has a meltdown he is too upset to…
Who Will take over the family business?
Q: My two siblings and I all work for our father in our family’s business. Lately my dad has been talking more about retirement and stepping back. The problem is, he built this business from the ground up and has always been heavily involved with the day to day decisions. He won’t seem to let…
Homework Woes!
Q: My child spends so much time on homework and has so little to show for it. He seems to take forever to get rolling with it, gets derailed with anything and everything, whines and complains about doing it, and sometimes even when he does his homework thoroughly and well, he might not turn it…
Internal Family Systems’ Six-Step Process
IFS founder Dr. Richard Schwartz believes that we all have several parts living within us that fulfill both healthy and unhealthy roles. Life events or trauma, however, can force us out of those healthy roles into extreme roles. The goal of IFS therapy is to help clients to achieve balance within their internal system and…