Conflict During New Parenthood Is Normal: But We Need To Turn Indirect Aggression Into Direct Aggression New parenthood is a time in our lives when all our messiness comes out and sometimes couples can get mean in both direct and indirect ways. In some respects, this conflict between new parents is both normal and toRead more
Off-Limit Feelings For Men And Women Are Often Different: Therapy Should Be Too
Feelings And Actions That Are Forbidden For Men And Women Are Different In a recent New York Times Op-Ed, author Holly Whitaker explores her experience with substance use recovery that was notably not done using an AA program. She writes that the current tenets and values of AA were derived from a patriarchal antidote toRead more
Setting Limits With Parents
In Therapy, Setting Limits With Parents Can Be Especially Difficult In my NYC therapy practice, setting limits with family members, especially parents, can be stressful and raise a variety of concerns. What makes setting limits with parents particularly difficult is that as children, we are supposed to learn limits and values from our parents andRead more
Sharing Our New Teen Therapy-Related Reading
Teen Therapy Can Address A Whole Host Of Topics: Read More On Our Teen Therapy Pages Working with teens in our Downtown therapy practice, we often see how teens’ experiences and feelings can be brushed off as merely a part of moody and angst-ridden adolescence by parents and other adults. As not only therapists treatingRead more
There Is A Danger In Not Taking Teens Seriously–Especially When It Comes To Gun Control
We Need To Take Teens Seriously About Guns On a recent Wednesday morning, I happened to have a break when I heard chanting outside the window of my NYC therapy practice. The noises were not that unusual given that my Tribeca office is just a block away from City Hall, a frequent site of protests.Read more
Couples Therapy: 7 Strategies For Couples That Need To Walk Away From A Fight
All Couples Know: Arguing Can Get Out Of Control For some couples I see in my couples therapy practice, the idea of a partner walking away in the moment of hurt or anger that comes with an argument is terrifying. It feels like an abandonment–because it usually is one. But for the health of theRead more
For Couples, A Simple Rule: You Can’t Be Mean
Fighting For Couples Doesn’t Have To Be Mean Most people are meaner than they realize when they’re upset. Couples therapy helps couples recognize this, but as a couples therapist, I like to go one step further, proposing that people have the capacity not to be mean. One can become aware of it and not giveRead more
Stay Angry And Get Creative: An Art Therapist On Being Powerful
Both in and out of my NYC art therapy practice, the anger, fear, anxiety, and panic that people felt around the November election has not died down. If anything, it has increased as the government is acting more threatening towards fundamental human rights and the values of our country. So many people express feeling scaredRead more
Emotional Lessons: Teaching Children How to Be Well-Adjusted Adults
Supporting Your Child’s Independence As a parent, your biggest job is to help your children grow into well-adjusted adults. From the moment they learn how to self soothe as infants, you are passing on lessons, big and small, that encourage healthy autonomy. In Slate’s “The Value of a Mess”, writer Jessica Lahey clearly lays out some of these lessons andRead more
Group Shaming in the Internet Age: The 21st Century Bystander Effect
The Effect of Groups on Our Capacity to Help I distinctly remember the first time I learned about social psychology–I was sitting in a large auditorium when my dry Psychology 101 professor clicked his slideshow to an image of NYC in the 60’s. As I doodled in the margins of my notebook, my professor began to speak about Kitty Genovese, aRead more