Blog: Compassion & Empathy

With the holidays approaching, expectations of peace, love, giving, receiving, and forgiving abound. My mind and heart naturally wander to thoughts of compassion and self-compassion and where these very critical values stand in our consciousness. Especially at this time of year when many feel they are supposed to be joyful yet are not. Perhaps nowhere is the importance of kids […]

As school starts, so does stress. Not only for kids, but for the parents that watch over them. It’s easy to let our worry turn into irritation and nagging and yelling… Yet there is also an antidote – coming from an open heart. Cheesy but true. As homework piles up and friends present problems, this is a wonderful opportunity to […]

Eleven-year-old Grace had always been a challenge, but the last two years everything had become a struggle with her parents. Grace wanted more freedom; Mom needed to keep a watchful eye. Grace thought Dad was overbearing; Dad found Grace inconsiderate. Explosions erupted constantly and no one knew how to turn the tide. Parents often complain to me about their kid’s […]

Do you have a bright teenage child who is nevertheless struggling at school or having difficulty socially? Your child’s IQ and SAT scores probably aren’t the culprit. Child education psychologists agree that EQ—or emotional intelligence—has much more influence on your child’s success, now and in the future. Emotional intelligence, first described by Peter Salovey and John Mayer, two Yale University […]

A mom and her 17-year-old son hugged and couldn’t let go. Tears were streaming down both their faces. They had been estranged from each other the past two years and came to see me because they wanted to reconnect. They terribly missed their past loving relationship, but so much had transpired they didn’t know how to repair their rift. We […]

Your nine year old is teased at school for being the new kid in class, or being too fat, or answering correctly one too many times, and tells you he wants to run away or kill himself. Your six year old feels humiliated at soccer practice cause she can’t kick the ball as well as the other girls (never mind […]