As one-year closes and another year begins there can be a plethora of emotions. The anticipation of a fresh new year can allow regrets surrounding goals not met in the year just ended to seep in; sadness surrounding failed expectations whether self-imposed or set by others. I have never forgotten…

Moving through different seasons in life, one invariably finds themselves wearing various hats. For me, in addition to being a psychologist, I am in that delicate place of being a caregiver to my parents and my young children. Many who read this will be in the same situation. Having advanced…

Attention span and concentration abilities can vary for a variety of reasons, with some individuals simply having good abilities at baseline. There are also a variety of factors that can make concentration more challenging for some individuals, including both stable and modifiable medical factors (e.g., neurodevelopmental disorders, sleep difficulties, normal…

I love working with teenagers; what a privilege and life-enhancing experience! The developmental task in adolescence is that of Identity Conceptualization versus Role Confusion. The earlier 4 psycho-social developmental stages – Trust versus Mistrust, Autonomy versus Shame & Doubt, Initiative versus Guilt, and Industry versus Inferiority – have led up…

Grief is a universal, unavoidable experience. And yet we live in a culture that is so very bad at dealing with grief. I recently went through a season of loss and grief and found some people were incredibly helpful in their responses and others were awkward, insensitive, and unhelpful. And…

Self-esteem can be defined as confidence and satisfaction in oneself. Good self-esteem is the key to success as an adult. It plays a role in overall wellbeing and social happiness. Good self-esteem is not in our genetic makeup. Rather, it is acquired from what a child perceives about herself and…

At the start of a new year, we are likely filled with a mixture of emotions and thoughts as we do what so readily comes to mind when one thing ends, and another thing begins – reflect. We reflect on the previous year, on significant “wins” and difficult losses. We…

When I was working in an outpatient neuropsychology clinic at a hospital, I had completed a neuropsychological evaluation with a middle-aged woman who was concerned about memory problems. Her testing indicated that cognitively she was relatively intact with some mild difficulties likely related to the effect that her depression was…

Everyone has strengths. But many people have not learned to realize their strengths for  different reasons. A person may develop in a household where the parents are depressed, hopeless, beleaguered financially, or struggling with unresolved trauma or addiction. Many people grow up in families that are too weary or busy…

“Pieces. Pieces. So many pieces to my life. Scattered all around, And some of them are gone, And I know that I can’t ever Put them back together again.   Pieces. Pieces. So many pieces to my life. A puzzle left unfinished, Jumbled and unformed. Who can really ever Fit…