When reading parenting books or any “self help” book for that matter, as therapists, we look for books that offer practical steps where the reader can take steps towards greater change and growth. This book does that really well! Whether you’ve read it or this is the first time you’ve heard of it, we hope that these suggestions will help you feel empowered to take some small, meaningful steps forward. The list below isn’t exhaustive but just a few simple suggestions to have a healthier relationship with screens going forward.

You may have heard the buzz surrounding the new book, The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. In this book, he warns about the dangers of our children having phone-based childhoods instead of the play-based and even outside-based childhoods we were all (hopefully) raised with. He talks about why so many kids are not doing well, the rise in anxiety, and the mental health crisis in adolescents. He also talks about how as parents we have overprotected our children in the real world and yet underprotected them in the digital world. He gives so many examples of this last point.

Are you ready for college? The dorm design has been selected (or not if you’re a male), you’ve attended orientation, and you cannot wait for all the freedoms of college. But WAIT! How are you going to ensure that you will be successful?

As summer comes to an end, you've started to buy all the latest school supplies, and your kids are gearing up for a busy school year. The lake days and beach trips will soon be a distant memory. First, congratulations on getting through the summer! That is a significant accomplishment in itself.

The idea of story has long been one that has fascinated me. It is what originally drew me into this field to start with. Both my own personal story of pain and growth and having others share their stories with me. Recently I attended a conference led by Dan Allendar focused solely on StoryWork. He taught the tenants of this work and described what makes narrative therapy or storywork unique. It is the idea that what has happened to us or has occurred in our family members' lives that helps shape our lives and our personhood.

With the temperatures going up, we reach for the clothes in our closets that help us breathe, yet often this time of year can bring up thoughts like…

“I don’t have any needs.” That would have been my go-to reply twenty years ago if someone had asked me what my needs were. I was programmed to believe that I had all I needed, and if I didn’t have it, I could figure out a way to provide it for myself. It was a lonely place to live, and I knew that something was off, but I didn’t realize that my loneliness was directly related to my inability to acknowledge that I did, in fact, have needs.

You’re a rising senior and it’s summer! Time to relax, go to the lake, and not think about school – right? Well, yes and no ☺