By Susan Kurlander, M.Ed. I recently saw a commercial for a protein drink that repeatedly used the phrase “Live Well” to sell its product. Of course, the implication was that living well was a sure thing for anyone who bought and used this protein drink. But what is wellness —a word that seems so simplistic, …
By Donna Kane, MA Loss and grief touch everyone. It is an inevitable part of being human. Most people have some understanding of loss and grief, but how people experience grief can be as unique and individual as each and every person. How do we protect ourselves from the tremendous pain caused by the death …
By Debra K. Waranch, LCSW-C Does this ever happen to you? You’re running late, you feel rushed, frustrated, and generally unprepared for your day. The last thing on your mind is what you are going to eat that day. But when the time comes and you’re famished, you reach for the easiest thing, and it’s …
By Debra K. Waranch, LCSW-C Every time a new mass shooting takes place…it gets people thinking. Recently some news organizations tallied up that there were 74 incidents in this country since the devastation at Sandy Hook. A recent one that caught our attention happened on a college campus in California. When everyone talks about the …
By Michael Slevin, LCSW-C Severe mental illness may have upended your family. The diagnosis of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia came out of nowhere, it seemed, and suddenly your family is in crisis. The terrain is unfamiliar; the signposts in a foreign language. What are the challenges and the risks; what are the opportunities? What is …
By Donna Kane, MA For people mourning the death of a loved one, Jewish Community Services and its partners offer bereavement groups several times a year. Our upcoming eight-week series, cosponsored by Sol Levinson & Bros, Inc., begins May 15th. Group facilitator Donna Kane wrote about her experience with these groups in her blog that …
What I Have Learned from Leading Bereavement Groups Read More »
By Julie Morton, LCSW-C Daily life typically requires each of us to function in multiple roles such as parent, spouse, employee, family member, and friend. In order to satisfy these roles and associated obligations, you may resort to placing your personal needs at the bottom of your to-do list. Doing so habitually can leave you …
By Mairi MacRae, LCSW-C Recently, articles have been appearing in medical journals describing interesting new research in brain imaging. These findings challenge our understanding of mental illness, and may point to new ways of treating it. And with one in four Americans over age 18 suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year, …
By Rachael Abrams, LCSW-C I have a vivid parenting memory where my barely 4 year old and I hosted a playdate for a little boy and his mother. As it often does, the conversation turned to the kids and specifically, the various extracurricular options available to even the youngest of children. After rattling off the …
by Jacki Post Ashkin, LCSW-C As I read the news reports in the days that followed the senseless shooting at Columbia Mall, what stood out to me most was the revelation that in shooter Darion Aguilar’s journal, he wrote about feeling unhappy, and that he thought he needed a mental health professional but never told …
Columbia Mall Shooter: Could He Have Been Helped? Read More »
