By Stephanie Burstein, MS, LMFT 
Technology can drive families crazy! An avalanche of devices, apps and information is overwhelming. How do you decide what is best for your family? Instead of looking at the ‘problem of technology’, we must create a framework within the family that includes technology as a helpful tool for communication, entertainment and education.
Read more“The Family System and its Newest Member: Technology”
By: Clara Bossie, BA S.Ed, MS. LMFT-S, CEDS
There is an unbound pressure on parents, students and educators to “fit the mold” and “be the best” at the cost of draining joy and wonder from the learning process. Disruptions 
from the COVID Pandemic gave parents a first-hand look at the strengths and weaknesses of both traditional and homeschool environments. As families struggle to imagine how their child’s education will take shape in the fall, knowing your options is critical. How can you skillfully be involved in the process AND maintain your sanity?
My most powerful “Aha! moments” have come from making gut wrenching mistakes and minor faux pas. As a child, I recall my mom saying, “Do what you think is right.” Argh! Of course, I knew it wasn’t right! Even though it was painful at times to feel complete responsibility for my own mistakes, I am now thankful for them. When children get incorrect answers on tests or quizzes, their grades suffer commensurately. Of course, no …
The holidays are here and shopping has begun. At the top of everyone’s holiday wish list are electronics. Even our littlest loved ones are enamored with the latest and greatest gadgets. Who could blame them? Our world runs on technology and our kids are part of that world. Whether they are using electronics for school or entertainment, the demand exists. And as every parent knows, finding the right balance for electronics is tricky. How do …
Here we are again. Parents and their children are left struggling with difficult emotions and traumatic memories after the most recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Even if you weren’t directly impacted, you may find that emotions are running high within your household. Anxiety, fear, sadness, uncertainty, and helplessness are all common reactions to a traumatic event. Children may have many questions about the recent tragedy – questions that can be uncomfortable …
Personal Perspective: I am NOT a Square! Elliot Reid Do I have your attention yet? Not that attention is what I’m after, or perhaps it is. Not in the typical sense. Before this becomes too much of an incoherent babbling of utter nonsense, where I try to convince you why I’m not an attention seeking square, let me tell you what I mean. When you think of the word “square” in relation to a person, …
Learning to be the Expert of Your Own Body We live in a society filled with mixed messages about body image, health, and what loving ourselves truly means – it can be overwhelming! How do we navigate the confusion and learn how to be experts of our own bodies? What does it take to deconstruct social myths about health, replacing fallacies with a greater understanding that each body is unique and wonderfully different? Luckily, there …
Modern life has many amenitites that simplify and automate our lives; however, daily demands continue to grow rapidly. Technological advances streamline tasks while simultaneously keep us connected to social media, news, and email. We have at our fingertips the ability to reap the benefits of a less stressful lifestyle, but we often pursue the path of more rather than less. Besides the obvious negative impact on our own health, modeling this more and more lifestyle has …
