Articles And News
Continuity
Yesterday I had a call from “Ann”, a woman I have known for over fifteen years. I first met Ann when she came to me for psychotherapy in her mid-twenties. After about three years of therapy we agreed that she was on emotionally solid ground. She was better able to manage and grow her relationships,…
Tax Day
While April 15th is far from a national holiday, it is an occasion that brings together millions of Americans, often for complaining and commiserating rather than celebrating. Indeed, in 2014 the IRS received 136,887,000 tax returns, some eligible for refunds and others accompanied by a payment to make up a shortfall in money owed. Some…
Love That Lasts
It was 1995, and we had just started A Home Within. Seven-year-old Kelsey was one of the first foster children referred for open-ended therapy, but she was NOT happy about it. She routinely and loudly told her therapist, Dr. B, that he was dumb and didn’t understand anything at all about kids. She didn’t like…
Nowhere To Turn
A recent story out of Florida is among the more glaring examples of our failure to meet the mental health needs of America’s most vulnerable children—those in foster care. A sixteen-year-old girl who had been sexually molested by her father and then her grandfather was denied mental health services and, instead, referred for treatment of substance…
Hats Off To Foster Youth
Thanks to the determined efforts of young people in the foster care system, President Obama recently signed into law a bi-partisan, bi-cameral bill, H.R. 4980, The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act. This act brought together several initiatives aimed at improving the lives of children in the child welfare system. The provisions include giving…
Memories That Gound Us
Very young children do not know who they are. They learn about themselves from those who care for them—those who narrate their days for them, who describe their likes and dislikes, who tell them what makes them laugh and what makes them cry. Photo credit: rcvnl / Foter Parents hold children’s memories for them until…
Failure To Protect
The child welfare system is mandated to ensure the safety of the children in its care. For a variety of complex reasons, this is not an easy task, with sobering potentially horrific consequences if and when the system fails to meet this responsibility. Although statistics are elusive, some estimates suggest that children in foster care…
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
“I’m not a therapist, but I’d like to help.” When we get calls and emails like this throughout the year, I often find myself stumped, not wanting to give the lame response, “Well, you could make a donation,” figuring that most people didn’t reach out in order to be told that they could give money. To…
Adverse Childhood Experiences Revisited
Over the last twenty years we have been amassing evidence that negative experiences in early childhood have life long deleterious effects on physical and emotional health. Early maltreatment results in years of emotional pain, chronic illness, and, too often, premature death. As David Brooks reminds us the multiple lenses through which we have been able…
Why We Love Our Therapists
Clinicians who offer pro bono therapy through A Home Within bring not only their skills, but also their hearts to their work. Because they understand the crucial importance of stable, lasting, loving relationships, they very frequently find creative ways of maintaining the connection to a child they see in therapy. Nora’s therapist reached out to…