You & Your Family

The Crisis In Pediatric Psychiatric Emergency Rooms

Psychiatric emergency rooms are busier than you can imagine—unless you’ve been stuck in one.  In fact, there’s only one emergency room setting that’s even more so: pediatric psychiatric emergency rooms.

Jade’s Journey From Homeless Child To Lesley University Student: A Story Of Resilience

This is the second blog post of a series in collaboration with the Lesley University Child Homelessness Initiative (CHI). For more information about the CHI curriculum, and the ways in which it seeks to empower the next generation of teachers and caregivers to understand and advocate for homeless children, visit http://www.lesley.

When Your Dog Dies: Reflections On Losing Your Best Friend

Today we had to put down Toby.

He was a 15-year-old Australian Shepherd, and probably one of the best dogs we ever had. And we’ve had plenty.

It seems trite to say that losing a pet is like losing a member of the family. The fact is, though, it’s actually a gross understatement.

DSM-5: What Happened to Asperger’s?

Billy was an intelligent, 12-year-old boy who excelled at math, and loved Japanese anime.  He could talk incessantly about World of Warcraft, and impressed adults with his knowledge of geography.

Preparing For Your Child’s First Appointment With A Mental Health Clinician

In our previous post, we spoke about what to do if you feel your child might be in need of psychological help.  We noted that even finding the right phone number on the back of your insurance card can be challenging.

Navigating “The System”

Tune into our audio segment on navigating the system ~ search for ‘Shrinking It Down’ wherever you get your podcasts.

I’m going to try to describe how hard it is for families to navigate the mental health care system in the United States. In fact, even the term “system” is problematic here.

The Plight Of Child Homelessness In The United States

This is the first blog post of a series in collaboration with the Lesley University Child Homelessness Initiative (CHI). For more information about the CHI curriculum, and the ways in which it seeks to empower the next generation of teachers and caregivers to understand and advocate for homeless children, visit their website.

Hazing On School Campuses: What Parents And Students Need To Know

Despite the illegalization of hazing in 44 states and the implementation of anti-hazing efforts on school campuses across the U.S., these high risk and oftentimes life-threatening practices continue not only in Greek life and among various sports teams, but also in marching bands, military groups and even honor societies.

Putting A Little Thanksgiving Into Your Nightly Family Dinners

Intro and outro written and performed by Dr. Gene Beresin.

When my colleague Kiley told me recently about her Thanksgiving tradition, she gave me some new ideas about family dinners—a subject I think about every night around 7pm, and with every patient I see in family therapy.

Making The Most Of Your Parent-Teacher Conference

Yep, it’s hard to believe that it’s that time of year again.  Though it seems as if the school year has just started, you’ll soon receive an email or a notice from your child’s teacher asking you to sign up for the fall parent-teacher conferences.