You & Your Family

The Role Of Temperament

Intro music written and performed by Dr. Gene Beresin.Outro music arranged and performed by Dr. Gene Beresin.

We have all had the experience of either knowing or parenting siblings that seem quite different from one another—in appearance, skills, talents, opinions and personalities.

Encouraging Family Fitness

When parents are asked about some of the favorite times spent with their kids, one of the most common things they’ll note is the time they spent doing physical activities together.

Surviving Summer Camp

Summer is here, and if you’ve decided to send your child to summer camp, you may be experiencing a range of emotions and wondering how best to make this a good experience for your little one.  It’s perfectly normal for first-time campers—and their parents—to experience some anxiety as camp gets closer and closer.

Dad’s New Shoes

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

Today’s dads are confused.

It might not be a bad kind of confusion, but confusion is still the best word for how dads feel. If we pretend that the role of the modern father is clear-cut and obvious, we’d of course be acting a bit disingenuous.

Concerts: A Survival Guide

Intro music written and performed by Dr. Gene Beresin.
Outro music performed by Dr. Gene Beresin.

Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe’s wonderful movie about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll, has many lovely and poignant moments.

One Man’s Brush With Being A Mother

I think we all take our moms for granted in some way, especially us men.

Despite how much we love our mothers—how much we have always depended on them—as men, we not only take them for granted, we also have no clue what it’s like to be a mom.

This came to me today, oddly enough, during an encounter I had with a raccoon.

Mother’s Day

When I was about 4 years old, my dad came home from work early one day. Still in his coat and tie, he quickly ushered me into the car, said something to my mom so that she wouldn’t worry, and whisked me away to K-Mart to buy my mother a Mother’s Day gift.

Journeys On Our Own

This blog post is part of a series entitled Real Lives, Real Stories: Personal Experiences With Mental Illness.

I’ve Stopped Hating You

As a psychiatrist, I am always interested in how my adolescent and teen patients say goodbye to their parents after being admitted into our residential programs. Subsequent to their arrival, we will schedule a speakerphone conversation with their parent(s); some kids readily say “I love you” as they say their goodbyes, and others don’t.

Myths About the 12-Step Program: What Science Tells Us About Effective Treatment of Addiction

The 12-Step Program. Does it work? In recent years, there have been some questions raised about the effectiveness of 12-step mutual-help programs (such as Alcoholics Anonymous) and 12-step professional treatment plans, claiming that these approaches are almost completely ineffective and even harmful in treating substance use disorders.