Parenting Concerns

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.

A Closer Look at Separation Anxiety



Sarah sits on the couch, clutching her stuffed bear. Her finger nails are visibly torn; they’ve been bleeding again.

Her mom, meanwhile, is calling into work again. She’ll have to explain for what feels like the zillionth time that she’ll be late. It’s not clear her boss will understand this awful situation much longer.

Raising Secure Children In An Insecure World

Authors’ Note: As we as a nation remember the tragic events that took place at the 2013 Boston Marathon, we wish to share again the blog below, written in collaboration with the Marjorie E. Korff Parenting At a Challenging Time (PACT) Program for the Boston Marathon bombing’s one-year anniversary.

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.

College Mental Health Is In Trouble

Sally is an 18-year-old freshman at a large land-grant university.  She has been admitted into her school’s special scholars program due to her particularly impressive academic achievements in high school, and begins her first year of college with a new group of friends, and assumed academic success.

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.

What Are Intelligence Tests?

Probably no other single area of evaluation has seen more controversy than that of intelligence. Psychologists have debated whether intelligence is learned or inherited, culturally-specific or universal, one ability or several. These debates are ongoing, and won’t soon be resolved.

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.

Choosing Not To Vaccinate

I grew up before the oral polio vaccine; my mother wouldn’t let me go to swim parties for fear of my contracting the awful disease. Her brother had polio as a child, and for many years was partially paralyzed.

So, it shocks me to think that some parents would choose not to vaccinate their kids.