Companion Planting

In our garden of life, many people come and go. Our interactions with others can bebeneficial or detrimental to our well-being, growth, and development. I have alwayscarried a very romanticized […]
Why The World Needs More Social Workers Right Now

As defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a social worker is a skilled professional that helps individuals, groups, and families cope with life’s challenges, through methods like counseling, psychotherapy, […]
Toxic Positivity and Emotional Intelligence

The happiness movement is suffering from another overly simplistic interpretation of positivity: the belief that one should only allow positive emotions no matter how dire the situation. Susan David, […]
Rebuilding Back Ethically

2020 was a hard year, but 2021 presents new challenges and more importantly, new opportunities. As the Covid-19 vaccine rolls out and slowly the world reopens, the questions present themselves: […]
Working on Relationships, Part 4: Marriage, Partners, Swiping Right

Coming out of my 20-year marriage in the late 1990s, I felt like Rip Van Winkle entering the Matrix’s dating scene. Where we once employed gyms and bars as the places […]
Working on Relationships, Part 3: Soul Mate Radar Detector

Ah, what’s better than the feeling of falling in love? Finally finding your soul mate, happily ever after, yadda yadda. Then two, or maybe five years later, we’re realizing maybe they’re […]
Working on Relationships, Part 2: Boundaries

Trigger warning: pleasers and conflict avoiders, you’re not going to like this topic. You’re going to learn that a healthy relationship includes setting boundaries, which may displease or cause conflict. Setting […]
Working on Relationships, Part 1: Intimate Communication

A lifelong student of relationships, I have worked hard – and am a work in progress – at learning the skills needed to create healthy relationships. Intimate communication is one […]
Communication in a Committed Relationship

Successful relationships require commitment and good communication. This advice often seems to be misconstrued as being limited to articulating views and beliefs clearly to the other. Good communication should be reciprocal, […]
Journey to Be in a Relationship

Like most girls, I spent my childhood imagining that I’d meet a wonderful man and live happily ever after. The search was the hard part, according to cultural lore. One […]