Family of Origin Issues

Research has shown that there is a genetic risk factor for suicide. However, until now, very few studies have looked at family history of suicide to determine how it affects second- and ... Read More

Being considered a “perfect child” by one’s parents feels fantastic. Basking in the glow from parents’ approval and love can feel safe and special, like one is living in a magical ... Read More

Now that you understand how codependency develops in a family surrounding a dysfunctional person, what are you supposed to do next? Many people have said to me in therapy, “Joyce, now ... Read More

If hope is the thing with feathers, as Emily Dickenson said, then trust floats on gossamer wings. Most people lose that child-like trust with the end of a first love, but not all. I have ... Read More

Even when it is unintended, some people find it intolerable to hurt someone they love. To experience hurting the other can create shame, guilt and strong “I am a bad person” feelings. ... Read More

We are taught from the earliest of ages that good communication is imperative. In both subtle, and direct ways, we are taught to be competitive when we communicate. Simultaneously, we ... Read More

When we describe the relationship between mother and infant, we understand that baby and mother are one. In that symbiotic relationship, there is merger. There are not two separate selves ... Read More

Alcoholism, known more clinically as “alcohol dependence syndrome,” is characterized by craving, loss of control, and physical dependence. People with alcohol addiction can have negative ... Read More

The term “spiritual bankruptcy” is a word used in the rooms of 12-step programs to characterize addicts who have lost their connection to “higher power.” One dictionary definition ... Read More

Starting the day with fibromyalgia pain made Vera angry Fibromyalgia made it hard for 46 year old Vera to get her legs out of bed in the morning. As she moved toward the bathroom and began ... Read More

“For years it lay in an iron box buried so deep inside me that I was never sure just what it was. I knew it carried slippery, combustible things more secret than sex and more dangerous ... Read More

How does growing up in a dysfunctional family affect us as adults? For adult children of addicts, the behaviors and beliefs that enabled us to survive as children can cause us a myriad ... Read More