How Are the Kids Recovering From the Pandemic?
Earlier this spring I got a desperate text from an 18 year old. She’s from one of the families I profiled in The Stolen Year, my 2022 book that documented the impact of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on children. My young friend told me that she and her nine siblings were experiencing […]
DBT Wise Mind is the Best Skill for Highly Sensitive People
“Feelings come and go, like clouds in the sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh On the day my daughter Zoe turned seven weeks old, she burst into tears while I was changing her diaper. But why? What had I done? I remember panicking, confused, scared, and instantly guilty. Eventually, I noticed her […]
What If You’re Not Ready to Forgive?
One sibling steals the other’s favorite toy, or maybe they both committed their share of offenses. Their parents want them to apologize to each other. A spouse failed to finish their part of the chores. That can be hard to let go of. In more serious cases, perhaps, a family member betrayed your trust. As […]
When Fiction Feels Like Fact: How Stories Shape Beliefs
A few weeks ago, I shared research from the University of South Florida suggesting that smartphone use might not be the monster under the bed when it comes to teen well-being (Martin et al., 2025). The study findings showed that smartphone ownership actually had a positive correlation with kids’ Mental health. Many other factors were […]
Tips to Help Families Flourish in Troubled Times
Ask yourself of whatever you hear: Is it true? This fundamental teaching relates to mindfulness and to all of life. Be skeptical and think for yourself. Change only happens when you believe on a gut level that action is needed. The world is in crisis. It always has been, but it feels particularly intense lately. […]
Beyond Coping: How to Heal Generational Trauma with Breathwork
“Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.” ~Akshay Dubey The realization came to me during a chaotic day at the Philadelphia public school where I worked as a counselor. A young student sat across from me, her body language mirroring anxiety patterns I knew all too […]
How to Change Your Bad Habits by Accepting Them
“If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” ~Mary Engelbreit “So, what do you think?” my husband asked, the dinner table lit by the soft glow of the overhead light. He’d been talking for a while, and I knew I should have been listening. […]
How Do Social Structures Shape Your Well-Being?
Systemic, structural change has always been a part of the perspective of the Greater Good Science Center. In a 2022 essay, editor Jeremy Adam Smith defines structural forces in the context of our work this way: Slavery was a structural force, setting a stubborn pattern of social, cultural, economic, and interpersonal relationships between Black and […]
How Classroom Rituals Help Create Community
As a fifth-grade public school teacher, April Archer is constantly looking for ways to bring warmth and intentionality into her classroom. Student-led conferences were coming up, and she wanted something to brighten the room—not just visually, but emotionally. With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, she invited her students to reflect on what they felt […]
From Campus to Career | Psychology Today
Every spring, graduates walk across stages with caps, gowns, and dreams. But in today’s rapidly changing economy—where automation, AI, and industry disruptions are the norm—a diploma alone no longer guarantees a pathway to a stable career. For far too many students, particularly first-generation and underrepresented learners, the leap from classroom to career remains uncertain and […]