There comes a time for each of us when we face the task of rebuilding an adult life from the ground up. We might be changing a lot of things at once and struggle to take action and make decisions. Job loss, loss of a significant other, death of a family member, an empty nest, or a change in economic circumstances are some of the life experiences that  trigger the need to make multiple changes.There are also many wonderful life experiences where we start over: a new job in a new city, graduating from school, leaving military service, retiring from a long term job and changing marital or parental...

Anxiety issues affect about 30% of the United States adult population at one time or another, according to the research done by the World Health Organization. Anxiety comes about for many reasons: genetics, your ability to manage body sensations, your emotional life, the perception of threats to your well-being and the culture in which you live. Anxiety is the most common mental health diagnosis given and therefore has a wide variety of treatments.

Treatments that have been shown to be effective for anxiety vary quite a bit and it is not always easy to predict which ones will be helpful...

Recently I read a theory of happiness ( based on research studies) that summarized and discussed the four most important areas that contribute to feeling happy. I have found this to be very useful in the therapy that I do and would like to share this with you. The four attributes that seemed to contribute most to feelings of satisfaction and well-being in life were the following: competence,autonomy, connection and security.

COMPETENCE: It is important to feel like a productive and competent person who has something to contribute in life. Having a talent or working hard to develop a skill...

Are there really as many unhappy attorneys as we are led to believe? A new study was released this month with the largest sample size of employed attorneys ever studied. The findings showed a significantly different trend than past studies. In the past, the longer attorneys were in the field, the more they tended to have problems with alcohol, depression, anxiety and stress. This recent study of 12,825 employed attorneys found a complete reversal of that pattern.  Lawyers with the highest rates of alcohol abuse were younger associates working in private law firms. Men had significantly higher...

The years since 2008 have been a strange and frightening time for so many of my patients, colleagues and friends. Those who were not hit by the downturn can still experience fear, waiting to see when if or when it will happen to them. Most of us have already experienced significant losses in our feelings of security, trust and well-being. The money losses we point to in the stock market, housing market and job market symbolize this for us, even if we have not yet sold anything at a loss; we are concerned about the futures we had planned.

Money losses are very painful. The money research...

We are in the middle of a stressful time in our country’s history. The election is pending; home values are sliding; Wall Street is a roller coaster and jobs are ending. This is a frightening time even for those who are not in an immediate crisis. The basic tools of stress management work just as well on money stress as they do on other kinds of stress. Many people mistakenly believe that money stress can only be reduced by money itself.

Stress management involves simple acts that reduce anxiety: breathing slowly and thoughtfully, sitting and meditating, going for a walk, spending...