By the time couples come to couples therapy, they have a built up a lot of tension around recurring problems. For instance, when Joe and Amy came to therapy they had been arguing about who has it harder with respect to chores and child-care. Each felt they were sacrificing more than the other. This led […]
Summer Travels and Travails: Tips for Stress-free Vacations
Tips for Making Summer Vacations Stress-Proof: or at least stress-resistant By now, most of us have either taken the long-awaited summer vacation or are in the midst of planning the final details of packing. Whether you are fantasizing or fretting at this final stage of planning your vacation, there are several things you can do […]
Strains of Summer on Family Life
School is out. Swim season is in full swing. From my home, I hear the loud speaker blasting from the community pool. Cheers erupt at regular intervals. Minivans and SUVs line the streets in the blocks adjacent to the swim club. Like many parents residing in the suburbs, I enjoyed, sometimes endured, the annual ritual […]
Chronic Pain and Narcotics
A Behavioral Approach to Treating Chronic Pain and Medical Problems In the June 2 edition of The New York Times, the article “Pain Pills Add Cost and Delays to Job Injuries” Barry Meier points out that powerful drugs such as OxyContin actually delay recovery from injuries that occur at work. But beyond the financial cost […]
Appreciating the Absence of Pain
You don’t appreciate not having a toothache until you have a toothache. Sitting in the endodontist’s chair last week, I was asked if my tooth ached. I paused for a long moment, and then replied, “ache is a very vague term”. We both laughed. Pain is difficult to measure. Equally difficult to measure is joy– […]
