“Can you Teach Empathy?” by Dr. Carly Orenstein

Can you teach empathy? I get this question a lot from friends, parents, and parents of patients. The answer is not that simple. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Some kids just seem to be born more empathetic than others. These kids are the ones who cry because someone…

The Process of Grieving, by Dr. Hayley Hirschmann

Over the years I have encountered many people suffering and struggling with grief and grieving in my work and in the greater community.  Historically, there has been conflicting information available about how “best” to do this, from cultural and scientific perspectives alike. For example, those in mourning may have heard, “cry, men shouldn’t cry, go…

Family Meetings: An Antidote to Stressors of Family Life? by Dr. Jayne Walco

School projects, soccer practice, music lessons, doctor appointments, two careers, childcare arrangements, carpools, meal preparation, chores, battles over screen-time…family life can be quite stressful. Finding time to connect has become increasingly challenging and instituting a weekly family meeting can help provide a remedy to this seeming chaos. There are numerous potential benefits of holding family…

Grit, for lack of a better word, is good: Putting the research into practice, by Dr. Nathan McClelland

There’s no debate that we live in an age where more and more options for after-school activities and areas for specialization exist.  Budding rock climber? Sure – http://brooklynboulders.com/brooklyn/; the next Steve Jobs? Try this – https://coderdojo.com/.  Possibilities are endless, but also potentially overwhelming, and it’s impossible to try it all. So what do we tell…