Jan 16 / Simcha

Finding the Raw Spots (S. Johnson)

holdThe following article is drawn from the guiding principles of Emotion Focused Therapy, developed by Susan Johnson.  EFT views the central problem in a distressed relationship as the loss of secure emotional connection, and the pattern of negative interactions that both reflects and perpetuates this loss.   

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Dec 27 / Simcha

Transcending our Imperfect Bodies (F. Bruni)

tulipIn a most wise and moving opinion piece in the New York Times this past week (These Wretched Vessels, 12.24.12), columnist Frank Bruni urges us reexamine the way we tend to “foolishly define ourselves in terms of what’s measurable from the outside, instead of what glimmers within.”

The following is a selection from his piece, which was inspired by his viewing of the movie “The Sessions.”

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Dec 17 / Simcha

Offering Comfort to the Grieving (E.C. Heath)

touchWhen Rev. Emily C. Heath served as a chaplain in the emergency department of a children’s hospital with a level one trauma center, she saw countless senseless tragedies, and came to recognize how difficult it is for people to find appropriate words of comfort.

Based on her experience, she offers her advice (Huffiington Post,  12.14.2012) regarding five things NOT to say, and five things she has found helpful to say, to grieving family and friends.  I would add that most of these suggestions are applicable to ALL grieving people, and not just to parents grieving the loss of their children.

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Dec 13 / Simcha

How Do Children Develop Empathy? (P. Klass)

Detail, NYTimes illustration: Joyce Hesselberth

A popular nature-vs-nurture discussion in recent months focuses on how children develop “prosocial behavior,” the capacity to notice the distress of others and to be moved by it.  In the following selection from a longer article in the NYTimes (12.10.12), Dr. Perri Klass examines the research on “how and why we become our better selves.”

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Dec 04 / Simcha

New Love: A Short Shelf Life (S. Lyubomirsky)

Detail, NYTimes illustration: Graham Roumieu

In the following selection from a recent New York Times article (12.01.12), psychology professor Sonya Lyubomirsky (Univ. of CA, Riverside) examines why new, passionate love, a state of intense longing, desire and attraction inevitably morphs, in time, into companionate love, a less impassioned blend of deep affection and connection. She also proposes a powerful antidote to familiarity.

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Nov 27 / Simcha

Ten Reasons Not to Hit Your Kids
 (Jan Hunt)

Since 1996 the Natural Child Project website has offered information and resources on parenting (with a focus on early childhood), including child advocacy documents, research articles, and parenting resources.

Director Jan Hunt, author of The Natural Child (available in multiple translations), explains in this article from the Project website why physical punishment is harmful to children, ineffective as a means of discipline, and counter-productive in educating towards humane, creative problem-solving.

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