David Hodel

You walk into a coffee shop and place your order. As you wait patiently for the barista to conjure up your double-decaffeinated half-caff with a single shot of sugar-free vanilla and light foam, you glance over to the side and notice a woman apparently set up to take some notes on a notepad. Beside the pad are three identical pencils and a retractable pen. While you watch, she takes a second pen out of her purse and carefully disassembles

There’s something uncomfortably glib about a word like “tricky” when applied to the panoply of family dynamics from the mild to the truly horrifying. For this article, let’s agree that tricky means what it means – a puzzle, complex but not overwhelming. If your family dynamics are genuinely overwhelming, this article may not be for you. Having said that, the tools I’m going to talk about can be used by most people in a vast array of relational settings.

From the perennial bestseller The Power of Positive Thinking (first published in 1952) to Oprah’s popular advice, positivity is heralded as the answer to many of life’s most perplexing questions and has been for the past few decades. We need look no further than self-help gurus like Tony Robbins. Touting books with titles like, "Personal Power!", "Power Talk!", and "Awaken The Giant Within" it is easy to see how seductive it can be to imagine all I need is

Every person on this planet was created as a specialized individual. The same treatment used by one person to combat a mental disorder may not necessarily be the best plan of action for the next person. How do you know if you are suffering from a serious disorder? When should you seek out help? What is the most effective course of action for your specific mental health condition? First, we need to determine if your symptoms warrant treatment. Knowing

"Do anger disorders really exist?" To answer the titular question posed by this article, we should, in all fairness, acknowledge that the classification of the various forms of mental illness is a human construct – a means to describe a nuanced condition that may or may not actually fit the description perfectly, and may or may not have a treatment solution. So, the short answer is “Yes.” As described in the DSM-5, anger-related disorders most certainly do exist, though

One of the unexpected consequences of socially connective technologies like the Internet and cell phones is that new relationships can seem like they are just a click away. If we are single and looking, this can feel like a great opportunity to meet a lot of people and make connections, or avoid connections and bounce from one relationship to the next without ever actually getting involved. If we are married, with the advent of affair dating apps that facilitate

When we take time to consider ourselves and realize we are holistic beings, made up of body, mind, soul (emotions), and spirit, it might seem odd at first that discussions around one of our most essential bodily functions – sex – are often fraught with such a high level of discomfort. Sexuality goes to the core of our being, intersecting with all of those parts listed above, so there is no getting around the deeply personal nature of the subject.

The scope of this article focuses on addiction to substances and rehab for teens. One of the most difficult things to process as a parent is how little control we end up having over the well-being of our children as they get older. If we do our job well, they go from needing us absolutely (as infants) to not needing us at all (as adults). That doesn’t mean we don’t have a relationship with them, it just means in

Raising children can feel like a full-time job. My mother once referred to the process as “the civilization of little savages,” which isn’t far from the truth. We start out all id and ego, needing, wanting, taking, and it is largely due to the intervention of our primary caregivers – who provide the much-needed correction and moral framework – that we are ever fit for society. When our best efforts aren’t enough, when our children persist in unacceptable behavior

Bipolar Disorder is a disorder of the brain that results in significant, often cyclical, changes in mood, energy and activity levels resulting from those changes. The range of moods can include extreme highs (elation, high energy, activity in overdrive) and extreme lows (despondent, can’t get out of bed, suicidal). The “up” episodes are called manic (if severe) or hypomanic (if less severe), and the “down” episodes are called depressive. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, any one of

If you are wondering whether you or someone you know has bipolar, it is important to get a diagnosis from a mental health professional. Having said that, what follows is a look at some of the symptoms you can look for if you are on the fence about seeking a diagnosis. What is Bipolar II Disorder? Bipolar disorder is typically characterized by an emotional cycle of highs and lows, or manic and depressive states, over a period of days

Most of us do not get out of childhood without a few scars. Abuse can come in many forms, at any age, and from multiple sources including family, friends, acquaintances and strangers. In the past 40 years, social norms and government rules regarding child abuse and neglect have become much less tolerant. As compassionate, responsible people, we now have resources to turn to when confronted with the disturbing specter of abuse. So, when we believe we are witness to