
First Person
Creative personal essays on life and familyFar From Home
An Immigrant’s Search for Belonging"Gohyang" is a Korean word that means "hometown" but translates to so much more. Read more
Love Scrabble
An Evening with My Wife's BoyfriendPlaying a traditional boardgame in a nontraditional romantic arrangement. Read more
The Couple Who Changed Me
Help Can Come from Unexpected SourcesThe strongest couples are the ones who are open to help—the ones who can surround themselves with allies, inviting others into the trenches with them. Read more
A Script for Male Dementia Caregivers
Helping a Husband Be More Than a 'Pillar of Strength'Many spousal dementia caregivers struggle emotionally watching their life partners slowly decline. But I also knew that male caregivers, especially spouses... Read more
Sweet Surrender
Ice Cream, Fatherhood, and the Meaning of LifeA tale about fatherhood and the pleasures of ice cream. Read more
Unhappy Campers
When a Guys’ Weekend Goes SouthA nightmare camping trip exposes the limits—and possibilities—of male bonding. Read more
Laughing with Big Mama
How to Discover the Wise Guide Within YouA grandmother’s indelible spirit inspires a therapy practice. Read more
Colliding into 70
Don’t Send Me a Sympathy Card!Getting old is hard. But sometimes, as the body becomes more vulnerable, the spirit becomes fiercer. Read more
"You're a Moron"
An Angry Client Embraces Therapy at 92At 92, a pugnacious client discovers that it’s never too late to change. Read more
Wartime Trauma Treatment
Reflections from a Therapist Treating Ukrainian SurvivorsA therapist specializing in trauma treatment in the wake of human-made and natural disasters shares what she's seeing in her work with survivors of the war in... Read more
Cutting the Cord
A Psychoanalytic Approach to Getting UnstuckAccording to psychoanalysis, we all carry an imago—an image of our parents inside of us. But what do you do when the negative, traumatic, or unconscious... Read more
The weight of whether to put a child in a group home. Read more
A Therapist Confronts Cancer
Finding a Way through the AbyssNo one can prevent the horrors of cancer, but processing this particular experience of loss with a therapist who's been through it may stave off the trauma of... Read more
Attachment Grief
Living with the Loss of a ChildFor someone who has survived the death of their child, describing grief as a journey perpetuates the myth that, eventually, there’s an end point. Read more
Whose Mom Is It Anyway?
Learning to Love My Mother’s CaregiverA daughter’s resentment gives way to a lesson in unconditional love. Read more
The Diary Keeper
A Father Discovers What Matters MostAs time rushes forward, a diary promises the chance to slow things down. Read more
Four Simple Ingredients
Lessons on Baking with MatthewFour simple ingredients will become bread, whether you do everything right or not. The result may not be perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. Read more
Life Without Atticus
When Siblings Parent Each OtherChildren need an adult who provides safety, attunement, empathy, acceptance, and boundaries. Can a sibling be the next best thing? Read more
Moving in Synchrony
The Collective Tug of FamilySometimes the road to connection involves a painful separation. Read more
The Love Magician
A Therapist Lays Down Her WandThere’s magic in therapy—all types—the most astonishing of which only happens when you stop trying to put on a flawless show. Read more
The Therapists Who Raised Me
Tales from a Terrace Talk VeteranWhen becoming a therapist feels like part of our genetic makeup. Read more
A Therapist's 40-Year Learning Curve
Maybe the Hard Way Is How We Learn BestOver 40 years, a long-term client gives renowned trauma therapist Janina Fisher an opportunity to recover from clinical mistakes and apply new frameworks and... Read more
Through the One-Way Mirror
The Education of a Family TherapistAs a family therapy trainee in the 70s, it was easy to feel like part of a larger revolution. Read more
Hanging Out with Dick Van Dyke
A Lesson in Stepping UpAn encounter with a superstar teaches a young woman about courage. Read more
The Ambivalence Trap
Liberating Ourselves from the Pursuit of PerfectionA psychiatrist questions taking her own medicine. Read more
First, Make the Bed
A Gentle Path through DepressionIn the throes of depression, a therapist searches for a magic bullet. Read more
Confessions of a Racing Mind
My Silent Battle with OCDA clinician with OCD stands up to stigma. Read more
I know this experience will give me more knowledge to help others—that’s how I have to reframe it. As I’ve recovered, I’ve felt how strong and... Read more
When you do the work that we do, it’s important to find ways to take care of yourself. You can’t always carve out lots of time to devote to self-care, but... Read more
Talking About the Nightmare
When Our Work as Therapists Heals UsFor a firefighter turned couples counselor, healing means respecting deeply ingrained defenses while also exploring new ways of leaning on others. Read more