Empathy for the Used and Abused

mental health

Stormy Daniels has been in the news for testifying against former president Donald Trump, and I am hearing a lot of news commentators, politicians and general people weigh in about the veracity of Ms. Daniels’ story, particularly since she is in the adult film industry. People are saying she must be lying. Since she has […]

Children: Be someone in the life of a child

children

National Be Someone Day is designed to remind adults to be someone special in the life of a child. As a counselor, I am constantly reminded of the fact that almost everyone on the planet is recovering from or currently enduring some sort of trauma, a lot of that trauma inflicted or experienced as a […]

Foster Care: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

foster care

In honor of National Foster Care Month, I wanted to write an article about the truth of foster care: There is a beautiful side of foster care and there is a diabolical side. I will write about both, as well as my opinion of what a great foster parent looks like and what foster children […]

Sexual Assault – It’s Not Okay

Sexual assault perpetrated against anyone is not okay. Having agency over one’s body is an inalienable right—one that is too often violated. This violation can begin in childhood by well-meaning parents. You can’t teach your children how to properly protect themselves against bodily infringements unless you respect your child saying no to you. Some examples […]

Violence Against Women

Today, November 25, was designated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the United Nations General Assembly. I wanted to know how prevalent this issue is, so I asked Google and found worldwide statistics from the World Bank: Thirty-five percent of women have experienced either physical and/or sexual partner violence or non-partner sexual violence. Seven percent […]

Sexual Assault & Child Abuse Awareness Month

bullying

The month of April is both the month for sexual assault and child abuse awareness—two serious societal problems that span across many cultures. In 1987, I began working with children in specialized foster care. At that time, not enough was known about child abuse, especially sexual abuse. There was a misunderstanding around cause and effect: […]