Making Sure Aftercare is not an “Afterthought”

IECA National Conference in Boston May 4-7, 2016 One of the breakout sessions I attended at a recent conference was about transition from a therapeutic program to a step down program. This is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart. Why? Prior to becoming a professional educational consultant, I worked in the area of Organizational Development … Read More

Collegiate Recovery: The Texas Trip

We had a great two day tour of The Ranch at Dove Tree (RDT) and the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery (CSAR) in Lubbock, Texas. We were really excited when we were invited to attend a “celebration of recovery meeting” with over 100 people our first night there. We watched students receive chips from sponsors, parents, and … Read More

Women and Body Dysmorphia

In case you haven’t been following the story in the news of Barbie, Mattel has been losing market shares to other dolls, such as Elsa from the movie, Frozen, who sings “Let It Go”.  An interesting fact for me, that was quoted in the February issue of Time Magazine, was that Barbie was introduced in 1959 at the New York Toy … Read More

How to Raise Financially Smart Kids?

Tuesday, May and I had the privilege of being invited to hear a New York Times columnist and author, Ron Lieber, speak about his book, The Opposite of Spoiled Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money. Ron was a very engaging speaker and highly endorsed a game with cards that was developed by our local community foundation, … Read More

Affluenza

The word today is affluenza . the unhealthy and unwelcome psychological and social effects of affluence regarded especially as a widespread societal problem: such asa :  feelings of guilt, lack of motivation, and social isolation experienced by wealthy people <Even so, psychologists are slowly recognizing that great riches are sometimes accompanied by a wealth of crippling emotional and psychological fears. … Read More

Breakfast at Edventure

Louise and May attended Edventure Childrens Museum’s annual impact breakfast event this morning early… brrr, for South Carolina. Matthew Martin, Regional Executive for the Charlotte Federal Reserve Bank, talked about the “human capital” part of the economy… our segment of the economy! Some of the most important parts of his speech were: *20-40% of students don’t finish high school and … Read More

Travel with May and Louise to Virginia Boarding Schools

This past week were in Virginia visiting boarding schools. We spent our first day touring Chatham Hall and Virginia Episcopal School. When we got to Chatham, the girls were in an assembly doing a presentation on world health for their Leaders in Residence Program. This year, Ashley Judd will be educating the girls on world health. She is very active … Read More

What is the Most Precious Gift We Can Give Our Children?

Kids need our unconditional love and unwavering support AND the freedom to try, fail, and pick themselves up!  In the end, resilience and self-confidence develop when our kids experience hardship, anxiety, and difficulty. Then learn they can move beyond it. Helicopter parenting, along with increased academic expectations, have created some of the most anxious kids we have ever seen. I recently … Read More

H.A.L.T.

Hungry Angry Lonely Tired   As we enter this busy holiday time of year, I am reminded of the acronym from recovery circles, called HALT. I think we are more vulnerable at certain times of year and certainly this is true during Christmas and Hanukkah holidays. We miss our loved ones no longer with us, we rush around doing “retail … Read More