The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC, NCC Dysfunctional fathers are constantly in the news: those who abuse, abandon, neglect, or even kill their children. While it is a sensational headline, too much makes it look like all dads are bad. Unfortunately, not much attention is paid to excellent fathers. They rarely receive any attention at all and are frequently tossed in the dysfunctional section for some minor offense. The good fathers pay attention to the developmental stages of their children and mold their parenting to meet their child’s needs. They successfully navigate through joy and sadness as their child passes to another stage in life. Most importantly, these dads know how to care for their child without being too overprotective. It is a delicate balance and one worth striving to achieve. Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development serves as a parenting guideline. Please note that these stages will be discussed from a paternal perspective due to the natur...

By: Christine Hammond LMHC There is a lot of talk about dysfunctional moms: those who harm their children, fail to parent, or even over parent. But not so much attention is paid to those moms who are excellent. Some are capable by instinct, others have good modeling from other moms, and others learn from the mistakes of others. These moms pay attention to the developmental stages of their children and mold their parenting to meet their child’s needs. They successfully navigate through joy and sadness as their child passes to another stage in life. Most importantly, these moms know how to care for their child without depleting their own emotional resources. It is a delicate balance and one worth striving to achieve. Erik Erkson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development serves as a parenting guideline. Please note that these stages will be discussed from a maternal perspective due to the nature of the article. It is not meant to diminish the value of fathers or othe...

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC How much different would life be if exhaustion wasn’t a factor? It is normal to be physically overwhelmed from long hours at work, ungrateful children, overload of electronic stimulus, and tiresome relatives. But some exhaustion is much deeper. It stems from unmet needs, expectations, ambitions, and hopes. It is compounded by tragedies, disappointments, rejections, and harsh realities. And it encompasses nearly every aspect of life without prejudice. So this year, instead of adding one more thing to an overburdened schedule, how about eliminating exhaustion?  To make this task even more manageable, try focusing on just one item per month. Most habits are set within 30 days so incorporating a new concept each month can make this year considerably better. 1.        January: Plan. Start off the year on a good note by calendared all major events for the year. There are several very good on-line calendars and apps th...

Flash back: You just got home from a date that you know went exceptionally well. There was a chemistry, the other person had just the right amount of everything you’re looking for. In the two days following you wait by the phone. After two days, if you haven’t heard from them, you start going through the notions of hurt, rejection, and confusion. Fast forward to the present: The time limit on the “call back” has drastically changed. With the evolution of technology, the “call back” has now turned into a “text back” and normally it’s within an hour of the person leaving. Something simple like “I had a great time tonight.” The conversation goes on for a little bit and you think you really have a connection with this person. Then the day comes, whether it be before or after your second date, that they disappear. Your life turns into a front-row magic show where you’re left wondering what happened. The psychological torture of the hurt, rejection, and confusion becomes more intense due to...

By: Matt Sandford In part four of the series, we discussed ways to balance between short and long term goals in our parenting. In this last section we will examine the issue of our children’s development towards autonomy and ways we can effectively nurture this process. 5.        Foster autonomy ·          In the teen years it becomes more readily apparent that your kids are not going to be under your roof forever. Some of you are excited about this, and some are broken up about it. But either way, it has been what you have been actually working towards all along: to see your kids grow up. ·          Autonomy is a big part of maturity. Autonomy means to be self governing, self directed. Not in the childish sense of – I want my way! But the maturity to make decisions about what is best based on sound principles. Autonomy goes best when paired with responsibility a...