The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Brian Murray LMHC Jacob was 8 years old when he was awakened at 4:30AM by his grandfather. He was gently shaken by his grandfather announcing it was time to get up to go fishing. Jacob had never woken up so early in his life and struggled to clear his eyes and get oriented. He made his way into the kitchen where there was a hum of activity going on. A single light bulb turned on, hung from the ceiling. He could see his father standing there making sandwiches and getting a cooler of drinks together. Jacob’s father turned and said, “go get dressed so we can meet grandpa outside and help him with the boat.” The place was nothing fancy. The living conditions were about functionality, not fashion. They were at their uncle’s farmhouse out in the Georgia countryside. Grandpa had an old wooden V-hull boat that leaked until the water made the wood swell up and seal the leaks. An old coffee can rolling around in the bottom of the boat served as a bail until the leaking stoppe...

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 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 nature of the ...