In the latest example of what are becoming all-too-frequent acts of unspeakable horror, homemade bombs killed three people and seriously wounded dozens more at the beloved Boston Marathon this week. The act itself seems to fit the definition of terrorism perfectly: an indiscriminate strike at ordinary, innocent people in a moment of national celebration, forever… Continue Reading A Tough Uncle: On “Being Losers”

Whenever I’m at a family event – especially a wedding, christening, or funeral – I find myself recapturing a feeling that things are right and proper. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the event is a happy one or a sad one; it’s the fact that family members are together and we’re re-affirming our connection… Continue Reading March of the Generations

I’m ready to rant. I suppose that my participation in the 60th Anniversary celebrations and commencement at the Adler School of Professional Psychology has crystallized my feelings about the current state of our nation and world. This will definitely be a TL;DR (“too long, didn’t read”) entry if you’re the type of person put off… Continue Reading The Stupidity of Selfishness

I’ve been using the Life Style Assessment technique (originated by Alfred Adler, and developed further by Bernard Shulman and Harold Mosak) for many years, as a way to help clients understand their basic life convictions and help in setting goals and direction in psychotherapy. This technique can also be of great value for couples.

In case you were wondering why the website was down yesterday, so was I. It seems that a hacker who called himself “anonymous3” somehow got into GoDaddy’s main servers, and took the whole thing (including e-mail accounts) down for most of the day. The motive may have had to do with his dislike of the… Continue Reading Anonymous Got Us!

While we’re enjoying a few days of relaxation in our favorite place, Door County, Wisconsin, we paid a visit to Ellison Bay Pottery and had an enjoyable chat with John Dietrich, who has been making pottery in Door County since the ’70’s (and has been at his studio with his soulmate Diane McNeil since the… Continue Reading The Courage to Be Imperfect: A Potter’s Tale

Toward the end of Alfred Adler’s life, he published a book titled Social Interest – A Challenge for Mankind. About thirty years later, his colleague Rudolf Dreikurs published Social Equality: The Challenge of Today. It seems that mankind needs to be reminded of the importance of these two closely related concepts.

One advantage of having a new generation of smartphones and tablets available is the wealth of free or inexpensive applications that can help us manage our daily lives. From banking to yoga practice, there are apps to make the job easier, quicker, or more fun.

These days, it’s becoming more and more difficult to sort out what your personal values should be. This challenge, which psychologist Erik Erikson described in his “Identity versus role confusion” task, typically takes place when we’re about 14 to 17 years old, and usually involves moving from an identity based on group membership (e.g., the… Continue Reading Values – Custom Made or Off-the-shelf?