Becoming a parent is a deeply stirring experience. Each pregnancy, birth, and unique baby is a new experience, filled with a variety of emotions and meanings for all involved. Rocky starts can happen for numerous reasons …

This time of year can be stressful for many of us. Expectations of all sorts have the potential of not being met. One piece that gets stirred up and perhaps one of the most important spoken or unspoken layers is the expectation or yearning for some feeling of a belonging and/or a sense of warmth that gets exchanged in meaningful ways. 

Here at Valley Community Counseling Center, a low cost clinic in North Hollywood, we believe in love.  We work from the premise that most couples who originally loved each other can be helped to rebuild their relationship if they are willing to put in the time and effort.

Only privileged individuals are allowed to grow old.  Nonetheless, the aging process can be daunting in a society that glorifies youth, physical beauty, productivity and efficiency.  

Many I have talked with are deeply affected by the election and the uncertainties that lie ahead. Vulnerability coupled with a feeling of helplessness is often at the center of these reactions. For those who have have had any experience in their life with an authoritarian parent (one who acts imperiously and without care to the feelings or impact on others), OR, who have been bullied or even abused at various points in their lives, may feel powerless and have difficulties with this transition.