Aging
Flourishing as We Age
Highlights from Symposium 2019Mary Pipher, author of the classic Reviving Ophelia and nine subsequent books, was this year’s recipient of the Networker’s Lifetime Achievement Award for... Read more
The Shopping Trip
Showing Up Is Its Own RewardSometimes you learn your most important life lessons from the person who most frustrates and disappoints you. Read more
Increasing Access to Mental Health Care for Seniors
What Therapists Can Do to HelpAmerican seniors suffer disproportionately from mental health issues and suicide. And many, these days, are having trouble getting the therapy they need... Read more
Chronic Pain Reconsidered
A New Role for TherapistsOnly one percent of patients suffering from acute back pain have a significant structural abnormality in their back, and a remarkably low percentage of back... Read more
The U-Curve of Happiness
Should Big Data Be Believed?A new book claims that even if you find yourself suffering through a gloomy midlife slog, you’re likely to experience a brighter landscape in your 50s and... Read more
When Is Enough Enough?
Our Obsession with Longevity May Have Gone Too FarBestselling author Barbara Ehrenreich believes that our obsession with longevity may have gone too far. Read more
Increasingly, therapists are becoming important players in a new era of more conscious aging, as more people make their way to our offices with issues related... Read more
A New Stretch of the River
Navigating Life’s Final StagesAs we age, our bodies and relationships change, and the pace of change accelerates. At 70, we’re unlikely to be able to function as we did in our 50s. We... Read more
Occupational Wisdom
What Therapists Can Teach Us about Growing Old GracefullyDoes being a therapist give us an edge in coping with the inescapable phenomenon of aging? Three prominent psychotherapists—Irvin Yalom, Joan Klagsbrun, and... Read more
Second Adolescence
An Alternative to the Midlife CrisisInstead of viewing midlife as a time of emotional unraveling, therapists can see it as an opportunity to help clients gain a fuller sense of purpose in... Read more
Facing a Parent's Decline
Helping Grown Children and Aging Parents Learn to Nurture Each OtherNearly all therapists will soon be working with substantial numbers of aging families, whether or not they ever consciously choose to. The question at hand... Read more
Three Myths About Old Age
...And What We Can Learn from Our Older Peers About Aging SuccessfullyBy examining how older members of our society actually live and looking at what we can learn from people who age successfully, one study shifts the focus away... Read more
A Squeeze of the Hand
What Does a Son Owe His Mother?After a lifetime of conflict, a son faces the question of what he owes his mother. Read more
Tips for Living the Life You Want
Think Your Greatest Success is Out of Reach? Think AgainIn this second part of a three-part series adapted from the upcoming book Mindful Aging: Embracing Your Life after 50 to Find Fulfillment, Purpose, and Joy... Read more
A New Turn in the Road
Life at 94The life of a seemingly frail 94-year-old takes a surprising turn. Read more
When All Else Fails
Stories of Vulnerability and PossibilityThe self-assurance of expert practitioners who publicly present their work can lead everyday therapists to believe that psychotherapy is a far more predictable... Read more
The Oldest Guy on the Team
Running for Your LifeThe joys of being the oldest guy on the team. Read more
Intimate Enemies
A Stepson Reconsiders a Long-Held ResentmentA stepson reconsiders a long-held resentment. Read more
The Unassignables
What Really Gets Handed Down in a Family?A son’s decision to get married is a rite of passage for the entire family. Read more
Life, Death, and a Good Cigar
Freud Chose to Face the End on His Own TermsFor most of us, death is a subject hovering in the shadows of our lives, willfully ignored until it’s suddenly standing rudely before us, the world’s worst... Read more
Moving Through Grief
How Kübler-Ross’s Model Can Help Clients HealHow Kübler-Ross’s stage model of dealing with loss can help grieving clients heal. Read more
The Rewards of Caregiving
Escaping Negative CyclesHow to help beleaguered caretakers of elderly parents find meaning and purpose in a challenging task. Read more
If you’re going to help a couple get closer and really learn to work harmoniously with one another, whether in bed or anywhere else, the key is helping... Read more
The Last Dance
Awakening a Mother’s Joyful SpiritToward the end of her life, a woman turns back the clock by performing the goofy ballet of her youth. Read more
Helping Therapy Clients Cope with the Reality of Death
Clinical Wisdom to Combat Fear, Anxiety, and Grief at the End of LifeFor 17 years, managing responses to death has become part of my work, whether originally my intention or not. I’ve aspired to helping families hang tough... Read more
Writing on Water
A Diary of Riding Out the StormDecember 29, 2013. It was still dark as I was walking the unlit path to my friend’s house for our weekly meditation meeting. Suddenly, my feet went out from... Read more
When a Partner Has Alzheimer’s
Alternatives to Toughing it OutHelping the traditionalist generation care for their aging partners. Read more
We’ll Never Be Here Again
Stopping to Listen on a Late-life PassageJim and I just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to the Pacific Northwest. We travel differently than many of our friends, avoiding... Read more
Narrowing the Gap
Striving for Honesty in the Therapy RoomAnticipating endings may encourage us to grasp the present with greater vitality. Read more