Posts by Lynn Zakeri

We all know someone who has passed away, and we’ve all comforted someone who is grieving.  Our first experience with death stays with us.  Perhaps a grandparent or other older relative passed away.  We might notice someone wearing a ribbon or read an obituary that asks us to offer condolences.  As a therapist, I’ve run…

“Weed”.  That is what they call it now.  I learned very quickly in my private practice that if I were going to talk with teenagers about their drug use, I had to stop saying “pot”.  And “smoke” usually means smoke marijuana, where in my youth that meant actual cigarettes.  I still feel funny when I…

I was asked to submit another blog to helppro.com’s website.  You can read my discussion below, or find it at: http://www.helppro.com/Blog/post/2011/02/22/Does-Your-Therapist-Like-You-One-Therapists-Perspective.aspx Most professionals in the helping profession chose their job purposefully.  We enjoy helping, listening, and problem solving.  I found an online quiz that supposedly determines if one would make a good therapist.  It asked…

I presented last month on a topic I’ve been studying, learning about, and practicing with for over ten years. Overweight adolescents, bullying and self esteem. What is it about our society that teaches one must never discriminate or be prejudiced against others for reasons such as race, culture or socioeconomic status, but then considers discrimination…

What, in 2010, is appropriate? Or, better yet, what is inappropriate? Is it inappropriate to ignore a phone call? Use a curse word? Forget to say thank you? Use poor grammar? Is Brittany Spears still inappropriate? Is Madonna? When I was growing up, Madonna’s album had come out and Material Girl and Like a Virgin…

What does hearing the word “popular” do to you? It stirs up a lot of emotions in many people, ranging from anger and sadness to fondnesss and happiness. But what does popularity mean? Is there a price to pay to “be popular”? It is not a trait any of us were born with, and it…

Some of you may feel this topic does not apply to you: You never joined a sorority you life was not affected by sororities, you are now out of college and life went on, or you are a male. However, for the sake of every young woman you know, daughters, friends’ daughters, nieces, neighbors, babysitters,…

There is no question that those with better social skills have an advantage. How are your social skills? What are social skills exactly? And are they a skill that can be improved? Looking at the literature and books, one would believe so. You can practice, role play and learn how to better communicate, express yourself,…

Sometime in my early adulthood, I figured out what makes someone attractive.  Whether it was being able to look back on my own youth, or through the eyes of all the clients I work with, it is the one quality we all wish we had more of, and the one we often feel everyone else…

This time of year it seems that everything is changing. Not just the seasons as we look to summer, but the school year ends, there are graduations, there is gardening to do, barbeques to plan, weddings to celebrate. There are also things changing that we don’t plan for or count on. There are diagnoses given,…