You may have noticed that I don’t have client testimonials on my web site, which goes against everything the marketers tell you to do. You’ve...
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Presence with Eve Hermann LMT SEP
Dawn: Hi everyone. And welcome to the first ever podcast for You Are Not Your Mother. My name is Dawn Friedman and I’m the owner...
Read MoreAll behavior makes sense
Here are two things that everyone everywhere needs to know about everyone else: People do the best they can with what they know. All behavior...
Read MoreNo Guarantees
I’m not a great marketer and so I’ve been reading and following some expert-types to learn how to do it. One of the things they...
Read MoreAre my child’s struggles my fault?
It’s the therapy stereotype, right? It’s always the parents’ fault! No wonder then that many of the parents I see in my therapy office come...
Read MoreThe Myth of Good Parents
We do not raise children to go out into the world and be perfect and build perfect relationships with perfect people. That would be impossible....
Read MoreNobody does anything they don’t want to do
A long, long time ago in my parenting (not professional) life, I got in a friendly argument with another mom about whether or not kids...
Read MoreThe right way to raise kids
A couple of years ago there was a lot of noise about that crying it out study, which indicated that “graduated extinction” (which is different from...
Read MoreTherapists don’t have crystal balls
As clients we’re vulnerable. It’s on my mind right now because yesterday I met with a colleague and we discussed a couple of situations where a...
Read MoreWho needs parenting support?
I wanted to talk about who could benefit from parenting classes because that person might be you. Anyone who feels like he or she is parenting at...
Read MoreWhen the news is overwhelming
When I brought my newborn baby son home from the hospital we had a broken TV; it took at least 30 minutes to warm up....
Read MoreWhen You Don’t Like Your Kids
If you’ve got kids, I bet there have been times when you don’t like them very much. Maybe you feel guilty about that but you...
Read MoreBreaking Free from the Prison of Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are the unwelcome, uninvited ugly thoughts that skitter through our heads now and then. Everyone has them. Think about a time when you...
Read MoreThe Everyday Losses of Growing Up
Growing up is wonderful; it’s miraculous. New words. New accomplishments and abilities. But it’s also hard and scary and sometimes it’s sad. It’s not just...
Read MoreAnxiety is a Dirty Rotten Liar
Anxiety loves to tell lies. Anxiety likes to stand behind you and reinterpret the world in a negative way. Someone tells you that they like...
Read MoreWhy You Should Let Your Child Have the Last Word
Sometimes when you’ve won an argument you can help the person who lost save face by letting them get the last word in. I think...
Read MoreFretting over candy
It’s that time of year again. October leads the march for the next three months when sweets become one of the central issues for many...
Read MoreTo the woman feeling like a bad mother
I see you over there, avoiding friends, avoiding Facebook (or staying up late reading Facebook like a punishment, because you think you deserve to feel...
Read MoreThe Myth of Closure
Wouldn’t it be great if we could neatly close out chapters in our lives before moving onto the next one? You know, resolve all relationship...
Read MoreAsk for What You Need and Want
So many of us have internalized the idea that if we want something or if we need something it is, by definition, unnecessary. If we want it,...
Read MoreGentle parenting should be gentle on you, too
I did all the things that gentle parents do. I co-slept, breastfed forever, carried them everywhere. I never spanked, tried (and failed) not to raise...
Read MoreTolerance isn’t always healthy
If you’ve had a complicated childhood chances are you’ve been told you’re too sensitive. Maybe you’ve been called a worry wart, a crybaby, impossible, annoying...
Read MoreParenting is a Process
Children are always changing; it's what they're supposed to do. Just when you think you have this parenting thing figured out, they'll change.
Read MoreGimme Gimme Gimme
I have been thinking lately about scarcity and how it drives hunger.
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