12 Pieces of Advice for Better Parenting
Parent-child relationships are constantly evolving, and as children grow, “Dear Therapist” writes, parents have to recalibrate what their role is.
9 Pieces of Advice to Help You See Relationships More Clearly
In some cases, “Dear Therapist” columns help us understand a situation from another person’s point of view; in others, they give us the language we need to name a situation.
Dear Therapist’s Guide to Dealing With Regret
Moving forward doesn’t mean leaving the past behind—it means figuring out how to make sense of it in the present.
Dear Therapist’s Guide to Love and Relationships
Talking honestly and openly won’t necessarily save a troubled relationship, but doing so can clarify whether one can and should be saved.
Dear Therapist’s Guide to Starting Over
Change can bring on a mixture of feelings; compassion is how you navigate them.
Dear Therapist: I Can’t Accept My Father’s Death From COVID-19
I was not there for his last breaths. I was not there for his last words. I’m trying to combat my guilt.
Dear Therapist: Christmas With My Divorced Parents Is Getting Harder
Every holiday season, my siblings and I divide our time between them.
Dear Therapist: I Was the Other Woman
I know I sound naive, but this wasn’t like a “normal” affair.
Dear Therapist: Should I Give My Adult Children More Money?
They’re both angry at me, and I want to mend our relationship.
Dear Therapist: My Parents Won’t Let Me Tell My Brother I’m Gay
How can I be open and honest with him when he doesn’t know who I am?
Dear Therapist: I’m Shattered by My Husband’s Sexts
They’re many years old, but they’ve totally upended my world.
Dear Therapist: I Had a Great Relationship With My In-Laws. Then Everything Changed.
They are judging me for not being a good mom, for not having a job, and for not losing my pregnancy weight fast enough.
Dear Therapist: Should I Just Accept That My Relationship With My Mom Is Beyond Repair?
I’m getting married, and I want her to be a part of my life.
Dear Therapist: My Boyfriend Is Sending Me Mixed Signals
I am incredibly worried that he’s not on the same page as me about moving our relationship forward.
Dear Therapist: My Sister-in-Law Said the Most Painful Thing to Me, and I Can’t Let It Go
She told me she would never want a child like my daughter.
Dear Therapist: My Daughter’s Family Asks So Much of Us Without Giving Anything in Return
Any time I want to talk with my daughter about an issue between us, she tells me she doesn’t have time and it’s not a priority for her.
Dear Therapist: My Boyfriend Wants Me to Destroy My Precious Scrapbook From My First Marriage
He seems to think that because I don’t completely hate my ex, I must still love him.
Dear Therapist: I Am a Single Man. My Daughter’s Friends Aren’t Allowed to Visit My House.
I have extended a standing invitation to her friends to visit for playdates or sleepovers, but none has ever come.
Dear Therapist: I’m Having an Affair and I’ve Never Been Happier. Should I Confess?
I feel incredibly guilty and am worried that if we come clean, we will lose the respect of our children and become pariahs in our community.
Dear Therapist: My Mom Won’t Stop Pressuring Me to Get Better Grades
I’ve wanted to address this with her for a while now, but I’m afraid she’ll scold me.
Dear Therapist: I Blame Myself for My Son’s Death
I can’t stop thinking about how much he suffered—and my own inability to save him.
Dear Therapist: Should My Parents Get Divorced?
I’ve known that my parents haven’t gotten along. They are polar opposites.
Dear Therapist: My Family Takes Offense at Everything My Husband Does
I can’t help but think he’s the cause of the growing rift with my relatives.
Dear Therapist: I Love My Girlfriend, but I Asked Her to Move Out
I do not want to lose her and I miss her terribly, but I believe I had no other choice.
Dear Therapist: I Don’t Want My Sister in My Bridal Party
My entire nuclear family is incredibly angry with me.
Dear Therapist: Is My Middle Child a Monster?
I’m so tired of people seeing only her bad traits.
Dear Therapist: My Husband Doesn’t Want Another Kid, so I’m Considering Divorce
I don’t know that I would ever be able to forgive him for taking this away from me.
Dear Therapist: My Best Friend Can’t Find a Job Because of COVID-19
She’s been having anxiety ever since the pandemic began.
Dear Therapist: My Husband and I Never Have Sex, so I’m Having an Affair
And now my husband wants to move halfway across the country for his job.
Dear Therapist: I Love My Trans Daughter, but I’m Still Struggling
I don’t know how to process what I’m going through.
Dear Therapist: I Can’t Stand My Dad’s New Wife
I have no interest in becoming one big happy family.
Dear Therapist: My Mom Needs Help
I don’t think a day has gone by that she hasn’t cried.
Dear Therapist: My Boyfriend Won’t Let Me Have Male Friends
He’s been cheated on before, and he gets very anxious that I will want to be with someone else.
Dear Therapist: My Daughter Doesn’t Care That I Want Her to Live Closer to Home
I don’t think she truly understands the impact that seeing her only once or twice a year is having on us.
Dear Therapist: My Father and Grandmother Haven’t Spoken in 30 Years
I’d like to meet her before she dies, but I’m worried he would see my fraternizing with her as a betrayal.
Dear Therapist: My Boyfriend Had an Affair and Now We’re Stuck at Home Together
He told me he was going out for errands, but he was really meeting with her in a parking lot.
Dear Therapist: I Staked My Identity on Attending an Ivy League School
I’m trying to accept that the school I’m going to is where I am meant to be, but I feel like my accomplishments mean nothing now.
Dear Therapist: The Pandemic Has Changed My Relationship With My Therapist
I don’t want to burden him with my feelings when he’s going through the exact same thing.
Dear Therapist: My Husband Thinks Social-Distancing Measures Are Too Extreme
He’s being way too lax about things, and whenever we try to talk about it, we have a fight.
Dear Therapist: I’m Growing Exhausted Dealing With My Sister’s Anxiety
How can I balance her need for support with my own need for boundaries?
Dear Therapist: I’m Losing Patience With My Boyfriend in Quarantine
I used to daydream about spending more time with him, but now his habits are starting to get on my nerves.
Dear Therapist: What’s Your Advice to Parents Whose Kids Are Stuck at Home During the Coronavirus Lockdowns?
I’m making sure that our kids exercise, have a schedule, spend time outside each day, and try to maintain as normal a life as possible. What more can I do?
Dear Therapist Writes to Herself in Her Grief
My father died, there’s a pandemic, and I’m overcome by my feeling of loss.
Dear Therapist: My Best Friend’s Wife Cheated on Him
I don’t want to be cruel to her, but I cannot be her friend.
Dear Therapist: If My Sister Won’t Leave Her Awful Boyfriend, I’m Done With Her
My sister is beautiful, talented, and successful, and I don’t understand why she’s wasting her time with this guy.
Dear Therapist: My Husband Accidentally Caused the Death of Our Family’s Dog
My son blames his father and won’t speak to him, but my husband is making matters worse by not apologizing.
Dear Therapist: I’m Considering Leaving My Wife for My Co-worker
Should I work on my marriage or leave to make myself happy?
Dear Therapist: My Mom Ruined My Finances and Won’t Apologize
Over the years, she opened several credit cards in my name and now owes more than $10,000. Whenever I ask her to pay it back, she gets defensive and blames me.
Dear Therapist: My Boyfriend Has an Engagement Ring Meant for Someone Else
I’m worried that he hasn’t completely moved on and that this will hurt our future together.
Dear Therapist: My Son Makes My New Husband Feel Alienated in Our Family
My husband feels disrespected and unloved, and I don’t know how to bring harmony back to our family.
Dear Therapist: My Roommate Is Cheating on Her Boyfriend With Me
She wants to have a casual relationship with me while staying with him and I’m afraid to leave her.
Dear Therapist: I Can’t Stand My Sister-in-Law
Everything about her rubs me the wrong way.
Dear Therapist: I Survived Cancer, but Now I’m Afraid My Husband Resents Me
He regrets retiring early to take care of me when I was diagnosed.
Dear Therapist: I Cut My Volatile Brother Out of My Life. But My Parents Haven’t.
I haven’t spoken to him in months and I’m angry that my parents continue to maintain a relationship with him.
Dear Therapist: My Mother Wants Me to Cut My Fiancé Out of My Daughter’s Life
I’m happy with the way my fiancé and I are raising my daughter, but my mother isn’t.
Dear Therapist: My Son Is Angry About the Way He Was Treated Last Christmas
He returned home a year ago feeling sad and anxious. We tried to be supportive, but he felt slighted and he’s not over it.
Dear Therapist: My Girlfriend and I Are at a Crossroads in Our Relationship
She wants to start a family now, but I don’t want to make a decision based on her biological timeline.
Dear Therapist: I Will Probably Take the Secret of My Sexuality to the Grave
I’ve gone through life pretending, and my heart aches.
Dear Therapist: My Dad Expects Me to Spend Thanksgiving With His New Family
My parents recently divorced, and I’m not ready to spend the holiday with new people.
Dear Therapist: My Daughter Moved Back Home and Treats Me Like a Roommate
She’s been bringing a steady stream of men back to my house, and her behavior is testing my patience.