It's important to thoroughly vet new suitors especially if in your guts you suspect something askew with your new Romeo's intentions. Is he or isn't he wearing a wedding ring is not enough third party verification of the most basic suitability. As I wrote in an earlier blog entitled,

Parenting is generally evolving as gender-neutral, but the "tender years" assumption -- the consensus that infants should be treated differently than older children in custody disputes -- lingers, even when all other factors are equal in a separation or divorce.

Co-parenting is rough. Putting your own wants and needs side-by-side...

"When a hen starts to crow like a rooster, we take her away to be slaughtered," is a horrific quote from a short story written by Sholem Aleichem over a hundred years ago that inspired one of the most successful Broadway plays and perennial movie favorites, Fiddler on...

"The Boss" in this case is not Bruce Springsteen. It's the household nickname for the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, one of the fathers of the Impressionist Movement. Renoir the film, directed by Gilles Bourdos which opens nationwide on March 29, brings us to his final period set in the south of...

Story is the manna our sense of self feeds on and is nourished by. The Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley's first autobiographical documentary film inspired this discussion between Gary Stewart and me. A staple of Canada's film and television culture, Polley has done strong work as...

Judd Apatow's newest missive This is 40 is a plausible romantic comedy about a married Gen-Ex couple striving to improve their lives. Film critics and acquaintances are equally divided on its cinematic virtues. Dear friend and longtime Apatow fan Gary Stewart and...

Should Cindy follow through with her third divorce in 25 years, she'll be among three percent of other Americans who have married and divorced three or more times. Three years ago, Cindy convinced me that her third foray into matrimony would succeed because her hubby-to-be was "normal." Middle-aged,...

Parenting teens under any circumstances will test your patience. But co-parenting teens who move between two households presents particular challenges. Here are a few practical issues to think about and actual language to use for your co-parenting plan. These suggestions are useful whether a separation or divorce occurs later in...

My hairdresser Erika Schmidt has been getting to know and dare I say perfect my idiosyncratic and defiant curls for the last 20 years. In fact, the photo you see of me here was taken the day after she did my hair. For years my curls were my...

Soreness in the hips is another occupational hazard, a byproduct of sitting for many hours at a time and living in a city with significant traffic-laced drive times. At times like this I am inclined to check in with my friend and yoga instructor, Darlene Vander Hoop, for her opinion...

Darlene Vander Hoop is the friend who brought me to yoga in 1982. She has been teaching three decades of demanding yoga classes in the hot room. We've been talking about her realization these days that people are hungry for something softer and more restorative from their yoga instructors both...

This one I like to do in the office in between patients to clear my head and heart. Hardly a day goes by when I don't look for and do this posture at some point to lift my spirits and switch up my proverbial energy. This posture is taken from...

The winter holidays are arguably the most important season to celebrate and with it comes the greatest potential for emotional meltdown. Everyone wants their fair share of this special time with the children because relaxation and respite from the regular schedule can recharge relationships like nothing else, especially when planned...

What is therapy? As a therapist in Los Angeles, I'm asked this a lot. One patient likened therapy to "emotional vomiting." Another likened it to cleaning out her "junk drawer," another to "connecting the dots" on his life and yet another to a "dress rehearsal."

Kidding aside, may I...

Once you find yourself contemplating the possibility of separation or divorce, conventional wisdom dictates that this is an excellent time to undertake a stint in therapy. What is therapy? As a therapist in Los Angeles, California, I'm asked this a lot.

One patient likened therapy to "emotional vomiting." Another likened...

After the divorce, when the time feels right to start dating again, there are a few things to keep in mind.

What is going on with another person is not always obvious on the surface. Imagine if you could gather information and therefore pay more attention to the depth...

"I Wish" is a touching modern day folk tale created by Hirokazu Kore-eda ("Nobody Knows", "Still Walking"), told from the child-like perspective of two young brothers separated and longing for each other. The movie is built around their innocent hope that their parents will...

Knowing what I do for a living, an acquaintance at the gym, Naomi, told me the following story: A 9-year-old boy she knows with divorced parents -- let's call him Brian -- was asked by his mother to pick up his clothes. He responded, "Why should I? I'm just passing...

Teens are like toddlers on hormones who want and need to separate from you. Parenting them under any circumstances can be tough, but co-parenting teens who move between two households presents particular challenges. The following are a few common issues that face co-parents, and some language you might use when...

More times than I can count, true zingers are relayed to me after someone asks what I do for a living and I say I'm a therapist with a specialty in divorce and co-parenting. This morning was no exception.

A law student in his mid-twenties, call him Dusty, and...