Healing Psych

Dr. Katrina Wood's psychotherapy blog

Playing the money game with kids

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So much pressure these days to work harder and longer hours. Meanwhile, the economy continues to ride an unpredictable roller coaster. It's important to pause and look closely at not only how we budget our money but what really, at the end of the day, brings our families pleasure and connection.  So often our kids will come up and say, "Mom (or Dad), can I have 5 bucks for this and that?" … [Read more...]

‘Sometimes’ a great notion

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How often we say the words "always" and "never" when we speak about events or experiences with people in our lives. Quite a lot, right? How many times have you heard someone blurt out, "I will never speak to (this or that person) again," or, "I'll never go to (this or that) restaurant again." Or, "I always go here every year for a vacation," or, "I always get my coffee every morning at this … [Read more...]

From childhood, we remember intimacy

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I was interviewed recently by an Israeli journalist on the topic of childhood memories. Karen Tsuriel's article is reprinted here, in part, with permission: In a conversation from her home in Los Angeles, Dr. Karina Wood said that "most things children remember in their adulthood are not extraordinary events, but mostly the daily simple things that involved love exchanges." "For me, it's the … [Read more...]

Why do we mourn celebrities?

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There are a few celebrities whose lives and deaths touched us in ways that we can't always put into words. Year after year, as the anniversaries of their passings come around, we take a moment to pause, reflect and mourn the loss of such lives.  John Lennon was mourned once again last month on the 30th anniversary of his death -- a day always recalled by radio and the media. Hearing such … [Read more...]

Choosing ‘good enough’ over perfection

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In the 1950s, a wise pediatrician from Great Britain named David Winnicott came up the idea of the "good enough" parent. Having treated children and families for many years, Dr. Winnicott recognized that children do well when a parent does a "good enough" job raising them. What that meant from his perspective was for parents to provide good enough custodian care and good enough emotional … [Read more...]