Some online resources for taking care of yourself and your children as a single parent or co-parent during the holiday season:

http://www.divorcenet.com: Ten Holiday Tips for Divorced Parents

http://www.selfgrowth.com: Developing a Holiday Visitation Schedule That Works!

http://www.cyfc.umn.edu/family/resources: Ten Commandments of Co-Parenting

http://divorcesupport.about.com/cs/survivingdivorce: Tips for Surviving the Holidays and Beyond

http://www.stepfamily.asn.au/family: A Family Christmas After Divorce

The shortening days of winter affect us profoundly. The expectation of happy gatherings in the winter season, bringing together family and friends from far and wide, often misrepresents the reality and experience of many of us. Seasonal depression is an important element of this time of year, and there are many ways we can support our bodies, hearts and spirits if a low mood begins to make itself part of our days. SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, is directly related to the shorter daylight hours and our reduced exposure to the life giving energy of the sun. Read more...

Why should spouses and family members of recovering addicts or alcoholics seek their own recovery? This question has recently come up a number of times in my practice. The scenario comes in a couple of forms. One is that the spouse of a newly recovering addict is sent to me by the treatment center in which her partner was treated because staff there is concerned about the spouse's reluctance to do her own recovery work. The other scenario is that a distant family member or a friend of the family who is more familiar with the disease concept of addiction and how it affects the whole family is concerned about a lopsided healing process within the family and the danger that this poses.
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Through my years of work with divorcing partners I've reached the conclusion that many couples do not share ongoing differences and disappointments, resulting in a polarization of roles and a private escalation of dissatisfaction. An emotional or physical involvement with a third party is a symptom of a relationship in trouble. Sometimes couples are able to see an affair as an "acting out" in an unhappy relationship and begin working within that relationship. Otherwise the affair is often the catalyst that puts a unilateral exit strategy in motion. The belief of the acting out partner is that a new attachment will bring fulfillment of unmet needs.
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A "Calling" is the igniting force of personal determination to seek and realize authentic purpose in life! I recently attended a workshop led by Gregg Levoy. We worked to identify and understand the "Callings" in our lives. Mr. Levoy said, in essence, that the purpose of "Calling" is to summon us away from our daily grinds to a new level of awareness; an Awareness where we are drawn into a sacred frame of mind, into communion with that which is bigger than ourselves.
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Chinn Street Groups:

Separation/Divorce/Transition Group for Women: ongoing weekly support group for women in any stage of separation from a long term relationship. Facilitated by Shonnie Brown, M.A., MFT

Co-Parent Empowerment Group: six week class focusing on shared parenting issues: managing and diffusing anger, de-escalation of conflict and effective communication skills. Facilitated by Shonnie Brown, M.A., MFT

Ongoing Men's Support Group: open to men interested in working on recurrent relationship issues including anger, addiction, communication and parenting. Meets Tuesdays from 6-7:30 PM. Facilitated by Kevin Cooper, MFT

Recovery Support Group for Women: for women who are currently active members of a 12-Step fellowship and who want additional support in dealing with the many issues that can emerge when recovering from addictive patterns in life. Ongoing, Monday evenings 6-7:30PM. Facilitated by Gudrun Zomerland, MFT

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