Many people have shared their perspectives on the terrible anit-Semitic attack that occurred just over a year ago on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to the profound loss and grief, as well as the experience of trauma for the survivors, thoughts about anti-Semitism and its…
A Psychological Glitch on the National Stage
Last week, one of President Trump’s lawyers for the impeachment trial, Jay Sekulow, reacted to something that, at first, was confusing for viewers because no one was quite sure to what he was responding. During his presentation to the Senate, Dr. Sekulow issued a strong chastisement of a phrase he heard one of the House…
The three-tiered approach to managing conflict for couples, Part I: Stay in your lane
One of the most commons questions I receive as a psychologist is how to manage conflict between two partners in a relationship, and how one partner can communicate with the other partner in moments of tension. However, before considering how one should communicate in conflict–a topic discussed by many psychologists and therapists–people first need to…
Drug-testing whack-a-mole
Over the past couple years, and especially with the growing popularity of vaping devices, concerns about yeshiva students and substance abuse has become and increasingly prevalent challenge. In particular, as marijuana has been legalized or decriminalized in many states across the USA and addictive prescription medications continue to be abundant, access and addiction to the…
Sharing your trauma
Last week, I had an experience that taught me a great deal about dealing with trauma. Almost by complete coincidence, I went to a neighbor’s home, where I had not yet been before, at around 11 pm. I walked in to find a crowd of about 12 older Israeli men, none of whom I’d met…
“Do I have to?”
If I had to choose one word that drives many of the mental health challenges that we experience, it would be “avoidance.” Understandably, we all want to avoid difficult thoughts, emotions, or experiences, and all of us at some point do things so that we can get out of those psychologically tough situations. I think…
Who’s the boss?
As the executive of a small business or non-profit organization, it is your job to find areas that need improvement, and figure out how to do things differently to increase performance. Many times, achieving that improvement requires other employees to implement your ideas. And if you’re the boss, you may be thinking “How hard can…
Nobody said it was easy…
My wife and I have moved 8 times in our marriage, so we became pretty familiar with what it took to move to a new city. Checking out homes or apartments, learning where to shop for groceries, getting new insurance, finding schools for our children, making new friends–all of these take time and energy, and…
Dr. Ethan Eisen 