News & Impact

Mitch P.’s demanding job requires long hours and significant travel. Though mild-mannered and congenial during the day, “I undergo a huge transformation once I walk through the door at night,” he admits. “I turn into this big grouch. I turn away from my 2-year-old’s hugs, and I snap when my 4-year-old starts jumping up and down and squealing. I know they’re excited to see me, but sometimes I feel like a gay Archie Bunker. “All I want,” Mitch adds, “are dinner on the table and a little peace and quiet. Of course, I feel guilty about it—and a little scared,… Read More

Aaron, age 4, was a chronic poker, hitter, and biter. His favorite targets: his mother and fellow preschoolers. “My child was beating me up,” said Laura, a domestic abuse survivor. “He saw what his father did to me, and he started to behave the same way.” Aaron’s pediatrician sent the child and his mother to JFCS’ Parents Place program. Its Child Trauma Training Institute trains professionals and also directly assists children who have been exposed to severe stress and significant violence, such as domestic abuse. “The therapist at Parents Place helped Aaron work through his rage at his father and… Read More

“How can our son be so different from us?” asked Marsha, who describes herself and her husband, Ben, as bookish geeks. “Everyone in our family is quiet and reflective,” she said. “It’s as if Jack, our son, landed from another planet.” Energetic, loud, and impulsive, 7-year-old Jack became hard to contain at home, often intimidating his 11-year-old sister. But he was even more challenging at school, where his teachers told Marsha and Ben that they needed to seek help if they wanted him to remain there. “He was acting out constantly,” says Marsha. “We chose Parents Place for help, and… Read More

The first day of school, your son has a tummy ache. You take his temperature, but you already know that what’s really ailing him is another common childhood ailment: school phobia. “Many children experience extreme anxiety when they enter new situations—new schools, teachers, classmates, and academic challenges,” says Mimi Ezray, LCSW, MPH, Coordinator of Children’s Clinical Services at Peninsula Parents Place. “Understand that trying to avoid school is not unusual and there are many effective strategies to help ease and manage their fears,” says Mimi. In addition to offering your children emotional support, reassuring them, and addressing their… Read More

“When did you lose your virginity?” Don’t be surprised if your son or daughter asks you that or another intimate question. “It’s often a sign of a warm, open family dynamic when your children come to you with questions about sex and sexuality,” says John Gusman, LCSW, Marin Parents Place Clinical Director. “The key is to take advantage of the opportunity to have a good conversation. “Many of us,” John continues, “come from families in which our parents would or could not have these conversations with us, so the subject of intimacy continues to be shrouded in embarrassment or shame.… Read More

“He is such a faxxx like i can’t belief his dum stupid shirt. what a xxxx fairy.” Has your child ever received a text like this? If so, he has experienced cyberbullying. “When one child targets another through an electronic device like an iPhone to threaten, humiliate, or torment, he or she has engaged in cyberbullying,” says bullying expert Holly Pedersen, MFT, PhD, Director of the Community Education Center of Parents Place on the Peninsula. “What makes this form of bullying so lethal is that it usually falls under the radar until it’s too late—when the message goes viral. In… Read More