Q: I am suffering from a problem I will call a “bad habit.” Whenever I go to a shopping mall, I try to steal something. I have actually stolen some things. I know this is wrong, but I cannot seem to control myself. It’s a real problem, and I don’t like it. So please tell [...]

Q: My daughter is a freshman at our local college and currently living in a student apartment. Up until last year she had never been in serious trouble of any kind, but she met a boy who was not in the same intellectual circle as she, and things went downhill from there. During her last [...]

Q: I am a single dad with two children. It wasn’t always that way, but their mother simply can’t deal with them. She only has them 4 days per month but still seems to have difficulty handling them because they stress her out so much. I started seeing the children’s mother 12 years ago. We [...]

Q: I have been dating my boyfriend for almost 5 years, but our relationship has been rocky because of his brother, who has some serious mental issues. I actually met my boyfriend’s brother, who we will call “Bill”, while working in a bar. He became a regular customer, and I knew that he wanted more [...]

Q: My 12-year-old son began having panic attacks about eight weeks ago. He said he could not breath, so we took him to a pediatrician who checked out his breathing and said that he felt that he was having anxiety and put him on 25 mg of Zoloft. A few weeks went by, and he [...]

Q: My husband is addicted to painkillers. He says he takes them because his back hurts. But I know the real reason he keeps taking them is to get high. I know this because I have confronted him about his use, and he keeps promising me that he will quit. I have found his pills [...]

Q: My husband had a “nervous breakdown” a few months ago. It started with his becoming withdrawn and suspicious about what others were saying about him. At the time, he was finishing up his degree and trying to get a job. In the end, however, he couldn’t find work. He has always been quiet and [...]