As exam pressure mounts ahead of the Junior and Leaving Cert next month, parents have been advised to keep calm and shelve their own anxieties. There’s just five weeks to go until around 120,000 schoolchildren will complete their tests all over the country. Family therapist Richard Hogan has told how mums and dads need to…

IRELAND’S first study into college students’ mental health has revealed some very worrying trends. The study, carried out by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), has elucidated some figures that should serve as a serious warning to teachers, parents and policy makers. Our students, the study shows, are struggling with serious mental health conditions…

This week, more than 59,000 students will begin the long nine-month trek to the Leaving Certificate exam, summiting in mid June. For many, this test of endurance and resilience will lead toexhaustion, mental health issues and burnout. But it really doesn’t have to be like that. And as parents, we have to help our children…

It’s that time of year again; the long summer days are numbered, summer’s lease is all too short as she takes her last few breaths. We are now firmly back in the season of lunches, uniforms, books, and following a regimented timetable. Yes, the season of back to school has commenced. Social media is busy…

This has been a very long week for nearly every young adult and their families on this island. Tuesday revealed the results of the Leaving Certificate, and today will reveal whether or not those results have yielded a place in a desired college. So last night was protracted and restless for many families, as they…

The World Health Organisation recently recognised the existence of parental alienation as a condition. The concept of parental alienation was first coined by Dr Richard Gardner in the 1980s, and refers to the behaviour of one parent against another whereby they deliberately estrange a once loved parent from their children during an acrimonious separation. The…

OUR world has changed dramatically. Technology permeates every facet of our lives. Our phones have become an extension of us. And while it is easy to bash technology, we owe it a lot, too. We are now living longer than ever before, because of advances in medicine, and we are venturing further into the universe…

IT’S BEEN another bad few months for free speech. The recent treatment of the author John Boyne on twitter earlier this year illuminated the extent to which free speech is really up against it in today’s world. Such was the virulent and unalloyed attacks on Mr Boyne he decided to remove his twitter account. And…

A topic I find myself discussing a lot in the therapeutic space is that of shouting. Of course, we all raise our voices from time to time when dealing with our children. And I fundamentally believe our children must see that we have teeth and that we can be sharp at times, and as I…

Saying “no” to your child can be a very difficult thing to do, especially when the child in question is demanding and won’t rest until they hear that golden word, “yes”. And often it is easier to acquiesce and give in rather than go through the pantomime of discipline when all involved know you are…