Ask the Therapist

Dear Therapist | The Atlantic

• Dear Therapist: How Do I Deal With My Hostile Sister?
  My boyfriend is uncomfortable around her, but my mom wants him to come for the holidays.
• Dear Therapist: No One Wants to Host My In-Laws for the Holidays
  My husband’s parents are divorcing, and they are worried about being alone.
• Dear Therapist: I’m Worried About My Brother
  His wife’s behavior has made him a shell of his former self.
• Dear Therapist: I Ran Into the Man Who Raped Me
  The assault was seven years ago. Should I expose him now?
• Dear Therapist: My Relatives Don’t Believe My Parents Were Abusive
  How do I maintain a relationship with my extended family without feeling so unheard?
• Dear Therapist: I Inherited Unwanted Family Secrets
  I didn’t ask to be the custodian of their guilt and shame.
• Dear Therapist: I’m the Golden Child, and My Siblings Resent Me for It
  I never asked for this role.
• Dear Therapist: A Son I Didn’t Know Existed Just Found Me
  And my wife is very upset about me reconnecting with his mother.
• Dear Therapist: I Flipped Out at My Brother, and I Regret It
  How can I apologize to him, but also explain that he makes me feel small?
• Dear Therapist: I Don’t Want to Take Care of My Aging, Homophobic Parents
  What do I owe them if they caused me pain growing up?
• Dear Therapist: I Miss Having Sex
  I’m a 70-year-old widow, and I don’t know how to get my needs met.
• Dear Therapist: My Daughter Tried to Confront My Ex-husband’s New Wife
  Now he has cut her off and expects an apology.
• Dear Therapist: I Don’t Want to See My Mom This Christmas
  She ruins the day, but guilt-trips me when I try to opt out.
• Dear Therapist: I Cannot Support My Mother’s Marriage
  Her soon-to-be husband abused her and traumatized me.
• Dear Therapist: My Mother Is Rewarding My Brother’s Bad Behavior
  I feel like she’s ignoring his mistakes by leaving him a substantial inheritance.
• Dear Therapist: I Feel Tremendously Guilty for Not Taking Care of My Aging, Alcoholic Mother
  Distancing myself from her was heart-wrenching. It was also the healthiest choice.
• Dear Therapist: My Husband Had a Relationship With His Best Friend
  The man he says is “like a brother” to him turns out to have been more than that.
• Dear Therapist: I’ve Been Dumped by My Friends
  I thought our shared history would keep us close, but it hasn’t.
• Dear Therapist: How Can I Get My Stepdaughter to Dump Her Dead-End Boyfriend?
  He doesn’t seem willing to commit, and she needs to move on.
• Dear Therapist: I Won’t Marry Someone With a Mountain of Debt
  After learning the full scope of my boyfriend’s finances, I don’t know if I should continue the relationship.