Perspectives

SCG Staff Articles

Help Me, I’m Trapped!  Boundaries While Social Distancing
Elizabeth Hirata Elizabeth Hirata

Help Me, I’m Trapped! Boundaries While Social Distancing

If you have been social distancing for more than a week, the “snow day” mentality has likely worn off for you—that feeling that we all get when we get a day off for the weather, as if it’s a day out of time, lost to work and given over into fun and adventure.  For the last few weeks, we have been hit with the sobering reality that these days are long and we are not quite sure when they will end. 

For almost everyone, this has strained our coping mechanisms.  While most folks are feeling grateful for their loved ones, those same folks seem to be ready to pull their hair out on occasion, at the seemingly boundaryless environment that social distancing has created.  In the spirit of coming out of these trying days with our familial relationships intact and perhaps even stronger, let’s look at some ways we can observe healthy boundaries while keeping ourselves physically safe:

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Taking Care of your Relationships During a Pandemic
Elizabeth Hirata Elizabeth Hirata

Taking Care of your Relationships During a Pandemic

The COVID-19 Pandemic has taken the world by storm, wreaking havoc on many American families.

The frustration and disappointment of the new “normal” can cause discord in the home.

So, how can we take care of our relationships during these stressful, scary, uncertain times?

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Is There Hope in Substance Abuse?
Elizabeth Hirata Elizabeth Hirata

Is There Hope in Substance Abuse?

In an age when almost twenty-one million Americans suffer from at least one addiction, 500 people die every hour as a result of addiction-related causes, drug overdose deaths have tripled in the last thirty years, and the cost of addiction in America is over $600 billion a year, where do we go for help?

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Managing Screen Time for Children and Teens: A Family Approach
Elizabeth Hirata Elizabeth Hirata

Managing Screen Time for Children and Teens: A Family Approach

John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  The truth is, media and digital devices are not the enemy or the thief. They may be an integral part in living the abundant life that God has for us.

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Elizabeth Hirata Elizabeth Hirata

Let’s Play!

Play is a child's language for expressing joy, anxiety, frustration, fear, and above all, the true experiences of their lives. Play therapy, a tool used by therapists to encourage healing through the symbolic meaning and patterns of the child's play, has been proven to help children overcome a wide variety of behavioral symptoms and emotional difficulties. 

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Discipline and Finding Your Balance as a Parent
Elizabeth Hirata Elizabeth Hirata

Discipline and Finding Your Balance as a Parent

The most effective form of discipline and behavior shaping comes from positive reinforcement. Children should be given rewards, verbal praise and consistent privileges that match their compliance to reinforce the behavior that is desired.

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A Closer Look at Bullies and Their Victims
Elizabeth Hirata Elizabeth Hirata

A Closer Look at Bullies and Their Victims

Despite popular belief, the recent research finds that bullies are no longer traditionally the insecure, self-loathing group of people. Bullies tend to be confident, have high self esteem and have an elevated social status among their peers. Bullies often use their position of power to single out their peers for a variety of reasons.

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