In my work as a therapist serving an almost completely religiously affiliated population, one issue that arises very, very often, is the...

This post originally appeared as a column in the Five Towns Jewish Times: Dear Elisheva, We think we may have an issue with our son and...

This originally appeared as a column in the Five Towns Jewish Times. Dear Elisheva, I can’t decide whether my problem is marital or...

This post is an excerpt from the schmoozeletter of October, 2020. You can subscribe to these here: elishevaliss.com/newsletter Do you...

“I think it was the earrings that were the final straw for me.” The young woman is explaining to me how she went from being a...

Do you have weird feelings about money? A lot of people do. Contrary to popular belief, money is not inherently unspiritual. (Being...

This originally appeared as a column in the Five Towns Jewish Times: Dear Elisheva, I honestly never thought I would be writing a letter...

Adina’s eyes darted around my office, then closed and watered with unsuccessfully repressed shame. She was trying to explain the freshly...

This is a Dear Therapist column, which originally appeared in the Five Towns Jewish Times: Dear Elisheva, This time of year is always...

There's something I've learned in the course of both my work and my spiritual studies has made a profound difference in the way I view...

How do you decide when to start a family? How many kids to have? When to stop having kids? Even if we knew exactly how many kids we hoped...

For anyone who is interested in the facts about the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict, here is a very summarized version, including some...

This post is adapted from my weekly schmoozeletter. When I was a kid, many of our religious teachers were first and second generation...

A few years ago, I was speaking with a high school student who was struggling with her faith. She told me that she’d learned some...

When I was a kid, there was this corny joke that made the rounds in our Jewish schools and camps. It went something like this: Joker: I...

“I was taught that my husband’s purity and holiness are basically my responsibility. As long as we can ‘be together,’ that saves him from...

Have you ever noticed that some people will swear that therapy totally changed their lives for the better, and others will say they’ve...

Have you ever wondered how often people have sex? (I purposely used the nebulously awkward euphemism “be intimate” in the title because...

For so many couples, this is their million-dollar question. Hope for their relationship, for their future, hinges on the answer....

What’s the point of life? People actually google this; we are so desperately seeking meaning and truth. (Sometimes. Sometimes we seek ice...

The more I know, the less I know. Do you relate to this? I sometimes look back at words I wrote with such conviction when I was younger,...

Dearest Client, Well, it’s been quite a year. At this time, we have a custom to take interpersonal stock and make amends. Thank you for...

It’s September, and children everywhere are yanking out their uniforms, knapsacks, paperwork, and supplies, packing up lunches and...

I found that I am, indeed, quite privileged. I was raised by two loving, wise, imperfect, but dedicated parents. I was taught the value...

An essay by: Elisheva Liss Much to my people’s chagrin, we have finally been outed as the nefarious villains that we are. I feel the...

An Infidelity Dilemma The following story was shared with me by an acquaintance who: Is not a therapy client of mine Specifically asked...

What’s the deal with humans as numbers? In my years at college and grad school, I was a pretty good student, but I did fail one course:...

I’ve been thinking a lot about trauma lately. Trauma was always one topic I’ve never claimed to know much about, one presenting issue...

Validation and Motivation: From Tension to Intention When it comes to the self-help messages, I’ve noticed a split between two streams of...

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” – Thomas Paine One of the many ripple effects of the current health crisis, is the challenge...

A Homeschooling Thought For the Homebound at This Time Every year, around this time, I wonder why these two parshas are necessary. As it...

One year, when I went to shul for megila reading, I was a few minutes early, so I stopped to watch the adorable costumed children running...

More Shovevim thoughts on enhancing marital intimacy: Something I have struggled with for a few years now is wanting to create and share...

As many of you know, one of the most important aspects of the work we do with couples and individuals, is treating the results and...

“This time of year is especially hard for me, but it’s actually always like this. I wake up in the morning, and I’m supposed to say...

“I appreciate my Rabbi so much, and I wanted to be inspired by the drasha, but I couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying. All I kept...

“I’m so happy and grateful- his Rebbe said he’s a meyuchad, a lamdan, really something special.” “I just want to do whatever is best for...

Something I've been thinking about for awhile (like years) is how this time of year in the Jewish calendar, the months of Av and Elul,...

“I’m not sure if you’re interested or ready to hear this, but there is something I’d like to suggest, with your permission.” This is...

There are certain memorable moments from sessions past that stay with me in vivid detail. It was a couple’s intake session years ago, and...

“My Principal Wouldn’t Let the Other Girls Talk to Me” A courageous letter from a girl who was deliberately ostracized, to the principal...

When terrible things happen, it’s natural to react intensely. It can be a tremendous challenge to move beyond the event and forward into...

Every year around this time, I wonder if this will be the year I try and “do something about it.” These are the weeks we call Shovevim...

What if my b’show didn’t work? This post will undoubtedly elicit strong reactions from readers on both sides of this issue. I want to...

This will be a short, not-so-sweet, but to-the-point post (bordering on rant). To some, what I’m about to say might be obvious, but to...

There is so much kid-friendly content in this week’s parsha, and such an abbreviated week for studying it, that we often just gloss over...

Have you ever found that happiness sometimes brings fear? That often when we find, receive, or achieve something good, it’s almost like:...

In preparation for Rosh Chodesh Elul, I am deviating from my usual blogging style to share something a bit more personal. The following...

Suicide has been getting a lot of attention in the news lately, due to some high profile cases. Shortly before that, the second season of...