Articles written by Melinda Clayton

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About me - Melinda Clayton

My many years as a psychotherapist have given me a unique perspective on human behaviors and interactions, and I like to explore that in my writing. Relationships, mental health issues, and educational topics are all areas in which I'm able to share my knowledge

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Hobbies & Games > Video Games (Other) Does violence in video games contribute to real life violence?: 3 of 167

As a psychotherapist, I've spent many years working with children with issues related to violence. When one is working with violent children, there are so many factors involved that to assume that violent video games create violent children is to grossly misunderstand the issues. It isn't one factor alone that creates violen...
Religion & Spirituality > Self-Awareness & Realization Reflections: Living every day with passion: 5 of 198

"I'm just not passionate about anything," said my friend during yet another late night phone call. After reassuring my friend and hanging up, I thought about that word. Passion. What, exactly, is passion? What do we mean when we say we want to feel passion? Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1985) has many different ...
Relationships & Family > Family Life Thoughts on what mealtime represents for families: 2 of 69

The positive benefits of sharing family mealtimes together are numerous. When we overlook this simple activity, our children miss out on many opportunities for not only sharing and learning, but also for building valuable skills. I recently attended a school-sponsored workshop on building family connections. The keynote spea...
Celebrations & Holidays > New Year's How to make healthy (and successful) New Year's resolutions: 3 of 78

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to tackle all those bad habits we've developed over the course of the year. Unfortunately, although many of us make our New Year's resolutions with determination and excitement, we all too often find that within a few months we've somehow lost our way. As a psychotherapist who ...
Business > Entrepreneurship Write a business plan over lunch: 1 of 24

Stressful economic times often lead to an increase in small and self-owned businesses. As individuals seek to regain control of their own career paths in the wake of corporate bankruptcies and layoffs, self-employment can be one strategy for doing so. In order to ensure success, however, it's imperative that the business be ...
Sciences > Sociology Is political ideology used to manipulate the masses?: 1 of 23

Throughout history, political ideology has been used by all cultures to manipulate the belief systems of the citizens of that culture. For example, in war, each side is taught that its cause is the just one, and that the cause of the other side is unjust. The ideology known as American Exceptionalism has influenced the belie...
Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: Love & Alzheimer's disease: 1 of 21

Newly married at the age of 25, my husband and I quickly discovered the difficulties encountered when love meets Alzheimer's disease. Within weeks of our marriage, we found ourselves the unwitting caretakers of my 83-year-old grandmother. I'd always been close to my grandmother, both emotionally and geographically, so we wer...
Parenting & Pregnancy > Child Discipline Strategies Setting the limits between child discipline and abuse: 1 of 18

Setting the limit between child discipline and abuse is easy if we understand the meaning of both. Our role as parents is to teach, guide, and instruct our child in such a way as to ensure a healthy, positive transition into adulthood. In order to do this, we have to strike a balance. We can be neither too lenient not too ri...
Education > College Courses & Majors Testimonies: The diary of an adult university student: 1 of 16

As an older student returning to further my education, I had quite a role model to follow. He was in his thirties when he finally felt ready for college. By that time, he'd been married for 13 years and had four children to feed. Having barely finished high school, completed a stint in the navy, and worked a variety of decen...
Health & Fitness > Therapy & Counseling How to get help when suffering with SAD (seasonal affective disorder): 1 of 14

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, as it's so aptly called, affects thousands of Americans each year, particularly during the winter months. Sometimes referred to as "winter blues," SAD typically begins in the late fall, lasting through the winter and then fading away in spring and summer months. Summer-onset SAD, a much l...