On the 6 o'clock news!

Dr. Drew talks about the benefits of premarital counseling!

Check it out: Click here to watch the news clip.

Or cut and paste this link into your browser: http://charlotte.news14.com/content/local_news/triangle/627133/gaston-co--sends-proposal-to-ga-for-waiting-period-before-marriage

The cost of raising a child

I was watching Nightly News with Brian Williams last night and he reported that the cost of raising a child born in 2009 until 17 years of age is $222,360 for a middle-income family. Whoa, that's a lot of cash!!

I posted this statistic on a social networking site and instantly it formed a lengthy discussion between myself and many of my friends. There were various opinions varying from "...it's a lot more..." to "...no way." Well, which one is accurate? To get a better understanding, I found the online story.

It seems that no matter how you cut it, children are expensive to raise.

Perspective

When was the last time that you took a step back and looked at your life from a different perspective?

For me, it was today. As I was emailing a very good friend of mine, I realized something about myself that should have already been part of my awareness, but wasn't.

For the past month or so I have been working non-stop; whether it was for work or family, there was something that kept me engaged and busy. This past weekend I felt subtle signs of guilt for sleeping in. Even this morning as I was driving to the office, I felt guilt for not wanting to be productive or motivated.

Therapy increases happiness

Does money increase happiness? Various research sources support that money does increase happiness and other research sources say slightly different. You make the call.

In the latest AAMFT newsletter, an article was sent out that states that research found that therapy is 32 times more cost effective at increasing happiness than money. Wow, really?! Then why aren't we all in therapy instead of waiting for the next windfall?

Years in the making

Drum roll, please! We are pleased to announce Integrity Family Therapy, PLLC to the Charlotte scene. Let me introduce ourselves...I am Dr. Faith Drew and my partner and spouse is Dr. George W. Bitar. We are marriage and family therapists. Starting a private practice (on-the-side) has been a dream of ours for many years. Throughout the years we've talked about how we would start it, what we want it to look like, and why we want to do it. Well, the time has come to jump in and follow our dream!