The holiday season can be such a magical time of year in Birmingham, Alabama. There are trips to the Birmingham Zoo to see the Christmas lights or going to the Alabama Theatre to watch the Nutcracker Ballet. There are plenty of opportunities to see Santa Claus, look at neighborhood Christmas lights, or visit a parade in the areas of Homewood, Vestavia Hills, and Mountain Brook. There are also the traditions at home of putting up the tree and decorations, making gingerbread houses, baking cookies, watching movies, and drinking hot chocolate.

Deciding if therapy is the best path for your teenager can be difficult. Once the decision is made it can be even more difficult to find a teen therapist in Birmingham, Alabama. After searching the internet, asking friends and family for recommendations, or getting referrals from your own therapist, you have finally found someone you think your teen may feel comfortable with. Now you are left with a lot of questions, one of which might be, what are the “right” questions to ask? Here are some common questions our teen therapists often get asked.

Being welcomed, heard, and valued are just some of the many things you and your teen can expect when working with our clinicians at Sparrow Counseling, but this is where we start. So, are you ready to start? Teen, are you tired of feeling stuck? Are you ready to start pursuing the change that you have been longing for but not yet attained? Are you willing to invest in yourself through this journey? Parents, are you willing to invest in this journey with your teen? Investing your time, energy, resources, and support to their health and attainment of their goals?

At Sparrow Counseling, located in Birmingham, AL, we often get questions from parents who have made the decision to move forward with divorce regarding telling their children. We want to make that easier by providing the 5 W's of telling your children about your divorce.

 Perspective in our circumstances is everything, especially in coparenting.  For the custodial and non-custodial parent each position comes with its unique challenges and often times we can only see our perspective.  However, having knowledge of the other's perspective can help change our perspective.

The temptation in coparenting is to believe that the grass is always greener on the other side and all the crap is in YOUR part of the pasture. The reality is that coparenting is hard on either side of the fence as a custodial or non-custodial parent.  A custodial parent has the most physical time with the child and cares for the child in regard to the day-to-day decisions.  A non-custodial parent is one who does not have primary physical custody but can still have legal rights and should play an important part in their life.