Theravive Home

Monday September 14, 14 year-old Ahmed Mohamed was arrested when school administrators and local police suspected him of having brought a bomb to school. Family Systems Theory provides a unique conceptual framework with which to view Mohamed’s story in an attempt to move toward an objective explanation of events. [More]

A Los Angeles reporter asked Andrew Macias, 4, if he was excited to start pre-school. With a nice polo and combed hair, the young boy hesitantly said “yes” to the reporter. The following question, however, left little Macias in tears, as the reporter asked, “Are you gonna miss you’re mom?” Macias at first says “no,” but the video catches Macias have a moment of realization that his mom would not be with him at pre-school. This led Macias to break into tears as the fear of leaving his mom finally set in. [More]

On August 4, 2015 the streaming video company Netflix, located in Los Gatos, CA, announced a shockingly generous new policy for its employees who become parents: unlimited fully paid leave for mothers and fathers in the first year after the child’s arrival. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this amount of time and leave is “practically unheard of”. (Lang, M.) Employees are now allowed to work as much or as little as they see fit in that first year as they adjust to bringing a new life into their family. This policy is perhaps a logical extension of Netflix’s long-standing vacation policy, which is that employees may take as much vacation as they want, without any records kept. (Lang. M.) [More]

The face of discipline in today’s public school system is changing thanks to Ross Greene, child psychologist and author of The Explosive Child, a book first published in 1998 and currently the number one best seller on Amazon.com under its Special Needs Parenting section, as well as the follow-up book Lost at School. Both Mother Jones Magazine and Business Insider recently published stories about new disciplinary innovations in our schools, while crediting Dr. Greene as its architect. [More]

Moviegoers of all ages can thank Disney’s Pixar Studios for brightening the summer of 2015 with a remarkable film, “Inside Out”. This PG-rated movie not only entertains and inspires, but also offers a fantastical but profoundly useful animation of how our feelings call the shots as our minds make meaning of our lives. Who knew that basic psychological principles could be taught by animating five major emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear? [More]

Angel Soft toilet tissue has posted an interesting and provocative ad for this Father’s Day. The short video features adult men and women thanking their single mothers for fulfilling the role of mother and father. The ad ends by wishing all the mothers a Happy Father’s Day. The sentiment is sweet; grown children acknowledging the difficulty of solo parenting by mothers, and is clearly designed to bring a tear to the eye of the viewer. However, and perhaps predictably, the ad has turned out to be something of a lightning rod for controversy. [More]

It all began in 2009 -2010 when four students and a recent graduate from Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California killed themselves over a seven-month period. In just five years, the tragedy ensued and was followed by another four suicide victims this year. When a recent graduate from Gunn High killed himself on the tracks near East Meadow Drive in Palo Alto, another student ended his life the same way in less than three weeks after. Two and half months later, a senior killed himself followed by another suicide committed by a sophomore from Palo Alto High School (Kapp, 2015). [More]

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar spoke out for the first time on June 4th since reports emerged of their son Joshua molesting five victims, including several of his sisters. It was revealed that the fifth victim was a babysitter for the family (The Kelly File, 2015).Throughout the interview, Megyn Kelly questioned both Jim Bob and Michelle on their thought processes and emotions, as well as a timeline of the events. The Duggar family has been well respected in the conservative Christian community. [More]

Summertime is known to be a time of relaxation, fun, family time, and long and lazy days. It is also a time when children are a little more independent, as they are off with friends, away at camp, on vacations and field trips, and learning and trying new things. Generally speaking, parents are prepared to send children on their adventures. Their backpacks are armed with bug spray, bottled water, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and with extras of everything just in case. But what is often missed is the opportunity to arm them with safety from those who may try to harm them. [More]

Using three dimensional images and statistical analysis, the team has identified a way to discern specific patterns of facial features and structures which may be common to children with ASD. Once children’s faces have been scanned, the measurements of features along the actual curvature of the faces are compared to the various symptoms displayed. The results of this study have indicated correlations within subgroups based on facial traits and the severity and types of ASD. [More]