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All in the Family

Every problem has a context, and to solve a problem we often have to work on the context.
—Archibald Hart

Until she turned fifty, Marjorie had been an "ideal" housewife and mother. She had without complaint sacrificed her needs to move with her husband to the country so he could set up shop as a lawyer in a small town. She had raised a daughter to the conservative standards of their town. She was faithful in attendance at church and the women's group and regularly volunteered for Sunday school duty.

When she turned fifty, though, she began to wonder if life wasn't passing her by. She became lethargic. She thought her life dull and meaningless and without hope. She became severely depressed. She talked of suicide.

That's when she came to see me. She remained depressed until her 17-year-old daughter began dating, weekly going out drinking and dancing in a nearby city.

Suddenly the mother came out of her depression: she started dressing like a teenager and mimicking her daughter—much to her daughter's ...

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March
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