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Joannie DeBrito, Ph.D., LCSW, LMFT

Joannie DeBrito draws from more than 30 years of diverse experience as a parent educator, family life educator, school social worker, administrator, and licensed mental health professional. Joannie is a regular contributor to Focus on the Family.

Young adult woman sitting pensively on couch and staring out the window

Hope For Parents of Prodigal Children

If you’re experiencing the loss of a prodigal son or daughter who isn’t currently in touch with you, you probably feel helpless. Here are some ways to understand a prodigal child and find hope if you have a prodigal child.

Father lifting his joyful son into the air while lying on a bed, capturing how dads parent differently than moms through playful bonding.

Dads Parent Differently Than Moms

Father’s unique contributions to parenting will benefit his children.

depressed self-harming teen

Hope for Self-Harming Teens: Truth From the Bible

Self-harm is an attempt to find relief from emotional distress. Here is what the Bible offers parents to help their kids who are cutting.

Close up of laughing mom being kissed on each cheek by her young son and daughter

Stages of Motherhood

Each mom’s journey through the stages of motherhood will look slightly different. Mothers, overall, tend to handle certain things in each stage of their child’s life in certain ways. Those tendencies can be helpful as we journey through each stage of our child’s life

An elderly person and young child benefit from spending time together

Teaching Children Respect for the Elderly

Sadly, reverence for the elderly is sometimes in short supply in today’s youth-oriented culture but they have the most to contribute.

Post-holiday depression can show up as sadness felt by this woman in a holiday hat as she stares out the window at the rain.

Post-Holiday Depression: Do You Feel Depressed After the Holidays?

After the holidays, do you ever feel not like your self or even depressed? Here are some ideas to help you get back to feeling like your normal self.