Have you ever convinced yourself that there is such a thing as being a perfect parent, spouse, co-worker or just plain human and then found yourself falling too short of that mark for your own comfort? Have you ever wanted to ask advice from someone who has been there (or at least somewhere in the vicinity)? If you have enjoyed recent articles in The Polishing Stone by therapist Susanne Wichert, M.A., L.M.H.C, you will be happy to learn that she introduced a regular Q & A advice column with our summer issue 2007 issue.

Susanne's colorfully checkered past includes many years employed as an early childhood educator and social worker. She's the author of a book written for teachers and parents called Keeping the Peace: Practicing Conflict Resolution with Preschoolers. Presently, Susanne continues a twelve-year private practice as a psychotherapist in Monroe, Washington, where she works with children, adults and couples. She balances this with her other career as an artist. She is also lucky enough to be married to the most tolerant man in the universe and is a parental unit to three children, one of whom has special needs.

Susanne welcomes questions on such diverse topics as non-punitive parenting and various family matters such as conflict resolution, stress management, personal values and communication skills. She is also open to sharing her ideas for bringing more creativity and laughter into your own life and the lives of those around you.

Submit a question to Susanne at questions@polishingstone.org
and you will be entered in a quarterly drawing for a free one-year gift subscription to The Polishing Stone. We regret that we can't personally respond to every query. We'll protect your privacy by including your city, state and a question-related "name" such as "Stumped in Seattle." Your inquiries may be edited for clarity and brevity and combined with similar questions. The purpose of this column is to educate and entertain (we hope) and is not meant to take the place of consulting directly with a health care professional.

We look forward to your questions!