I only lived with my father till age 5. The only memories I have are going to fun parties with him. One memory that stuck for me was when I had an earache, and he held me in his arms and blew warm air in my ears to ease the pain. After my parent’s divorce, I saw him for visitations at times and never really had him in my life as a role of a father. I remember allowing myself to get mad at him after he passed away, followed by forgiving him for not being the father I expected. Then I got to learn about who he was as a man through the eyes of others who knew him: a great, brilliant man with a great heart and good sense of humor.
I was very aware of how much not him in my life having had affected me in choosing mates, feeling confident, knowing that I had someone to back me up, and many other areas of my life. So, I know how important the role of fathers is in the life of their children.
To all the fathers, I wish for you to know the gift that you are to your children. Use your gift wisely.
Your caring, nurturance, strength, wisdom, playtime, reading time, and cuddle time are all gifts.
To all the stepfathers and the ones that are not officially a father but took on the role regardless, and for all the men who are great mentors, coaches, teachers, and therapists, know that every act of kindness you have done has impacted another human being in the most profound way. Your legacy is within your actions in moving someone’s heart.
Dr. Foojan Zeine is an International Speaker, Author, Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor, and successful Life and Executive Coach. She has her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. She sees her clients online and at her San Clemente, California office. Her expertise is in Intimate Relations and Addictive Behaviors. She has extensive experience treating Depression, Anxiety, Traumas, and Domestic Violence. She is a lecturer at the California State University – Long Beach.
Foojan is the originator and the author of “Awareness Integration” Psychological and Educational Theory, a multi-modality approach and intervention toward minimizing Depression, Anxiety while improving Self Esteem and Self Confidence. She is the author of 6 books, including “Life Reset – The Awareness Integration Path to Create the Life You Want” (Rowman & Littlefield 2017); “Awareness Integration Therapy – Clear the past, Create a new Future, and Live a Fulfilled Life Now.” (Cambridge Scholars 2021); “Intentional Parenting – A Practical Guide to Awareness Integration Theory” (Cambridge Scholars 2022).
She conducts training workshops to educate psychotherapists and teachers on this approach. This method has been researched and published; in “Awareness Integration: A New Therapeutic Model” in International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience, Vol. 16, No. 60-65, pp. ISSN 1522-4821; “Awareness Integration: An Alternative Therapeutic Methodology to Reducing Depression, Anxiety, While Improving Low Self Esteem and Self-Efficacy in Separated or Divorced Individuals” Mental Health in Family Medicine Journal (2017)13:451-458; “Awareness Integration: A Non-Invasive Recovery Methodology in Reducing College Students Anxiety, Depression, and Stress” Journal of Educational Technology, www.tojet.net/special/2017_11_1.pdf 11/2017 special issue 105-114.
Foojan has been in Hospital Administration. She has headed the Partial Hospital Program Team for the Hollywood community of Van Nuys and Pacifica Hospital. She was responsible for organizing, facilitating, and supervising the Clinical and Mental Health staff and created strong and impact complete programs for the Partial Program patients. She has also developed two Transitional Housing Programs for Battered women Alternatives in Northern California and Haven Hills in Southern California. These programs offered case management and individual and family counseling for women and their children who have been victims of domestic violence and had to deal with domestic violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, child abuse, parenting, self-esteem, career development, chemical dependency, and eating disorders.
Foojan is the host of the Inner Voice – a Heartfelt Chat with Dr. Foojan Podcast. She also hosts a television show on Togetherness Media and Tapesh TV. She is a guest speaker at many universities, including Harvard, MIT, UCLA, USC, and UC Santa Barbara. She has been a guest on the Dr. Phil show on CBS and Fox. Foojan is a contributor to YourTango.com, DivorceForce.com, yogajournal.com, Wholelife.com, Reader’s Digest, Men’s Health, and Huffington Post.
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