Q. My wife is giving me a fight. She will not allow me to visit my son without supervision. I was in the United States (US) and was deported for overstaying my time. I was there for 10 years. Now I am home and trying to get my act together, but she says that I abandoned them and they have done quite well without me. I am not asking for anything but to see my son alone. I do not want any police or legal trouble, as I am trying to go back to the US. Please, help me!

A. I am happy that you are in touch with your son. It seems that your wife is still angry that you did not maintain contact with the family. If she is a member of a church, ask her if she will go to speak with the pastor or a counsellor to deal with the unresolved issues you both have. There will have to be some resolution between the both of you before your wife will allow certain things to happen. Keep regular contact with your son while you are here, and remember to maintain this contact when you next go away.

Q. Can prison really rehabilitate people? My son is now out of prison for serving time for serious stealing. He was 20 years old and is now 26. I am not sure that he has changed. He is very moody and unsure of what he wants to do. Will counselling help him?

A. Your son has had an experience, that of being locked up. That will affect him for the rest of his life. I recommend that you do get him into counselling to help him cope with what occurred, and to help him adjust to the world he has now come into. Get him into a programme, whether skills training or academic, as it is important that he becomes productive. He is less likely to get in trouble if he is busy being productive.

Q. I read somewhere that if you write down five positive things each day, that is, things you are grateful or thankful for, it can make you less depressed. Is this true?

A. Many people have found this to be a good thing to do, and research has found that it is very helpful to people, especially those who tend to think negatively. I encourage all readers to try this exercise of listing five things that they are thankful for daily, and let us know if this has been positive for them.

Orlean Brown-Earle, PhD, is a child psychologist and family therapist. Dr Brown-Earle works with children with learning and behaviour problems throughout the island and in the Caribbean. Email questions to helpline@gleanerjm.com or send to Ask the Doc, c/o The Gleaner Company, 7 North Street, Kingston.