This post is a valuable resource to parents looking to make changes at home to best support their children while in therapy and beyond. Many of the recommendations that are discussed in this blog are overarching routines and practices that can be beneficial for all children, no matter the current difficulties that they are experiencing. Please keep in mind how valuable it is to have open communication with your child’s therapist, identifying any stressors that may be affecting your household, so that you may receive additional individualized, tailored advice.

Are you worried that your child is too worried? That in and of itself may suggest that scheduling an appointment with a children’s therapist is not a bad idea, but if you are still on the fence please read on. Everyone worries! Research suggests that in part, it’s evolutionary, a function of survival. As our environmental factors have changed in time, so have our reasons for anxiety. Anxiety stems from biological factors, psychological factors such as temperament, and environmental factors. The question is: when does worrying become more harmful than helpful?

A good night’s sleep helps the body and mind recharge; improving mood, increasing one’s ability to concentrate and think clearly. It has been proven to lower anxiety levels, elevate mood, and improve overall functioning. As one can imagine, better relationships are formed due to clear minds and elevated moods. So how is it achieved? Here are some tips that I have found in research and within my experience in working with children and adolescents.

This post is for the parents on the edge, wondering if their child would benefit from therapy and what therapy for children and adolescents even looks like. I hope that this article will answer any questions that you may have, keeping in mind that every child and family is unique and should you need a more personalized conversation, please call our office for a more tailored conversation. 

With the increased access to telehealth services, parents now have more options available to them when looking for a mental health provider to work with their child. Telehealth, however, won’t necessarily be a good fit for everyone.  Within this post I hope to address any questions you may have in determining whether telehealth services will best meet the needs of your child. 

Do you notice your mood goes down when the weather gets colder? Have you ever been told that you were too “sensitive” to feel that way? The truth is, many people (three million people in the U.S.!) experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD). So, it is no joke.

Successful child therapy asks for a mixture of trusting your child to make best use of time within the privacy of sessions, while communicating and collaborating with their therapist to nudge the use of coping skills and behavior changes outside of sessions. It is a unique balance!

This post encapsulates how valuable your role can be within your child’s time in therapy, while also spotlighting the autonomy your child can hold within their own treatment.

As parents, we are accustomed to frequent communication for our children’s teachers. Getting recommendations for how to do our part at home to help them become independent readers, well-practiced musicians, competitive athletes, etc. The same level of communication is important in maximizing your child’s time within therapy as well. They are your world, we know! You are seeking therapeutic services for them because you want to strengthen their emotional well-being, see them achieve their goals, and grow up to be healthy, well-rounded individuals!

Sports tend to be a long-term commitment and a significant commitment of time. Being dedicated to sports can become something that feels like a lifestyle and can shape the way you live your life even outside of practices and competitions. Therefore, adjusting to life after sports can be a significant change and a tough adjustment for many people.

In the counseling world, we’re big on teaching people new coping strategies that they can use to replace old, unhealthy ways of coping or to manage symptoms that are brought on by depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mental health conditions.  Implementing new coping strategies can be quite the challenge, and it’s something that we see often as therapists.  In counseling sessions, we’re often introducing new coping strategies, but we find that these coping strategies are not necessarily getting implemented between sessions. 

Unresolved trauma may be a reason people seek out therapy. Trauma occurs when we experience an unexpected event that is threatening to our survival. Trauma impacts our brain, our nervous system, our body and the myriad ways these parts interact in order to regulate our whole selves.

There are biophysiological reasons for why this not knowing occurs. It is okay and your body is doing what it was designed to do. I will offer a very simplified explanation below as to what happens in the brain and body.

When someone has been impacted by a traumatic experience, they may begin to experience emotions, thoughts, physical sensations, and reactions that were not typical for them prior to the traumatic event.  As a result, people begin to believe that there is something wrong with them.  This is where I like to remind people that they are having normal responses to an unusual circumstance. 

“I hate that I want someone. Can’t I just be ok being alone?, ” a client of mine used to complain about her “being so needy”. In therapy, it was not uncommon to hear people feeling ashamed about needing someone. – In that sense, my client was not alone. Even among mental health practitioners, early training on mental wellness heavily emphasized independence – you are responsible for what you feel, no one else.

“Can he/she just move on?” People sometimes get frustrated about their partner’s unforgiveness. They have to tiptoe around their partner, trying to avoid their raw spots. “Ever since then, she has become super sensitive about my interactions with other women on social media,” said someone who discussed his wife’s “overaction” after he entered into an affair years ago. 

The truth is, without genuine emotional connection between both parties, without corrective emotional response from the injured person, without actions that met the deep needs that have been ignored for so long,  “moving-on” would be extremely hard, if not impossible.

Why is it important to look at the relationship instead of the other person? Because we all carry assumptions, unrealistic expectations, and even baggage from previous relationships. Merely focusing on what our partner has done/said wrong, will result in missing the chance to examine what really gets in the way.

In wedding vows, we promise that we are going to “love”, “cherish”, “support, etc.” our partners through all the ups and downs. It might sound weird to promise “not to use violence” to our partners, probably because people rarely consider themselves capable of getting violent with their significant others.

Although we all dream of a peaceful home, we can shoot word bullets at our loved ones without even noticing. That's why it is crucial to begin by recognizing the bullets.

Have you ever seen groups of seniors practicing Tai chi in the park early in the morning? It has been one of the most nostalgic moments for me ever since I moved to the U.S. three years ago. Tai chi is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits, and meditation. Of course, with its increasing popularity, Tai chi is no longer limited to the Chinese community today.

Someone who watches Tai chi practice for the first time may be shocked by how slow and soft Tai chi looks. That's right. The most powerful principle in Tai chi is called “overcoming hardness with softness.”

How many times have you tripped over your thoughts — I say tripped as if to say they come rushing in one after the other and it can be paralyzing in the moment. The “I’m not good enough…” and the “Why did I say/do/behave that way…” thoughts. The common players.

The inner critic is universal. Every human being depends on other people physically, emotionally, and throughout a lifetime for acceptance and psychological well-being.

手心出汗、心跳加速、大脑中却一片空白……很多人在说外语时都有这些紧张不安的表现。尤其是当你忽然被提问，一瞬间无论怎么搜肠刮肚，也找不到合适的词表达。也许你眼前的人正一脸困惑，而你则感到颜面尽失……

对大多数人来说，用母语交流就像吃饭睡觉一样轻而易举，而相比之下，用外语来沟通，真的更费脑子——除了要费尽心思寻找合适的表达方式，还要克服心理上的焦虑。这个焦虑有个专门的词，叫“外语焦虑”（foreign language anxiety，简称FLA)。

Sweaty hands, racing heartbeat, mind going blank, uneasy, nervous, embarrassed… If you speak English as a second language, the above might not sound unfamiliar to you, especially if you are caught on the spot, struggling to figure out what words to use to save your face. Nevertheless, the person in front of you gets more and more confused…

While speaking one's native language seems so natural and easy, trying to command a foreign language requires extra mental resources — finding the right words and calming foreign language anxiety (FLA).