I’ve heard time and time again, “but we aren’t about to get divorced, so we don’t need couples therapy.”  Think of couples therapy as exercise. You are not going to exercise only when you get lab results back saying your numbers are bad. You are most likely going to work out as a preventative measure. Sure, some couples come to therapy when they are on the brink of divorce, just like some people start working out when they have a doctor’s appointment go poorly or when something happens in their life (heart attack, etc.).  

As a therapist for teenagers I often get asked how a parent can best support their child while they are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression. With the help of some of my teenage clients, parents, and fellow therapists, I created this list of possible ways parents can support their child who is experiencing anxiety and/or depression.

Hands up if your relationship with your partner has taken a toll over the last few months! You are not alone in feeling like navigating the waters of a global pandemic and relationship turmoil is just plain exhausting. Maybe you are the couple that has been quarantined with your partner more than you would like. Maybe you are feeling the stress of schedule changes, financial hardships, and childcare.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT is a therapeutic approach that aims to challenge and rewrite unhelpful or negative thoughts and behaviors by examining how one thinks (cognitive) and behaves (behavioral). CBT works to instill emotional regulation and coping techniques in individuals in order to solve interpersonal challenges.

Most of the time we function as beasts of empathy. We are geared to take on the emotions of those around us. If you are with someone who is angry, you will tend to take on that anger. If you are around someone who is sad, you will tend to share in their sadness. In the same way, we tend to share in happiness. 

It’s no secret that long-lasting love takes work and determination. Often at the beginning of a relationship, we are smitten with our partners. We might think “no disagreement will ever drive us apart” “or “our love is stronger than any conflict we might face”. Yet, after time passes, an argument here, a disagreement there, we might experience a drifting away from each other – yearning for the closeness we felt at the beginning of our love story.  

According to the National Association of Social Workers, “EBP [evidence-based practice] is a process in which the practitioner combines well-researched interventions with clinical experience, ethics, client preferences, and culture to guide and inform the delivery of treatments and services.”

In the time of COVID-19 it can seem nearly impossible to imagine what the next few months to a year will bring. This can cause some concern around making plans for the future, short or long term. How do we plan for an unpredictable future? The first thing is to accept what we cannot control. COVID-19 has taught us a lot: how to be flexible, how to surrender, and how to prioritize what truly matters. 

No one likes anxiety. It’s uncomfortable, intrusive, and tends to burst in like an uninvited guest. If only we could just make it go away. Buh-bye worries, don’t let the door hit you on the way out! Yeah, if only.

Yep, that’s right. We need to invest in ourselves – we’re our biggest ally, our biggest success, so why wouldn’t we pick ourselves? Oh, wait, society says that’s selfish… Well, ladies and gents, society is wrong. Picking yourself, investing in yourself, is NOT selfish. 

As a couple’s therapist, a goal that is often defined by my clients is to “improve communication.” There are many reasons that communication can be difficult. Communication can be misinterpreted or communication can break down and become ineffective, repetitive and end without resolution. 

Parent Child Interaction Therapy, or PCIT, works because it’s different. While it draws on a variety of therapies and theories (such as play therapy, behavioral parent training, social learning theory, attachment theory), PCIT is unique. It is unique in that you, the caregiver(s), are the one directly interacting with your child for a majority of the session, not the therapist.  

We all have needs. Having our needs  met leads to security. Needs that are unmet can lead to feelings of insecurity. And we all have needs, as much as we sometimes hate to admit it. If someone has had a need met and now is not having that need met, they tend to do whatever is necessary to get themselves to the comfortable place of having that need met again.  

What is self-compassion? According to author, researcher, and teacher, Kristin Neff, Self- Compassion means being kind and understanding when being confronted with personal failings, as opposed to mercilessly judging and criticizing oneself for various inadequacies. 

In my practice with parents I have always used this silly metaphor of weeds in the garden and equated them to attention-seeking behaviors.  Often these behaviors that drive us the most crazy also seem impossible to get rid of. 

As a society, we are navigating a ‘ronacoaster’ of emotions that feel both confusing and exhausting. While all of our journeys are unique, we have each experienced some form of loss this year. So how do we navigate the grief and anxiety that comes with this loss?

Sometimes parenting our children takes a village and a licensed mental health provider. But how do parents know what type of therapy is needed?  Child therapy is based on the developmental age of a child and the reason for seeking therapy.  I am here to share the difference between PCIT and Play Therapy, the two most common therapies for children and adolescents.  Together with the therapist, parents can decide what therapeutic intervention is best.

Anxiety is a part of life and can often be the thing that pushes us beyond our comfortable limits. Think back to the last test you had to take, presentation you had to make, or difficult conversation you had to have with someone. Concerns about doing well leads to an anxious feeling that can drive us to study more, polish that presentation, or rehearse that tough conversation before we confront someone.