I am in the midst of reading a book called, The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why it Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D. I really like it, and especially relate to the content in Chapter 6, entitled “What the Hell: How Feeling Bad Leads to Giving In.” The general premise ...READ MORE »
There’s an old joke that goes, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” and the punchline is, “practice, practice, practice.” Oftentimes, in my work as a therapist for children, adolescents, and their families, the question comes up of “How do I remember to use this in the moment?” And the simple answer, as the above “joke” points out, is practice. Skills ...READ MORE »
Following up from my previous 2 blog posts on Adolescence, I will now talk about the issue of control in parent/adolescent relationships. As our children move through their natural development into adolescence, our ability to influence them lessens, however that does not mean we have no influence. One thing to keep in mind about influence is from Dacher Keltner who is ...READ MORE »
In my previous blog, “Adolesence Part 1,” I talked briefly about what adolescence is. In this blog, I will talk about some strategies to consider that may be helpful in interacting with your adolescent through this tumultuous period. The foundation of everything in regards to the people we care about is our relationship. The Latin word for relationship is necessitudo ...READ MORE »
In my work as a therapist in Washington DC at The Sibley Group and throughout my career, the main population I have worked with are adolescents and their families. This period of life can be very challenging for everyone involved, from the adolescents themselves, to their parents, to school staff and so on. It is not uncommon for me to ...READ MORE »
This past week, with the Uvalde school shooting, has been difficult. Given the context of the shooting in Buffalo not too long before and the SCOTUS leak about Roe V. Wade, there is so much worry in our world right now. If you are a parent, you are likely concerned about how to talk with your children about the school ...READ MORE »
In a previous blog, I talked about how to recognize what we value as a way to reframe and manage stress. In this blog, I would like to talk about how I use my values to get motivated. In my work as a child/teen, and family therapist in Washington DC, I utilize Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help my ...READ MORE »
If you are like me, you may be both appalled and interested about what is happening with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For me, my anxiety over this situation has been through the roof. Being glued to twitter and the news over this has become, for me, akin to perseverating or ruminating over a stressful or anxiety producing situation of my ...READ MORE »
In my work as a psychotherapist in Washington, DC I often use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with my clients. One of the major areas covered in ACT therapy is that of values. At first glance, we may all think we know what values are and that we have them, but we often can’t answer some basic questions about our ...READ MORE »
I recently came across an article entitled, “Dreadful Dads” by John Kaag and Clancy Martin. This article explores how the philosophy of Existentialism can inform modern day parenting. The article is geared toward fathers. As a father and as a therapist who frequently counsels parents on how to best parent their child, this article very much resonated with me. ...READ MORE »
