As families experience difficult changes and experiences, children are also experiencing it in their own way. It is important to know that children can come through difficulties such as the death of a loved one, a significant change event , and even trauma in a healthy way if the adults caring for them guide them effectively. As a therapist in ...READ MORE »
Emotions have a bad reputation in our culture. While we are typically comfortable expressing and being around others who are expressing joy, excitement, or a calm demeanor, we see other emotions as unacceptable. We understand that all humans of all ages experience a wide range of emotions, yet we don’t want to see them all, even in our children. Why? ...READ MORE »
I recently spent time on a trip with an old friend who introduced me to Animal Spirit cards, which are basically Tarot cards with animals. I must admit I was skeptical. I thought it might be a fun activity but wouldn’t be particularly meaningful to my life. She asked me to think of a challenge I had been dealing with recently ...READ MORE »
As a family and teen therapist in Washington DC, who often helps parents and teens navigate a better relationship, I’m writing to offer some impressions about how parents can go beyond just policing their teen to parenting them in a manner that feels more effective and more rewarding. We are all afraid of the police. Let’s be honest. An almost ...READ MORE »
Spring is here and the school year is finally winding down. Summer is just around the corner, and for many kids this is a fun time of year – a time to enjoy the nicer weather, look forward to summer vacations, and wrap up a successful academic year. However, for many families, this time of year can be a real ...READ MORE »
As a therapist in Washington DC and nearby Bethesda, who works with divorcing parents, I attended a lecture several years ago presented by Dr. Edward Farber who specializes in this very subject. I had been working with divorced parents for years at this time, yet was pleased to take away a fantastic nugget of information from the class. Dr. Farber ...READ MORE »
As a mom who is raising two daughters and a therapist to teenage girls in Washington, DC, I find myself wanting to advocate for them. In so many ways, we have evolved as a society. We teach little girls that they can be whatever they want. They can be a CEO, a surgeon, an engineer, a scientist, a lawyer. We ...READ MORE »
I’m writing this blog from the perspective of being a professional psychotherapist in Washington DC who works with new moms and who is a mom to two young children as well. Here are my top 10 tips to offer new moms: 10. It’s really, really hard: “Aren’t you so in love with your baby?” “Isn’t this the best thing in the entire ...READ MORE »
Recently, I’ve noticed a trend from social media that is playing out in children’s friendships. As a therapist who facilitates group therapy to aid children in their friendships in the Washington DC area, I have noticed that personalities and stories from certain social media platforms—which are played out in short clips or longer episodes—-are creating social templates for children’s friendships. ...READ MORE »
Having just finished the popular Netflix series from 2017, I’m writing in response to my reactions to the series as a whole. Originally, when the series was aired, I boycotted both the series and Netflix. As a family and adolescent therapist in Washington DC who works with teens in crisis, I was troubled by the dramatization of a completed ...READ MORE »
