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 »
As a child and teen therapist in Washington DC, I am frequently talking with parents about how to manage screen time. In my work providing individual psychotherapy to children/teens and family counseling, I don’t use a ‘one size fits all’ approach–every child and family has different needs and benefits from individualized interventions and strategies. While creating a media plan that’s ...READ MORE »
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how even positive events in our life create stress. As a mom, I’ve noticed the positive growth of my children over the summer. My middle child learned to ride a bike and dive off of the diving board. My youngest mastered basketball and baseball camps as one of the younger players. My oldest has grown ...READ MORE »
