I recently went to Hershey Park with my wife and 5 year old daughter. It was a beautiful mid-October day, temps in the mid 70’s, lovely breeze, and the park was packed. It was probably their busiest day of the year. The weather was perfect. I should not be surprised that people like to do things outside when the weather ...READ MORE »
Each month I do a “Mental Health Monday” Q&A on social media, and each month some version of this question comes up: “How am I supposed to handle the sadness/fear/anger about the [insert most recent horrible current events] going on in the world around me?” Honestly, I feel this way too sometimes. The news is pretty grim these days. And ...READ MORE »
As a psychotherapist in Washington, DC who works mostly with adolescent girls, women in their 20s/30s and perinatal women, many of my sessions have been focused on Roe v. Wade being overturned. After the ruling came out, I went to get coffee near my house in Northwest DC. I overheard many conversations focused on the ruling. Most conversations expressed dismay but ...READ MORE »
I feel helpless and heartbroken watching the news about the latest school shooting. I watch from the living room of our home in a quiet suburb in Virginia, where we moved last year after multiple shootings in the alleyway of our beloved rowhouse in NW DC traumatized us into searching for a safer place to live. A place where we ...READ MORE »
Over the past 15 years that I’ve been providing therapy to teens and families in the Washington, DC area, the topic of psychiatric medication has come up frequently. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I don’t prescribe medication and I always recommend discussing questions and concerns with your primary care doctor or psychiatrist; but often I find that I have ...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 »
In my first entry of “Anxiety in Grief”, I explored the idea that anxiety is a common experience within the grief process. This concept is presented and discussed in the book Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief, by Claire Bidwell Smith. As a child and adult therapist in Washington, DC, I have experienced anxiety as a part of grief in ...READ MORE »
Have you found yourself wondering lately why you are still so anxious? With the pandemic subsiding some, do you worry about why you don’t feel better yet? Have you felt some of these symptoms below recently? A sense of panic Heart racing/palpitating Obsessive worry Dizziness Insomnia Nausea/Unsettled stomach This is what grief looks like for those of us thriving and surviving in the midst of so much worldwide! ...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 »
February is Feelings Month! And, I officially give each and every one of you full permission to feel….or rather Dr. Marc Brackett does, in his very well done book, Permission to Feel: The Power of Emotional Intelligence to Achieve Well-Being and Success. Dr. Brackett has learned from his own personal trauma and 25 years of professional experience that feeling ...READ MORE »
