Thoughts of a Therapist
Getting Teens to Exercise: What Deters Them & How Parents Can Directly Help
With their rigorous schedules, teens experience sleep deprivation and rarely if ever get the eight to ten hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation. They are also prone to gain weight due to the sleep deprivation, a surge in hormones and an increase in...
10 Tips for Living Your Best Life
I’m constantly reminded in my personal and professional life how precarious life can be. Things can change on a dime and life the way we know it can transform into something wonderful or something horrific. Over the past week, a patient I’m working with was awarded a...
Why Has Halloween Become the Most Anxiety Provoking Holiday for Teens?
From as early as September, I became flooded with adolescents and teens expressing worry and fear regarding Halloween drawing closer. I surveyed 45 teens regarding their experience during Halloween. My research enabled me to better understand the social considerations...
A Family Mission to Africa: Passing Down Life Lessons to Our Children
At age 13, for our children’s coming of age ritual in our faith, they are presented with the opportunity to participate in a community service project. This mission to Kenya, is the second one for us to Africa. The first took place two years ago in Uganda with my...
When Does Teasing Within Families Go Too Far?
12 Tips for Keeping the Peace. Sometimes in families it is hard to decipher when teasing is playful or crosses the line. On the one hand it promotes joyful laughter, on the other hand, it can cause discomfort and could create a hostile environment. Every family has a...
Feeling Orphaned: What to Do When Parents Don’t Meet Your Emotional Needs
The societal belief is that children and parents should accept each other for who they are “no matter what”, should forgive each other “no matter what”, and should learn to get along “no matter what.” For some children this is impossible because they find themselves...
