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What is indirect communication, and what does it look like? Indirect communication is a way of suggesting or hinting at what one really wants or needs via body language, tone of voice, and/or gestures. This form of communication can lead to feeling misunderstood and unappreciated in any relationship, and the negative effects are experienced both…

I have dealt with anxiety since I was a teenager. It came with puberty and the curse of being self-aware and insecure all at the same time. Eventually it developed into panic attacks and breathing into brown paper bags. Then it disappeared for a while and came back when I moved away from my family…

It is not uncommon for children to experience a little back-to-school anxiety. Summer break is coming to an end, the seasons are about to change, and a new year of school is ahead of them. The first couple weeks of school their teachers are going over syllabi and setting expectations for the year, which can…

Starting college was one of the most exciting and terrifying phases of my life thus far. You’re worried about making friends, whether or not you’ll get along with your roommate, and if you’re going to be able to keep up with the casework. You’re looking forward to the more flexible schedule, but anxious about having…

I have an entire shelf at home dedicated to those journals filled with prompts thought-provoking questions. We can learn so much about ourselves by reflecting on our past. When we reflect we’re helping our brain categorize and synthesize all the data and information it’s being filled with daily. We’re allowing our mind the opportunity to…

It’s summertime when everyone’s schedules get a bit mixed up for two months, only to settle back into a routine for a 9-10 month stretch during the academic year. For the last decade, I’ve worked with parents and families who reflected that the summer chaos made committing to therapy and appointments nearly impossible. Believe me,…

Most therapists will agree that there’s usually a “summer lull” no matter what population we’re working with. There are many reasons why people tend not to continue therapy or start therapy in the summer. The suns out, the pools are open, vacations are planned, summer camps are booked, etc., etc. We can find a million…

Let’s be real, parenting doesn’t always look as glorious as the above photo portrays. There’s a lot more yelling on your part, a lot more defiance on their part, and more times you probably want to pull your hair out than you’d like to admit. You find yourself thinking, or saying, “WHY AREN’T YOU LISTENING…

Whenever I ask teens or adults I’m working with what their long-term goal is for therapy, aka, what they want to be different 6 months from now, the answer I usually get is, “I want to get rid of my anxiety,” without hesitation and very matter-of-factly. I get it, I mean, if I could wave…