Request An Appointment

Stress & Emotions

Cool, Calm, and Collected… or Not: Anxiety Red Flags in Children
October 31, 2014

As a play therapist, one of the main things I look for is what children are showing me, not what they are telling me. Children under the age of 10 (and sometimes older), struggle to verbalize what bothers them or what...

The Cost of Not Caring  
October 10, 2014

As my wife Cathy and I are on our final descent into San Francisco, I cannot help but feel the irony of seeing the Golden Gate Bridge off the right side of our plane and knowing that it is...

Stuck On Wide Open: The Hidden Dangers of Emotional Dysregulation
May 2, 2012

Emotional regulation, or the ability to manage one’s emotions, is perhaps the most dramatically visible and the prototypical feature of human personality. Many people appear to be mostly in command of their emotions at critical moments, while others appear...

Help, my teenager is driving me crazy!
February 7, 2012

Adolescence is a transitional period in the human life span, linking childhood and adulthood. Numerous changes are happening between 12 and 18 years of age. Sometimes these changes begin as early as 10 years old. Often competent parents who...

Rich Nutrition Linked to Poorer Mental Health
October 25, 2011

Can what we eat influence our mental health and contribute to the onset or worsening of such disorders as depression, anxiety and other mood disorders?  There is increasing evidence that this could be the case, and that the richest...

I’m Bored: Does This Mean I’m Stressed?
February 16, 2011

Boredom, like pain, is an entirely subjective experience mediated by personality, needs, wants, past history and contingent upon one’s perceptions of the experience, and thus very difficult to describe with precision and quantify. The state of boredom has been...

All Arguments are not Created Equal
February 9, 2011

Arguments happen in all marriages, in fact they are necessary.  Conflicts  may arise because of  financial stresses, parenting issues and misunderstandings. Couples must face these daily disagreements in order to operate and function effectively.  However, there are forms of negativity in arguments that have been...

How Good Arguments Are Good For Your Health and Can Save Your Marriage
January 26, 2011

What makes a good marriage last? According to the best evidence provided by case studies and well-documented research (most prominent that of Dr. John Gottman), the best chances of success are within marriages where the spouses can provide a...

Understanding and Treating PTSD
December 29, 2010

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), regardless of its cause, takes a heavier toll than it is widely known on the mind and behavior of its victims. PTSD sufferers feel, think and behave as in a state of prolonged, and for...

Of Stress and the Mind
December 9, 2010

The way we perceive a situation, and decide whether it is positive or negative, is an active, continuing process of appraisal of the risks, costs, and likely gains of our possible responses. Three individuals may be stuck in traffic...