Insights

5 Effective Ways to Encourage Your Child to Open Up and Communicate

Communication is a vital skill that empowers children to express their thoughts, feelings, and needs effectively. As parents, we play a crucial role in nurturing this skill and creating a safe environment for our children to open up and...

How to Fight Boredom with a Summer Routine

Like many of you, I have been hearing a chorus of “I’m bored” from my school-aged clients recently. Without the structure of a typical school schedule, many teenagers get out of the routine of doing anything at all during...

How to Help Your Child Use Their Wise Mind

First, it is helpful to understand the mind in three parts and the advantages vs. disadvantages of these parts, then explain them to your child. Part 1: The Rational/Reasonable Mind: This is the mind that pays attention to logic and...

Your Child’s Anxiety: Signs and Strategies for Calming Their Mind and Body

Did you know that anxiety disorders are the most common type of psychological problem that children experience? One in eight children suffer from a significant anxiety disorder (Wang, 2017). In an average sized classroom of about 25 school-aged children,...

3 Steps to Help Kids Overcome Anxiety

Opioid Use, It’s Effects on Children, and How to Identify Misuse

On average, 130 Americans die from opioid overdose (including prescription- Oxycodone, Codeine, Morphine, and Fentanyl, and illicit opioids- heroine) EVERY DAY. This statistic affects the children in our community, as 2 million children annually have a parent who uses...

How to Help Your Child Manage Anxiety & Disruptive Emotions

10 Tips to Boost your Child’s Self-Esteem

Wanting your child to grow and develop into a happy, confident individual is normal for many parents. Though this is a common goal for most parents, it’s not always clear how to help your child build their self-esteem. Put...

Why Play Therapy

If you have a child who is elementary age or younger and may be struggling with behavioral or emotional challenges, play therapy is likely the best fit for them. Play Therapy has been developed over the years as a...

What is Attachment Theory?

John Bowlby, a British psychologist, was the first to develop the concept of attachment theory. He described attachment as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings”. His primary interest was in understanding the bond between children and their primary...

The Impact of Separation and Divorce on Children

Separation and divorce is rarely easy for anyone involved, but it can be especially difficult for children regardless of age. Relationships end between couples all over the world, however, the United States has been labeled as the “leader” in...

Effects of Medicating ADHD in Children

According to some pharmacies, antidepressants for teenagers have risen 38% from 2015 to 2019 (while adult prescriptions only rose 12% during that same period). As that study was pre-pandemic, the results now are expected to be dramatically higher. Many...

How to Have Productive Discussions (Not Arguments!) with Your Child

Every parent has been there: You start with what seems like a simple request or question, and then, suddenly, you are in a screaming match with your child. How did it escalate to this? First and foremost, remember who...

Summer Slump

We are halfway through summer break. Are you starting to notice that your child has gone from being happy to be out of school and loving life to becoming more of a bored zombie around the house? Structure may...

Why Your Kids Don’t Want to Talk to You

In this line of work, we often hear frustrations from parents regarding what their kids are and are not doing. A common one is typically something along the lines of, “I can tell something is wrong, but they won’t...

12 Tips for Building Better Relationships with Your Children

Set aside time weekly to spend time engaging in an activity that your child enjoys. Praise positive behavior that your child exhibits. Research has shown that positive reinforcement can positively improve a child’s social skills and behaviors. Give compliments...

Preparing Your Child for Their First Therapy Session

You have decided to take your child to therapy. Awesome! However, there is a problem: Your child does not want to go. Some children may not want to go because they believe they do not need therapy. Some may...

Helping Your Child Managing Losing

Imagine this- you’ve planned a family game night and the kids have been looking forward to this all week. Pizza, M&M’s, soda! But only a few minutes in, you already have a kid who has stormed out after their...

How to Support Your LGBTQ+ Child

Having family support for your child identifying in the LGBTQ community can be beneficial to their overall mental health and physical health. Being accepted by your family can decrease mental health symptoms such as isolation, depression, anxiety, substance abuse,...

De-Escalating a Meltdown

On airplanes, we are taught to put on our masks first before helping others in a crisis. The same goes for managing a meltdown with little ones. This may mean stepping away first from the situation (assuming the child...