How can I get my teen to go to therapy without forcing them? by Jami Dumler | May 25, 2025 | Ask a Therapist, Beginning Therapy, Mental Health Topics If you believe your teenager could benefit from therapy, bringing up the conversation now can make a real difference. Today’s teens face more stress than previous generations. According to a recent poll from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), two out of three teens feel life is more overwhelming…
I’m worried my kid has an eating disorder. How do I bring it up? by Jami Dumler | May 6, 2025 | Ask a Therapist, Children, Teens, & Adolescents You might notice shifts in your child’s eating habits or a sudden fixation on specific body parts. Maybe they’re often scrolling fitness influencers’ profiles, lamenting “perfect” bodies, or pushing to try some new diet that’s alarmingly low in calories for their active growth stage. Sometimes it’s just a gut feeling:…
The best self-help books of all time, according to therapists by Hannah DeWitt | Mar 30, 2025 | Mental Health Topics, Self-Improvement In a world where self-help books flood the market—more than 15,000 titles published annually—it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of advice claiming to be the “best” or “only” way to transform your life. With so many options available, separating truly meaningful guidance from superficial fluff can seem…
Unlocking Family Harmony: Child-Parent Psychotherapy Explained by Theresa Lupcho, LPC | Nov 8, 2024 | Family, Mental Health Topics Young children show the effects of trauma in many ways. They may seem anxious, sad, afraid, act out, become aggressive, or even shut down emotionally. When difficult situations break or stress the all-important bond between children and parents, the symptoms of trauma can persist or worsen. Children need to know…
“I hate my dad”: Why resentment can build between children and fathers, and what to do to repair father-child relationships by Evan Csir, LPC | Mar 22, 2024 | Children, Teens, & Adolescents, Mental Health Topics Fathers are a big part of our lives, as they raise us and teach us about life — both directly and indirectly. There’s a lot to love about our fathers, but they are often also someone with great potential to do us emotional harm. As research shows, having a strong…
Unraveling generational trauma: A guide to understanding and healing by Alexandra Cromer, LPC | Mar 8, 2024 | Mental Health Topics, Trauma Trauma can have huge impacts on the life of the person who experienced it, but it can also have echoes in families for generations. Generational trauma occurs when someone experiences a traumatic event and the impact it has on that person is “passed down” or continues to be experienced by…
What are abandonment issues? Causes, symptoms, and how to overcome them by Alexandra Cromer, LPC | Feb 21, 2024 | Feelings & Emotions, Mental Health Topics, Relationships Few other psychological conditions affect an individual’s ability to function quite like abandonment issues. Often formed in response to a traumatic or neglectful childhood experience, abandonment issues can wreak havoc on the emotional and external lives of both children and adults who struggle to see their own value and to…
Separation anxiety disorder: Signs, causes, treatment, & more by Kate Hanselman, PMHNP-BC | May 12, 2023 | Anxiety, Disorders, Mental Health Topics As toddlers and young children, we quickly and naturally form strong emotional bonds with our parents or caretakers. As a result, being apart from them at an early age is often accompanied by a level of anxiety. These feelings of distress are a normal stage of childhood development—but sometimes, our…
ADHD in teens: Recognize the signs & symptoms, plus how to offer support as a parent by Jason Crosby | Dec 15, 2022 | ADHD, Mental Health Awareness, Mental Health Topics ADHD in teens can create unique struggles and issues at school as well as at home. On top of all the exciting and sometimes scary changes teens experience, ADHD can sometimes make middle school and high school life more complicated. For teens who have already been diagnosed, their ADHD symptoms…
Father’s Day: Understanding the chemical and psychological connection between father and child by Jason Crosby | Jun 17, 2022 | Family, Mental Health Topics, Parenting Father’s Day is all about Dad—showing him just how special he is and how much of an impact he’s made on your life. Whether you connect with him by reminiscing about old family memories or taking the day to create new ones, Father’s Day is the perfect time to reflect…
5 simple foundations of self-care for kids by Gretchen Cohen | May 6, 2022 | Children, Teens, & Adolescents, Mental Health Topics, Parenting, Self-Care About one in six kids in the United States struggle with a treatable mental health disorder, and only half of them get the professional help they need. As a parent or caregiver, you provide consistent support for your child. You help teach them how to navigate life’s challenges. An important…
How to have a creative renaissance! (Even when you have artistic burnout. And kids. In a pandemic. When everything is awful.) by Wistar Murray | Jan 25, 2022 | Mental Health Topics, Psychology, Self-Improvement For every Taylor Swift flourishing artistically during the pandemic, there are millions of suffering and burnt-out people who aren’t composing songs or painting portraits or writing novels. What have they been doing instead? Well, if they’re anything like me, they’ve been drowning in domestic labor, work, anxiety, childcare, and other…