The book recommending algorithm didn't disappoint when it brought The Passing Playbook, by Isaac Fitzsimons to my attention. Though this is a novel with a target audience of adolescents and young adults, I, reading from a therapist's perspective, was very impressed with how well the author does with covering a multitude of topics impacting gay, transgender, and nonbinary youth. With...[ read more ]
In part 1*, I talked about: How vaping is pervasive among teens and young adults How targeted marketing plays a role The associated health risks of teen vaping And I also provided some tips to parents Today, I'll be reflecting on a WSJ article** I read earlier this week to continue the conversation. The Article The first post focused primarily...[ read more ]
Since I'm always the one recommending books, I was surprised when one of my clients recommended a book to me. And what a great recommendation it was! Today, I'll be sharing some of the insights that I gained from No One Succeeds Alone: Learn Everything you can from Everyone you can, by Robert Reffkin. What's this book about? This book...[ read more ]
My wife and I haven't been to a movie theater since before the pandemic. On a whim, we reserved seats this morning for a matinee showing of Dear Evan Hansen. Though we were masked up and fully vaxed (also boostered!), we were relieved to learn that we were the only people who bought tickets for that particular showing. That's right,...[ read more ]
It's obvious that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives and that our concept of "normal" continues to evolve. Though I've written previously on work-life balance and remote schooling/working, today I'd like to talk about how our concept of work is evolving. I'll cover the pros, cons, and provide tips on how to find balance in this...[ read more ]
I realize this is my third post on the topic of technology/ social media in the past week but I had to share what I learned from an article* in today's newspaper. The headline was, "Parents, Here are Teen Girls' Rules for Instagram." As a therapist working primarily with adolescents, this immediately caught my attention; more so, I was blown...[ read more ]
When I was in college, I took all of the developmental psychology courses. Why? Because learning about the various life stages has always fascinated me. At the time, I found it odd when I read how famous psychologists like Piaget conducted research on their own children! Now that I'm the parent of a toddler, it makes more sense. With that...[ read more ]
As the world continues to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, the past year and a half has pushed most of us into a more virtual existence. With that in mind, I thought I'd share some insights on the impact of technology on mental health using insights gained from the audiobook, Finding Balance in a Digital World, by Doreen Dodgen-Magee**. Research...[ read more ]
I grew up in the 90s and have always been a big fan of the group, TLC. When their song, "Unpretty," shuffled onto my playlist this morning, I felt inspired to finish this post, which has been sitting as an undeveloped draft for several months. After I define what body dysmorphia is, I'll provide more context for why my mind...[ read more ]
Photo credit link. Despite being only a month old at the release of her debut album, Mary J. Blige is one of the icons that have been a constant throughout my life (alongside Mariah Carey and Ms. Lauryn Hill.) When I saw that Mary J. released a documentary to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her second album, My Life, I...[ read more ]