Panoramic Counseling Blog

Mental Health Movie Review: Dear Evan Hansen

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 ]

Work-Life Balance in a Post-Pandemic World

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 ]

Teens and Social Media

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 ]

Babies, Toddlers, and Technology. Oh my!

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 ]

Finding Balance in a Digital World

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 ]

Memoirs of Mental Health: Prince Harry

Image Credit Though I don't tend to follow the royal family, I became more interested when Meghan Markle, an actress from one of my favorite shows, Suits, got engaged to Prince Harry. More recently, I've seen how their lives have been shaped by racism and anxiety, which ultimately culminated in the couple separating from the royal family. Today, I'll be...[ read more ]

Memoirs of Mental Health: Lady Gaga

I've been seeing snippets of Lady Gaga's Lady Gaga's interview on Oprah's docuseries, The Me You Can't See. Having not yet seen the show, I started to research if Gaga has ever written about her life. The closest thing I could find to a memoir was an essay she wrote as part of a compilation book put together by her...[ read more ]

Loc’d: A Journey of Becoming

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has gained more significance for me throughout my mid-twenties. I say this because I didn't begin embracing my Blackness until about 3 years ago (but more about that in a bit.) So in the spirit of MLK Day, I'm sharing about what Black hair has taught me about my own mental health; more specifically, my...[ read more ]

What are Boundaries?

Boundaries are definitely the most common challenge that I see in my therapy sessions with clients, doesn't matter if they're facing anxiety, life transitions, addiction, etc. But what are boundaries? Boundaries are expectations that we set in interpersonal relationships to optimize our quality of life. What are the types of boundaries? Harper (2020) describes boundaries in seven categories: Physical boundaries- These...[ read more ]

Memoirs of Mental Health: Mariah Carey

I have never been more excited to press "publish" on a blog post than I have been today. Mariah Carey is on my short list of musicians that have changed my life (right next to THE Ms. Lauryn Hill) so obviously, I pre-ordered The Meaning of Mariah Carey when it was first announced. Today, I'm excited to share some mental health...[ read more ]