Merely wanting your pantry organized is not actually having OCD…unless you find yourself having constant, intrusive thoughts about your pantry that lead you to get out of bed during the night to make sure all items are stacked perfectly, with all labels facing the front, and exactly one inch apart.

You probably already know this, but a person does much better in a clean and organized environment than a cluttered and dirty one. When your life gets busy and hard, keeping things in order can move to the back burner, but allowing things to stay that way for too long can end up making everything feel even bigger and worse.

No parent should have to worry about the safety of their child when they drop them off.

As a human being with a heart, learning about the events of the recent Uvalde shooting have left me heartbroken and at a loss.

As I read down the list, I noticed in a far column that I had an unusually high number of students with an ADHD diagnosis. To be clear, out of my 26 students, I had thirteen boys, all with ADHD. I thought it might have been a mistake.

The main thing I noticed is that there is constant education. Even though my daughter is too young to understand colors, shapes, numbers, and vocabulary words, my mom talks to her about them anyway. When I play with a set of stacking cups, I stack the cups.

As a mother and a retired elementary school teacher, I can vouch that every child is unique and has certain needs. I loved analyzing my students every year and discovering their strengths and weaknesses. My classes would vary from above-average learners to those with substantial special needs. My goal was to show a year’s growth, or more, no matter from which point the child started.

We've all felt it- the churning feeling of sickness in our stomachs when we have done something that we are shameful about. When I was a child, every time I would lie, I would experience the feeling so strongly that within the hour I was confessing to my parents just to get rid of it!

And that’s when my three-year-old decided to throw a tantrum. He was crying, kicking, and screaming. As a mother, my first instinct was to reprimand the behavior. It was unacceptable to act like that. I’m sure I told him to stop and to get up. I probably threatened a time-out. However, he continued to act out.

A therapist can have all of the experience, training, and specialty in the world. They could be amazing at their job, well known, and knowledgeable about everything that you need. However, that doesn't always make them a good fit for you.

Comorbidity in psychology means that someone is suffering from more than one mental health disorder at a time. This is quite common, as lots of people face different challenges originating from different life situations, genetics, and hormones.

All good families assign chores to its members. Young to old, it must be done. The sooner young children learn to help, the more likely they’ll become contributing members of society.

I was a gifted child. I had a very high IQ and required special plans in school. My younger brother was also gifted but had different plans than I did. I recently interviewed my mother, who is also an educator, about what she recommends for parents with gifted children.

We have included some articles regarding parents who are stay at home parents. But what about parents who work outside the home?

“Honey, did you have a hard day?” my husband asked shortly after coming through the door after work. I followed his gaze. The house was in disarray. He saw the dishes in the sink, the clean laundry pile waiting on the couch, and various items scattered around, waiting to be put back where they belong. Much like it had been before he left that morning. Basically, a messy house.

When I was growing up and playing outside, I learned on my own that mixing sand with water did not make the same product as mixing dirt with water. I discovered that breaking rocks open with a hammer often led to beautiful crystal insides. I unfortunately learned that touching different metals to an electric fence produced shocking results. I also learned that it was not a good idea to swing as high as possible and “see what happens” when I landed on my knees instead of my feet.

In honor of celebrating Black History Month, I want to spotlight two important people in the psychology field. First, is Frances Sumner, PhD. He was known as the “Father of Black Psychology” because, despite not having a high school education, he was still the first African American to receive a PhD in the psychology field. Sumner was born in Arkansas in 1895. He passed an entrance exam to Lincoln University in which he graduated at the top of his class.

We are looking to fill four positions here at Birch!

This will be one of two articles written in honor of black history month. This month is a time to think about how we as a society can do better and end bias and discrimination, which our practice strongly supports.

Feeling overwhelmed with stress or worry? Feeling unattached from yourself or surroundings? Do you feel like things don’t feel as vivid or real anymore? Grounding exercises are very helpful for people who need to calm down and get reconnected to things.

Eventually, he will come back to appreciate having a mom and renew his relationship with her. He will again value her opinion and appreciate her help. But, I don’t have that luxury. I don’t have time to wait.