Blog

Throughout my years as a clinician working with children, parents have often asked, "how can I motivate my child?" Most of us misunderstand motivation. We think what motivates us will also motivate our children.  However, that’s not necessarily the case.
April is Stress Awareness month. Everyone experiences stress, we just all experience it differently. Stress is the reaction to certain situations when a person feels anxious or threatened. It’s an "in the moment" reaction that can have a lasting impact on your body.
Sure, you’ve heard of mindfulness and why it should be part of your daily routine, but do you know how to actually put it into practice? Mindfulness, the ability to be fully present in a moment, has many proven benefits, from reducing depression and anxiety to improving sleep and reducing stress and chronic pain.
The news you consume affects your mental health and well-being. You may think that you’re desensitized or numb to it, but very few humans are—everything we consume, on social media, through media outlets, or hear on our daily commutes has an impact on our nervous systems.
Executive Function refers to a set of cognitive processes and skills that help us plan, monitor, and successfully execute our goals. Think of executive function as the “management” system of the brain. We use these skills every day to manage daily activities, learn and work.
It is mid-January and we are already well into a new year. It is at this point where the resolutions are not as attractive as they were a couple weeks ago. If this is true for you, it is completely human, and you are not alone.
At the start of every year, we are bombarded with information about what resolutions we need to make, how to change, how to be better, or how to be something other than ourselves. What a horrible way to begin a new year—feeling as if you already aren’t good enough.
As is becoming our standard operating procedure, Hartstein Psychological Services will be closed for the week between Christmas and the New Year. We recognize the need to practice what we preach and know that self-care is one of the important things on which we need to focus.
One of the main assumptions in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is that we are all doing the best we can, AND also, we need to do better and try harder. This is acceptance and change. There is almost always questioning about this from clients, and rightfully so. 
I often find in my personal life and with clients that identifying a problem is easy. Almost too easy! We are all constantly faced with challenges that can range on a level of significance and impact. Despite where these challenges fall on that spectrum, how we respond to them remains the same.
This is one of my favorite times of the year, with Thanksgiving just around the corner—the changing of seasons, festive foods, and togetherness with loved ones. It is a time when we are reminded to be thankful for the things our lives include, and the holiday can lift our spirits as being grateful is the essence of Thanksgiving!