“Will I bark like a dog or quack like a duck? Will I say or do something silly? What if I can’t wake up?” These are just some of the questions I still get about hypnosis. Unfortunately, many people (including some health care professionals) still have a flawed understanding of hypnosis, even in 2018. Much…
In continuing our holiday/seasonal blog series, Larisa Wainer, Psy.D. offers a guide to anticipating and managing stress, and mood symptoms, that often emerge during this time of the year. The trees have shed their colorful adornments, intricate patterns of frost decorate your car window in the morning, and the stores are overflowing with cornucopia of…
If the scent of pumpkin pie, turkey and stuffing roasting in the oven and other holiday treats trigger feelings of both delight and dread, you’re not alone. Anxiety about eating at social gatherings during the holiday season can dampen the spirits for celebrating with friends and family. Rather than feeling self-conscious and stressed, the following…
It’s hard to believe that we’re already well into the fall season. Along with the cooler temperatures and shorter days comes the start of the holiday relapse season: Thanksgiving, the winter holidays and the New Year. There is no shortage of temptations during the holidays either with friends, family or co-workers. Here are a few…
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month. Dyslexia is an often misunderstood learning disability. It is considered a specific disability that affects one’s ability to read; however, with the right instruction, almost all individuals with dyslexia learn to read. Previous viewpoints, that are now outdated and inaccurate, considered Dyslexia a visual deficit. Research using fMRI studies has…
Have you ever had a week where you seem to be losing your mind? You forget to call an important client back at work. You forget to register for that class, which is now full. You mean to buy that birthday gift for the party on Saturday, but instead you find yourself rushing around like…
All of us know how painfully hard it is to change what we routinely do, alter how we habitually feel or especially, adjust our epoxy-glued attitudes. Often, what makes these challenges more exasperating to accomplish is that we keep doing the same things, but on some level, we know our choices and reactions are not…
With summer vacation in the rear view and school/work responsibilities ramping back up, I felt it was a good time to discuss a common communication challenge I often see in my practice. Whether between romantic partners, parents and children, siblings or friends, I often hear variations on a theme: “I didn’t mean for her to take it that…
Whether it is an IEP meeting, a 504 meeting or just a meeting about general behavioral, social, and academic concerns, a meeting with school personnel can be stressful for parents. As a former school psychologist, I believe that effective communication between school and home is vital in order to have a successful student. When I…
When you think of your future, do you look to the sky? When you hear an airplane engine, do you look skyward to spot that airplane and follow it as it flies overhead, imagining yourself as the pilot in command? For many, the dream of flying becomes a reality and quickly becomes a part of who…