Our brains love stories. It’s part of why love songs, movies, books, and even reality TV shows exist. Stories help us learn, they build empathy, and they help us understand ourselves more fully.  In fact, your brain is constantly creating an internal story about yourself–based on both present and past experiences. The One Where I Was a […]

Untangling Anger & Shame in Young Children How many times have you heard, “I was NOT mad” when everything you see says the child in front of you is, in fact, roaring mad?  Spitting mad. Throwing shoes mad. Ripping dad’s shirt on the way into therapy mad. My guess is many, many times. That’s where […]

A Back-to-School Guide for Parents and Therapists As I write this, the back-to-school season is in full swing here in the U.S., bringing a hearty mix of emotions to the surface for everyone involved. Whether you find yourself excited each fall or overwhelmed or nostalgic or anxious or all of the above, this blog post […]

Students learn better when their brains are not clouded by worries. Our minds can’t attend to very many things at once. When kids are preoccupied by tough stuff happening outside of school, friend struggles, or other worries, there’s not much room for math facts and grammar lessons. That’s a topic I explore in the first […]