Featured Columnists
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4 Reasons for the Mental Healthcare “Workforce Shortage”
I am really tired of articles about “workforce shortages” in mental health. The questions these articles pose, such as:“How do we increase the workforce?”And “Where are the mental health professionals?”imply that:1. This problem just happened randomly.2. It would be solved if mental health professionals showed up. Those are the wrong questions and the wrong conclusions.My…
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Who Will Help?
As the founder of a nonprofit organization in the process of getting off the ground, I think it’s important to show vulnerability, but finding the line can be challenging. If you’re too vulnerable, people will be put off; lacking vulnerability is inauthentic. Maybe this is too raw. Maybe it isn’t. We are all fighting invisible…
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Behavioral Healthcare: Helpers in Crisis
Why is it so hard to get care? Behavioral healthcare is an umbrella term that includes treatment for mental health, substance abuse, learning differences, and disordered behavior resulting from mental illness or disability. Behavioral therapy and behavioral programs include talk therapy, detox and substance abuse treatment, occupational therapy, inpatient and psychiatric treatment, behavioral therapy for…
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Elephant in the Room – Rewarding Quality Care
It’s back-to-school season, and, I, like numerous other parents, am preoccupied with getting just the right classes or teacher assignments to help my kids’ chances of getting into a top university. My incoming sophomore is trying to get a waiver to take AP English on top of two other AP classes, and before we were…
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How To Make ABA Work For Your Family
There’s no cure for autism – and there is no need to cure autism. While therapies can bolster skills needed to navigate successfully in the world, they are not magic wands, and it’s crucial for parents enrolling their child in therapies to understand that their child will not “outgrow” autism, nor can professionals “fix” autism.…
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Get Me Some True Love
In fairytales, a true love’s kiss conquers all evils and vanquishes all illnesses, but true love isn’t always pleasant in real life. Love means allowing your kids to fail; setting boundaries so there would be long-term safety. It involves making difficult decisions and sticking by your loved ones even when they’re no longer so lovely.…
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Talking Back
If you can’t regulate your emotions, your kid will struggle to regulate their own. You ask your kid to do something. They say something rude or snippy in return. You feel the need to correct this behavior, so you shout back at them for being rude, they shout back at you, and you’re back in…
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If Yes or No Questions Backfire, Give Choices Instead
“Can you start your homework?” (alternatively, “Have you finished your homework/ Homework.”) “No.” “Do you want to clean your room now?” “Nah.” “Wanna go to work and attend to all of your responsibilities today?” “Uh… no.” Offering choices to our children instead of asking yes/no questions can transform how they respond to you. Choices foster…
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State of ABA Industry
The behavioral healthcare industry is in trouble. For kids and families, the dire shortage of providers and difficulty obtaining services means long wait times for necessary evaluations for speech, behavior, occupational, and other therapies, prescriptions for services, and their services to begin. They may get through the entire process and not qualify for treatment. Many…
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The Ones Who Help Get You Toward Mastery
What are you really good at? How did you learn and achieve mastery? There were probably teachers and coaches who helped you along the way. Teaching is more than lecturing. It is not just showcasing your knowledge or performing. What makes a teacher good? I like Gage’s (1963) definition of teaching– “..a form interpersonal influence…
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Why are kids unhappy, stressed and anxious?
Youth mental health has been steadily declining for the past ten years. With social isolation and 55% of kids suffering emotional abuse at home, the pandemic exacerbated the crisis. A recent study conducted by nonprofit curaJOY, surveying over 1700 families, shed light on the importance of parent training and education in any solution for youth…
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The circular economy isn’t anything fancy. Circular is the way life works!
When I entered Johns Hopkins wanting to become a developmental psychologist, my mom said, “You’re too smart to become a shrink. How will you find a job and have a future? Don’t waste your intelligence!” So I switched to Neuroscience and International Studies (Hopkins’s go-to major for future I-bankers.) She was partially correct. All my…
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