Stefanie Armstrong, MS, LIMHP Take a moment to consider: What’s one consistent relationship ritual you do with your child almost daily? As a busy mom, I got to thinking about how there seem to be days that pass where I haven’t intentionally made a connection with each...

Debra Wesselmann, MS, LIMHP If you’re a parent, you may have said something like these statements at one time or another. (I know I have!) “My child ‘should’ be able to entertain himself.” “My adolescent ‘should’ know how to be more polite.” “My child ‘should’ stop...

-Cathy Schweitzer, MS, LMHP The other morning, Jeff and his mom came for their usual appointment. Jeff had been removed from his biological home for severe neglect. He spent several years in foster care moving from home to home before he was adopted. His first...

By Stefanie Armstrong, MS, LIMHP Clinical Commentary By Debra Wesselmann, MS, LIMHP Click here for full article...

Stefanie Armstrong, MS, LIMHP and Cathy Schweitzer, MS, LMHP Tip #1 Take a Look at YOU! Take a couple minutes each day and look in the mirror while you are getting ready in the morning and getting ready for bed. This may sound a bit strange, we know! But taking time...

Ghosts in the Nursery --by Debra Wesselmann, MS, LIMHP-- Psychoanalyst Selma Fraiberg wrote a famous essay in 1987 entitled “Ghosts in the Nursery” that enlightened professionals regarding the powerful impact of early experiences on parents’ relationships with their...

-Debra Wesselmann and Cathy Schweitzer When your attachment relationship with your child is at its best, you and your child may experience the relationship as a dance in which both partners are moving to the same rhythm. Although you are in the lead, it’s not forced....

 -Debra Wesselmann and Cathy Schweitzer Newborn babies are drawn to the face of the parent.  Initially, the baby focuses just above the parent’s eyes. Eventually the baby is drawn to the eyes themselves.  This is a magical and powerful moment in the life of the...

--Debra Wesselmann, MS, LIMHP Infants and toddlers who experienced neglect, changes in caregivers, or early medical pain or hospitalizations suffer great consequences for a situation that the children did not choose for themselves. Children who lived with constant...

---Stefanie Armstrong, MS, LIMHP On this Sunday afternoon, I’m trying to desperately shove all of the things I “have” to do before tomorrow…so instead I decide to sit down and write.  What do the best procrastinators do?  When things get too much, they do something...

--Debra Wesselmann, MS, LIMHP Children will seek attention from their parents through a myriad of ways, such as hanging onto them, pulling on them, whining, complaining of stomach aches and headaches, and poking at their siblings.  What is a parent to do? You may find...

--Debra Wesselmann, MS, LIMHP Does your child attempt to instigate conflict?  Do you feel like he has a need to argue or aggravate you?  Do you find yourself losing your cool over and over and then feeling terrible about it afterwards?  Your child may be “hooked” on...

By Debra Wesselmann, MS, LIMHP: “Why is my 9-year old smearing feces on the wall?” “Why is my 14-year old stealing food from the cupboards in the middle of the night?” When my own children were small, I remember reading a passage by child expert T. Berry Brazelton MD...

By Cathy Schweitzer, MS, LMHP and Stefanie Armstrong, MS, LIMHP We hear a lot these days in the mainstream media about positive self-talk.  Motivational speakers talk about positive affirmations and the power of positive thinking.  It isn’t very often, however, that...

Article by Stefanie Armstrong, MS, LIMHP:  “Ahhh. this is going to be so nice…I’m going to fold clothes and watch a documentary (one of my most favorite things to do).  It’s going to be a relaxing afternoon.”  Can you tell that I enjoy even the simplest of things?  As...