Resources For Families and Educators

Incorporating Positive Psychology into Parenting: A Brief Introduction to Raising Resilient and Happy Children

happy_children


Positive psychology is a field of psychology founded by Dr. Martin Seligman and was developed as a counter to more ‘traditional’ psychological approaches that studied human personality and behavior.

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107 Hits

Five Psychological Techniques to Encourage Growth Mindset in Children

growth_mindset Five Psychological Techniques to Encourage Growth Mindset in Children

Growth mindset is a term developed by psychologist Carole Dweck that describes the belief that one’s abilities, skills, and intelligence can be developed with effort.

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182 Hits

Challenging Negative Self-Talk Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

negative_self-talk

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), negative self-talk is often explained as a result of distorted thinking patterns and underlying core beliefs about ourselves (“I am a bad person”), others (“Others will eventually leave me”), or the world around us (“The world is unsafe or scary”).

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270 Hits

Ten Tips for Speaking with your Teen about Global Issues

teens

Even before the internet clued them in to events happening around the world, teens and young adults have had a proud history of engaging passionately with social and political issues.

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344 Hits

How Language Delays Can Indicate Learning Disabilities in Children

Learning Disabilities in Children

By: Craig Selinger, M.S. CCC-SLP, owner of Brooklyn Letters

As a parent, it's natural to be concerned when your child doesn’t meet developmental milestones as quickly as their peers, particularly in language development. Language is foundational to all learning, and a language delay in this area can sometimes be connected to deeper challenges, such as learning disabilities. Understanding this relationship can help you advocate for your child and ensure they receive the support they need.

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609 Hits

Psychological Skills to Develop Emotional Intelligence

emotional_intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a form of intelligence that describes the ability to understand and manage our emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of others. It is a complex skillset and is composed of multiple factors, including:

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262 Hits

Children and Stress

child_stress_free Children and Stress in NYC

The stress response in children represents an opportunity to teach healthy, adaptive coping strategies. Responding to stress is different than reacting to it. A stress reaction is when a child encounters a combination of internal and external stressors that trigger stressful reactions. The latter is usually automatic and based on habits of the past. A response, such as a mindful one, is a healthy proactive positive approach and alternative to reacting.

In young children this stress reaction can be a "melt down," a tantrum, or emotional dysregulation. In middle school aged or teenage children, it presents as sadness, anger, depression, and certainly anxiety. The automatic habit-based stress reactions are less healthy and we know this from a physiological perspective as studies have proved the effect stress reactions have on the heart, the brain, the circulatory system, pain management, etc.

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1923 Hits

A Field Guide to Mental Health Professionals in New York

mental_health_therapis_search A Field Guide to Mental Health Professionals in New York

As individuals and families seek mental and behavioral health services, they might run into a broad range of providers, all with different degrees, titles, and specialties. Unless you come from this field, these different titles may be confusing, particularly as these providers may all provide similar services.

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321 Hits

Interpreting Results from a Neuropsychological Testing Report: An Introductory Guide

Interpreting Results from a Neuropsychological Testing Report

Neuropsychological testing is a critical tool that can aid in assessing cognitive functions and understanding the impact of neurological, medical, psychological, and social conditions on the brain. Through administering various tests and procedures, these reports provide a detailed profile of an individual’s cognitive abilities. Interpreting a neuropsychological report requires a nuanced understanding of both the data presented and the broader clinical context in which the assessment was conducted. Unless one is experienced in this field, the report can often seem confusing or overwhelming for parents, caregivers, educators, and other professionals. This article is a brief guide for family and non-psychological professionals on understanding the testing process.

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567 Hits

How Can Students with ADHD Improve Organization?

How can students with ADHD improve Organization? How can students with ADHD improve Organization?

How can students with ADHD improve Organization? Understanding the importance of organizational skills and how to apply them is critical. Organizational skills refer to a set of cognitive abilities that facilitate goal-oriented behavior.

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1115 Hits

Considering the Risks that Lead to Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, and Behavior

Considering the Risks That Lead to Self-harm or Suicidal Thoughts and behavior Considering the Risks That Lead to Self-harm or Suicidal Thoughts and behavior

Depression, prior suicide attempts, psychiatric disorders, intense anxiety, and addiction are common risk factors for suicide.

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1033 Hits

Personality Part 2: Personality Disorders, Risk Factors and Treatment.

Personality Disorders

While our last post discussed developmental factors that play a role in healthy personality development, this article discusses the disorders of personality, which are personalities that due to how they are formed, may lead to various interpersonal and emotional difficulties. Afterward is a brief overview of risk factors for personality disorders in childhood and adolescence. At the end of the article, a brief discussion of various treatments will be discussed.

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410 Hits

What Does Intellectual Capacity Mean to Us?

Intellectual Capacity

As parents of children who are undergoing neuropsychological evaluations or as test takers ourselves, we often wonder what our intellectual capacity says about us or our child. Intellectual capacity, our very ability to think, learn, plan, and understand ideas, can bring up all sorts of emotions and questions. Moreover, questions arise when trying to make meaning from a 2-3 digit number like an IQ that often holds an over-ascribed meaning. Scores could feel daunting, like an assigned grade. For example, if a child receives an IQ of 90 a parent might think that could explain why their child is struggling in school, but that is not necessarily the case. Performance on a single assessment or measure of intellectual ability is only part of the picture and means very little without other sources of information.

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726 Hits

Practicing Positive Communication: Children and Teens with Oppositional Defiance

Children and Teens with Oppositional Defiance

Have you ever been scared in your own home? Children and teens exhibiting defiant behavior consistently can be emotionally draining for themselves and others around them. There's a range between the usual independence-seeking behavior of teens and out-of-control defiant behavior. It's normal to exhibit oppositional behaviors at certain stages of an adolescent’s development.

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Social-Emotional Skills When Working with Children and Teens in Therapy

social_emotional_skills_kids_teen_20240730-012751_1

Often, referrals are made to see children and teens with difficulty expressing their emotions and sentiments (with peers and adults). This impacts their social-emotional well-being and may affect social interaction skills. The challenges can sometimes be psychological and/or attributed to neurodevelopmental differences such as language processing, attention, and emotional regulation.

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352 Hits

Internal Family Systems and Understanding Parts of your Child

ifs_theory

We often like to think of our sense of self as whole, believing that there is only one ‘me.’ However, certain schools of thought have begun to challenge this notion.

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360 Hits

Modifying the Environment to Improve Executive Functioning

executive_function

Executive functioning is a term used to describe a set of mental skills that center around starting, sustaining, and completing goals.

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409 Hits

Social-Emotional Skills When Working with Children and Teens in Therapy

Social-Emotional Skills When Working with Children and Teens in Therapy Social-Emotional Skills When Working with Children and Teens in Therapy

Often, referrals are made to see children and teens with difficulty expressing their emotions and sentiments (with peers and adults). This impacts their social-emotional well-being and may affect social interaction skills. The challenges can sometimes be psychological and/or attributed to neurodevelopmental differences such as language processing, attention, and emotional regulation. In therapy with children and teens, there are many avenues to address the building of social-emotional skills, such as:

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366 Hits

Personality Development in Childhood: Temperament and Attachment.

Personality Development in Childhood

One of the major tasks of childhood is to consolidate a personality. A personality, as defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) loosely “refers to the enduring characteristics and behavior that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life, including major traits, interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities, and emotional patterns.” Judging from this long description, consolidating a personality is no simple task. It is something children (and adults!) develop over time as they grow in psychological and physical maturity.

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510 Hits

Play Therapy 101: A Brief Introduction

play_therapy

Play is at the core of children’s lives. It is how children express themselves, connect with others, and make sense of the world. Play is so important for children’s development that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) describes it as “essential to the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being of children beginning in early childhood.” Through play, children can share their fears, frustrations, wishes, and dreams with others, as they cannot yet directly verbalize their thoughts and feelings.

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501 Hits