Serving West Michigan for Anxiety, Depression, and Couples Counseling

The Alarming Trend of Teen Suicide

Anthony Bourdain. Kate Spade. Robin Williams. We know the tragic stories of their suicides. Countless other adults, mostly unknown, have succumbed to this tragedy, as well. Let’s not forget teens who take their own lives, either. As you’ve undoubtedly heard, the suicide rate for young adults is up—significantly. A study of pediatric hospitals released in […]

More Screen Time Could Mean More Anxiety and Depression for Teens

A new report in the journal Emotion suggests that teens who spend less time in front of their screens are happier—up to a point. The report, “Decreases in Psychological Well-Being Among American Adolescents After 2012 and Links to Screen Time During the Rise of Smartphone Technology,” used a large national survey of eighth, 10th and […]

Bullies Are Everywhere These Days—Here’s How to Respond to Them

Elizabeth Bernstein, a writer for the Wall Street Journal and author of this article about bullying, had something to say recently to the guy who pulled up behind her VW Beetle in a jacked-up pickup truck, honked furiously while she waited for a pause in oncoming traffic to make a left turn, then followed her […]

How to Find the Right Therapist for You

Table of Contents If you’re having trouble finding the right therapist, don’t despair. It’s not easy. People usually go with who’s closest to where they live or work, or who takes their insurance, or both—without ever actually deciding what they need personally from therapy. It’s what they need from therapy that should lead them to […]

What Causes OCD in Adolescents: Part 2

In Part 1 of “What Causes OCD in Adolescents?” author Michael Angelo, MSJ, LCPC, examined the reasons behind obsessive compulsive disorder and also looked at the prevalence of OCD in children as young as 4 years old. In Part 2, he discusses the growing evidence that a specific form of childhood OCD might actually be […]

Overcoming the Stigma of Mental Health

False beliefs about mental health can cause significant problems for those who need treatment the most.  The last thing that someone with a mental illness needs is to be stigmatized because of it.   Negative attitudes and beliefs toward people who have a mental health condition are common.  Some of the harmful effects of a […]

What Is Concealed Depression and How Can You Spot Its Sneaky Symptoms?

When you think of depression, you may be inclined to picture someone who struggles to get out of bed every morning and is barely able to function. But unlike many medical conditions, depression is one that often goes unseen and undiagnosed. That’s because many sufferers actually experience concealed or smiling depression, in which they put […]

Putting the Coronavirus into Perspective

Perspective is an important thing to consider when dealing with anxiety-provoking situations. You know this from your sessions with your therapist. Please remember this as you consider your response to Covid-19. Don’t let emotions outweigh logic in your everyday choices surrounding the coronavirus. Whether it’s fighting someone in the grocery store for toilet paper, or […]

Dementia Tied to Retirement in Developing Countries as Early as Age 60

Could retiring early cause you to lose your mind? Researchers at Binghamton University, in New York, believe so. They found that early retirement could accelerate the usual rate of cognitive decline among the elderly in developing countries, including Asia and Latin America. Their results mirrored those that had focused on the impact of retirement on […]

Letting Teens Sit with Silence. Or Not.

The question is one that plagues parents and therapists alike: What to do with kids who won’t talk—who can barely handle talking at all—who also hate all the questions they’re asked, in an attempt to get them to talk? Should you keep badgering them until they say something? Or, do you leave them alone to […]