"She doesn't know what she's talking about. She thinks everyone has ADHD." This was recently said by a pediatrician and a school counselor to a teenage client of mine, in response to a diagnosis of ADHD. While I do not believe everyone has ADHD, the diagnosis correlates very highly with trauma, both acute and complex, which IS highly prevalent, especially post-COVID. With rates of PTSD in adults considered to be 6% of Americans, and rates of complex PTSD being more than

I am a mental health therapist who also has a diagnosis of ADHD. In my practice of 10 other clinicians, we utilize the QB Check to confirm our suspicions of any case in question. We also offer this test to providers in the surrounding area. I urge the FTC to closely examine the lack of competition and contracting practices that may be influencing the shortages of ADHD medication in the US. We need this medication and we WILL be needing even more as more cases are being di

I entered practicum at such a nerve-wracking time with a pandemic going on that Art and Soul Art Therapy was the only place in Connecticut that agreed to take me on and I had other people telling me that a private practice wouldn’t get me the variety of educational practice I would need. I definitely see that they were wrong, because I had such an amazing experience at this site and I look forward to continuing at this site for internship. I feel like I received a wellrounded

In about a month I graduate. This has been both the longest and the shortest three years of my life. I have learned so much about myself, both as a therapist and as a person. It was three years that have brought smiles, laughter, tears, and screams. It was three years of late nights writing papers, meetings with professors, making life-long friends, and finding a tribe that I belong in at Art & Soul. The past few months have brought many graduations and a lot of mourning that

June is Pride Month! It’s a time to honor the LGBTQ+ community – its history, its present, and its future. While this year is a bit different because there will be no parties or parades, we can still celebrate with virtual or social distance get-togethers, car parades, and rainbow masks. I know a history lesson is sometimes boring, but in order to really understand why this community is worthy of the festivities, it is important to know where we came from. Here are a few hig

As we come upon the middle of May, I find myself reflecting on what this month means. We have all seen the memes that say how invisible illnesses are often ignored, and that includes mental health. Did you know that according to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 1 in 5 people live with a mental health issue? Think about it – of every five people you know, at least one has struggled with mental health. Wow! And here we all are, living, surviving, and thriving! Wi

2020 sure has been a year! Meghan and Harry are no longer senior royals, wine was pouring from faucets in Italy, and Chick-Fil-A started selling their special sauce in stores are just a few highlights of this topsy-turvy year. The biggest news story though, of course, is Covid-19. We are deep into the pandemic and have been social distancing for over a month now. I think we are all beginning to feel the effects of that, which means that it is very important that we remember t

All good things must come to an end, but it's hard to know when to close the door on one chapter of life and open a new one. Creating memory art can help! Particularly when beloved items wear out, fall apart or become obsolete, using a little creativity can satisfy our sentimentality while moving past hoarding tendencies (this is a common quality for us artist-types since we hate to throw anything away!). It's hard to know when to close the door on one chapter of life and

I am turning 37 this month, and I still sleep with the stuffed animal I got from Santa when I was in high school. (Yes, Santa still gave me gifts as a teenager! Now don't get me wrong, I have many excellent credentials in the adulting department, such as: -I have a solid marriage and am the mother of a 5-year old. -I have just stepped away from a solid career of 15 years in upper-middle management bringing home a good salary. But for those 15 years, I was a very solid care