As more and more people are vaccinated and COVID restrictions ease, the time has come for us to figure out how to re-enter the world. While many have been longing to get back to ‘normal,’ others are not so sure they’re ready. According to a report from the American Psychological Association (APA), about half of Americans are feeling anxious about re-entry after sheltering in place for so long. In this podcast episode, we sat down with licensed clinical psychologist and CHC’s Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Ramsey Khasho, to talk about how to ease our way back into the world and support our kids in that process.

Everyone in the entire world is experiencing some kind of stress right now. And everyone’s reactions to the stressors of the past year have been different – even among members of the same family. By validating these individualized responses, practicing healthy coping strategies and building self-esteem, parents can leverage difficult days to model resilience for their kids and prepare them for future challenges. Join us for today’s podcast episode as CHC’s Tony Cepeda, LMFT and Karly Crockett, LCSW share their expertise on the various manifestations of stress, trauma and grief and ideas for supporting your family through hard times.

Prolonged uncertainty can lead to anxiety in both children and adults, compounded by the layer of risk that has been added to our daily lives for over a year now. As communities begin to reopen, we are faced with additional stressors of getting reacquainted with the people and places that were off-limits for so long. For those with social or situational anxieties, sheltering-in-place may have brought comfort and control, and even the anticipation of re-entry can be debilitating. But these stressful times can also be a teaching moment, for us to validate our kids’ feelings and model healthy coping strategies. In this episode, we sat down with CHC’s Dr. Joan Baran and doctoral psychology intern Beth Moroney to find out how.

ADHD is challenging enough under normal circumstances, let alone in a pandemic. Between working from home and distance learning, both students and adults can experience feelings of isolation, loneliness, distraction and boredom. Important tasks can get overlooked or ignored without the typical structure and oversight of the office or classroom. We sat down with Ross Loofbourrow, an adult with ADHD who’s learned to embrace his differences as strengths and tap into his hyper-focus in a positive way. Ross believes ADHD is a superpower: in this episode, he’ll not only explain why, but share tips that may just make you feel the same way.

It’s a given. Parenting is hard work. Raising a child with special needs brings parenting to a whole new level; an unexpected journey. Nobody can really prepare you for it — you just have to live and learn and take it day-by-day, especially in a pandemic. Today’s podcast episode features Dr. Joaquin Burciaga, a neuropsychologist at CHC and dad of a daughter with special needs. Hear about Joaquin’s parenting journey, what he and his wife have learned, how they make it work for their family and find joy in the process. Listen today!

It’s hard to see our child struggling in school without comparing them to other kids or wanting to “fix” them. But once we recognize that there is no such thing as average, we can learn to appreciate our children’s differences, understand their challenges and foster their strengths. Today’s podcast guest, Dewey Rosetti, is a parent of a child with dyslexia and the author of a new book, Parenting Bright Kids who Struggle in School. She shares her experiences as a mom, an author and an advocate for the 1 in 5 with learning differences, and offers advice for parents to help develop and celebrate their children's unique strengths.

Our bodies and minds have been on high alert for a year now. COVID has altered almost every aspect of our lives, and the effects of this cumulative and prolonged stress response can affect our brain size, structure and functioning. But not all stress is bad, and adapting in the face of adversity can build resilience, confidence and skills to weather future storms. In today’s podcast, we sat down with Clinical Program Manager and Licensed Psychologist at CHC, Patty Crisostomo, PhD, to learn about the very individualized ways that stress can manifest itself in kids and adults, and effective vs. ineffective coping strategies.

Parenting in a pandemic is hard, and each age has specific developmental needs that are challenging to meet in isolation. The work of young children is to build language and social skills, much of which happen through family relationships, play and social interaction with peers. With kids spending so much more time at home and online, it’s important to create lots of opportunities for our young children to practice these skills in other ways. We sat down with Shirit Megiddo, Speech & Language Pathologist at CHC, to learn how to support your young child’s development, often using existing routines and items you already have around the house!

Currently, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is the only well-established, evidence-based treatment for self-harming adolescents at high risk for suicide. In today’s podcast episode, hear one mom’s brave story of helping her teenage daughter through panic attacks, PTSD and self-harming behaviors using DBT skills like mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness and communication, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance. We are so grateful that she is willing to share her life-changing journey with us.