Orlando Counselor | Video Tips to Keep your Child or Teen off the Bully Radar | Fox 35 Expert Jim West
Orlando Based Counselor | Video Tips to Keep your Child or Teen off the Bully Radar | Fox 35 Expert Jim West and his marriage, family experts provide counseling with offices in Lake Mary, Orlando, East Orlando, Clermont & Winter Park Florida. "You're a freak!" "Everyone thinks you are a loser!" Nobody likes you." "If you died no one would [...]
World Mental Health Day: An Opportunity To Raise Awareness | Orlando Mental Health Counselor
What Is World Mental Health Day? World Mental Health Day, on October 10th, is a day for everyone to unite their efforts to improve the mental health of people around the world. The theme selected for this year’s Day is “Mental health in an unequal world”. While the COVID pandemic has affected everyone, it’s the people with long term [...]
3 Life Lessons Girls Can Learn From Mo’ne Davis | Orlando Teen Counselor
The school year has begun and soon so will Fall sports for many our children. Soccer, baseball, t-ball are all slated to begin. And unless you’ve been under a rock then you may not have heard of Mo'ne Davis, the 13-year-old pitching phenom, from Philadelphia's Taney Dragons. She is the first girl to throw a shutout in the Little [...]
Social Media and Youth Mental Health | Orlando Counselor
This article summarizes the potential positive and negative impacts of social media on children and adolescents, primary areas for mental health, and well-being concerns. Approximately 95% of youth ages 13-17 reported using some type of social media platform; with approximately more than one-third using it consistently. Nearly 40% of children 8-12 use social media, despite age restrictions. Current evidence [...]
Technology Addiction: Orlando Counselor on Why Teens are So Addicted
Roughly 75% of teenagers have access to computers, video game consoles, and smartphones. With such a high percentage of teens having access to personal technology, 40% of teen boys say they spend too much time playing video games and 36% of teens say they spend too much time on social media. Technology, when used in moderation, can be healthy [...]
Tips to Help Teens Reduce Social Media Usage
According to statistics, most kids are spending three and a half hours a day on social media. This is alarming because kids who use social media more than three hours a day risk doubling their mental health issues which include anxiety and depression. To reduce social media usage in this era of technology, here are some quick tips that [...]
Drug use in Central Florida Elementary Schools | 4 Common Signs of Substance Abuse in Teens
Orlando drug abuse counselors comment on recent news related to increased drug use in elementary schools. Every parent's biggest fear is to find out whether or not their child is using drugs or alcohol. There is never an easy way to be certain that your child is perhaps abusing drugs or alcohol. Many of the signs and symptoms for [...]
5 Steps for Back to School Success: Orlando Counselor
Summer is coming to a close. Play dates, family vacations and trips to grandma’s house may have made for a great time. With over a week left until school starts, the thought of going back to school may elicit relief from parents and groans from kids. Whether it is your child’s first entry into Kindergarten or Middle school, it [...]
Middle School Transition Tips | My Elementary Student is Going to Middle School | Teen Counselor Therapist
Orlando Teen Counselor Therapist “The thing I remember most about middle school was how tough it was. You're not quite an adult, but you're not a kid anymore.” Jen Walters” It is this battlefield of questions that we leave our children to face their own fears, tackle their own obstacles and to become their own person; and all too [...]
Teen Addictions Counselor on Private Drugs in Private Schools
It is often believed by educators, counselors, and parents that children and adolescents are shielded from drugs and alcohol, in the private school sector. However, children and adolescents are part of a much larger society, of which private schooling is only a part. Furthermore, the face of private school is changing as students matriculate in with substance abuse and [...]
How Much Social Media is Too Much for my Teen – US Surgeon General Warns Social Media is Harmful to Children and Youth
Roughly 95% of adolescents aged 13-17 report using social media. Social media use can present mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression, in children and adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media. This proves to be concerning as a recent survey revealed that teenagers average 3.5 hours a day on social media. Social [...]
Orlando Mental Health Counselor on 10 Summertime Tips to Help with Balanced Screen time
School’s out for summer! But it’s not 1972, its 2023, and the ways families and kids spend their Summers between each school year have not changed entirely. Kids still go to camps, attend tutoring sessions, go to school of rock classes, catch up on sleep, go for bike rides, vacation with family, go to the beach, get bored, go [...]
5 Summer Time Tips | Addiction starts in the Summer | Child Teen Family Counselor Expert
Summer is well underway and that means no sleep schedules, no eating schedules and more importantly no screen time schedules and while this may seem like every kids dream, the habits that start in the summer have a risk to become addictions quick. Jim has over 20 years of counseling experience and a vast majority of kids have said [...]
Tips For Parents To Help Their Children Cope With Stress | Orlando Counselor
StressLess With ADHD StressLess With Autistic Spectrum Disorder StressLess With Addictions In The New Millenium (Video Games, Phone, etc..) StressLess With Oppositional Defiant Disorder As the lockdown continues stress levels can naturally rise. This can be most difficult on children. Being younger, their mindsets can be set on socializing, physical activity, and just “not being stuck in the house”. [...]
4 Simple Ways to Form Better Attachments with Your Children | Counselor
Attachment is vital to a child and the caregiver's responsiveness to the child is paramount to securing that attachment. Attachment issues are very prevalent in our society today and can play out in a variety of ways. Things such as the fear of commitment, of being alone, trying to be loved, rebellion, and feeling inferior all play a part [...]
5 Ways to Manage Friendships After Baby | Maternal Mental Health
As Valentine’s Day approaches, everyone is thinking about that special someone or those friends that have never left your side. On this special day we celebrate love and friendship. Friendship is an interesting phenomenon. As human beings, we enjoy and sometimes feel the need to be social and have a group of friends where we can be ourselves. Research [...]
Counselor on Children and Divorce: The Top Ten Mistakes Parents Can Avoid
The process of divorce is not typically a pleasant one for anyone. But for children especially, it can cause a whirlwind of confusion, anxiety, and negative emotions. Parents should take care to proceed with divorce in a way that will cause the least amount of trauma to all children involved. The following 10 mistakes are classic ones that many [...]
Maternal Wellness Matters: 4 Reasons It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
Have you ever struggled with accepting help when needed? How about believing “yes you can accomplish it all” to then find yourself overwhelmed? One of my biggest struggles is accepting help or even asking for help when I need it the most. When I became the mother of my sweet little girl almost 4 years ago, I truly felt [...]
Student Mental Health Issues on the Rise
Student Mental Health Statistics Florida ranks 30th in the nation for dealing with youth mental health 1 in 10 Florida kids suffered a major depressive episode in the last year 2/3rds of those kids said they never got help It’s clear that the pandemic impacted the mental health of teens as well as everyone else as old stressors were [...]
Having a Sleep Schedule Could Greatly Improve Your Rest
Sleep is important. Getting enough sleep isn’t always easy, we might have a hard time falling asleep when we want to or we might not want to go to sleep early at all. Our free time can be sparse and sometimes the time we have before we go to bed feels too precious to lose out on. [...]
5 Coping Skills for Grieving After a Stillbirth | Maternal Mental Health Counselor Tips
For many women, becoming a mother is one of life’s most treasured and fulfilling events. It is life-changing, and every second, from conception to raising children, is integral in the life and the personhood of the mother. Being a mother becomes part of who the woman is, and if that is taken away, the physical and mental effects are [...]
Borderline Personality Disorder & ADHD: How These Conditions Interact
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a Cluster B Personality disorder characterized by instability in relationships, self-image, and emotions. BPD can cause affected people to display emotional, erratic, or dramatic symptoms. BPD is the third most prevalent personality disorder, affecting approximately 1.6% of the global population. People with BPD are more likely to require more intensive mental health care. BPD [...]
The Relationship Between Psychosis and Schizophrenia: Key Facts to Know
Psychosis and schizophrenia are phrases that are closely related but are unique from one another. Both of these conditions can have a substantial impact on an individual's mental health and overall well-being. The underlying causes of each condition and the methods used to treat them are very different, even though they share many symptoms, including delusions and hallucinations. Psychosis [...]
Infertility and Its Effects: What You Need to Know
The impact of infertility is not discussed enough, but it is a prevalent problem. Its effects take a toll on a person physiologically and mentally. One in eight couples have reported to have difficulty conceiving or maintaining pregnancy. There are numerous complex relationships between infertility and mental health. Infertility is defined as the “inability to conceive after 12 months [...]
Overeating: Symptoms, Causes, and Coping Mechanisms for Better Mental Health
Many people turn to overeating as a coping mechanism when they are dealing with difficult emotions or stress. Eating can provide a temporary distraction from negative feelings, and the act of eating can release feel-good chemicals in the brain, such as dopamine. Additionally, certain foods, such as those high in sugar and fat, can activate reward centers in [...]