Congratulations to SMART Recovery® for celebrating its 25thanniversary this year. SMART Recovery started back in 1994 and was founded by Joe Gerstein and Tom Horvath. It was established as an alternative path to recovery, utilizing principles of self-empowerment, based on motivational and cognitive therapies. What is Smart Recovery? SMART Recovery stands for Self-Management and Recovery…
Over the years mindfulness has become more common in our society. There are apps to guide us through the practice and it is even being integrated in schools to help teach kids how to manage emotions and stress. But what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is the practice of being both aware of the present and simultaneously…
We have recently heard news of high profile celebrities completing suicide. As tragic and eye opening as such news is, this psychiatrist’s opinion is that the discussion has been superficial and speculative. It also, rather unsatisfyingly, concludes by only offering up the national suicide hotline. What appears to missing from the discussions is not the…
You’ve heard it from friends, family, relatives, neighbors, other parents, teachers and you’ve possible said it yourself: “My kid is smart.” But what does smart mean? What is it? How do you quantify it? Depending on the context in which it is used, Merriam–Webster defines smart as an adjective, verb, and a noun; i.e. bright, knowledgeable, witty, clever.…
Over the counter medications (OTC’s): many of us have relied on them for day-to-day ailments. Be it for coughs, colds, headaches, fever, minor sprains, allergies, or aches and pains, we’ve all found ourselves meandering into our local pharmacy seeking relief from these minor but pesky symptoms. In fact, studies have revealed that around $116 Billion…
Each of the 2018 Loudoun Chamber Finalists, responds to a series of questions about them and the practice, here is Cyndi Turner’s Spotlight
My father’s Demons became my gift from God to help others like me. Before deciding whether to keep drinking or when enough is enough, read my story to understand what being the child of an alcoholic parent feels like. I took the rules from my traumatic childhood of abuse and addiction into Corporate America and…
Am I on the right medication? How do I know if it is working? These are among the most common questions I get asked by patients. Naturally it stems from people wanting to learn more about their medications, including how they work. I try to set up realistic expectations for medication and of me as…
Did you know that 1 in 3 teens will meet the diagnosis criteria for Anxiety by the age of 18? Many teens are faced with trying to balance school expectations, get into college, deal with pressures from family and friends, and plan for who they want to become as adults. Often times they are managing…
The relationship between pets and people is a long and detailed topic to discuss. Our animal companions are with us in a variety of ways. There are the animals that work such as herding livestock, guarding a place, police work, sniffing contraband, guide dogs, therapy animals, the list goes on. Then there are our companion…