Psychologist in Greenwood Village, Colorado

“13 Reasons Why” The Netflix original that, for better or worse, has everyone talking. Talking about suicide, abuse, bullying, and what is appropriate for a teen audience. Spoiler alert, the TV series is about a teenage girl who commits suicide and pre-records 13 different cassette tapes, each speaking about a different one of her peers and how their actions contributed to her decision to commit suicide. The show depicts graphic rape scenes as well as acts of violence and adult language. The show obviously caused some commotion, and rightfully so, parents were concerned to have their children watch it As a mental health professional, I was torn as to the appropriateness of this particular TV show. I agree that there needs to be more of a conversation about suicide, but in what ways do we want to expose vulnerable young adults in order to start the conversation. I hadn’t thought too much about watching the series until several of my own teen clients began to speak about it. It...

So much of what creates difficulties in our lives stems from anxiety. Anxiety about not being good enough. Anxiety about failing. Anxiety about not being liked. These anxieties can cause big problems in our lives. In my world as a psychologist I get to see these anxieties go away and for people so they feel calm, content, in control and unafraid. How you ask? The most effective way I see anxiety dissipate for people is by using a therapeutic method called  EMDR (Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing) . It is touted to be an evidence based effective therapy by the  World Health Organization ,  The American Psychiatric Association ,  Department of Veterans Affairsand the  Department of Defense . It is used for many kinds of anxiety, but was originally used to treat trauma- an intense form of anxiety after an event in which you feel your life or the life of a loved one is in danger. People feel relieved to know that there is something that will h...