Blog for Better Living

How to Cope with Gender Disappointment

By: Niyatee Sukumaran, Ph.D. | November 10, 2023

If you are an expectant parent, you’ve undoubtedly been asked: “Do you want a boy or a girl?” All expectant parents have their own ideas and expectations about the biological sex of their future child and create fantasies around what an ideal family looks like. The anticipation of a child’s gender can lead to a […]

From Heartbreak to Hope: Strategies for Coping with Infertility

By: Jen McWaters, Psy.D. | July 14, 2023

June was World Infertility Awareness Month. As someone who has experienced infertility firsthand, I know all too well the heartbreak and emotional toll it takes. Coping with infertility can be a difficult and isolating experience. Throughout the process it’s important to remember that you are not alone. In this article, we’ll explore strategies to cope […]

Anxiety, Children, Depression

Nurturing YOU: Overcoming Burnout as a Working Mom

By: Kristen Lipari, Ph.D. | June 16, 2023

Balancing motherhood and working outside the home is a balancing act that can leave you feeling stretched thin. You may find yourself wrestling with guilt when you don’t meet the high expectations you set for yourself. As a psychologist who specializes in perinatal mental health, I not only work with moms with young children, I […]

A Mom’s Perspective: The Sneaky Month of May

By: Natalie Rice-Thorp, Ph.D. | June 9, 2023

It was midnight on a dark and almost stormy night. I was sitting on the living room floor when the lights went out. I heard ominous creaking somewhere in the house. My eyes fell on the many pairs of sinister-looking scissors surrounding me, glistening in the moonlight. “How did I get here?” I wondered to […]

Therapy Changes Welcomes Dr. Melissa Bernstein

By: Other | December 2, 2022

Written by Melissa Bernstein, Ph.D. I’m so excited to be welcomed into the Therapy Changes family. The journey to become a child psychologist has been a true privilege for me. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to support kids and families in different professional capacities as a therapist, professor, and researcher for over a decade. I find […]

Compassionate Self-Talk for the Stressed-Out Parent

By: Kristen Lipari, Ph.D. | November 18, 2022

The tasks of parenthood can feel overwhelming. Whether you are a stay-at-home parent or balancing a job with parenthood, these years are trying. You’re managing your own mental and physical well-being as well as that of tiny humans. There are dozens of seemingly invisible tasks that add up and it feels like there’s never enough […]

Children, Family, Parenting, Stress

When It’s More Than the “Baby Blues”

By: Kristen Lipari, Ph.D. | July 22, 2022

Depression and Anxiety During and After Pregnancy Bringing a child into the world can be one of the biggest and happiest events in your life, but it can also be extremely stressful. Many physical and emotional changes happen during, and after pregnancy, bringing on unique mental health challenges. It is very common for pregnant […]

A Mom’s Perspective on Summer Vacation: Dream vs. Reality

By: Natalie Rice-Thorp, Ph.D. | July 15, 2022

Every year as summer approaches, I count down the days until school ends, awaiting the time when I have less on my plate. Exhausted from trying to balance my kids’ school demands, keeping the household functional, and keeping up with my own job, I look forward to not tracking almost daily COVID at-home tests, packing […]

Children, Family, Parenting, Stress

How to Avoid Common Thinking Traps in Parenthood

By: Kristen Lipari, Ph.D. | March 4, 2022

Parenthood is full of traps, some of which come in the form of inexplicably painful Legos that hide on the floor just waiting for you to stumble at the end of a long day. Some of these traps occur in our minds. They’re thinking traps, and just because they live in our heads does not […]

Children, Family, Parenting