WBMA is pleased to welcome our newest therapy team member, Rachel Scharf, LCSW!!
Rachel brings years of experience working with children, adolescents, families, and schools to WBMA. She has diverse training experiences, including approaches in trauma, attachment, parent-child relationship engagement, and play-based techniques. Rachel strives to create strong connections with her clients and their families, working with children and adolescents (ages 4-18), as well as parents, using a […]
Understanding Psychoeducational Testing: A Guide for Parents
When a child struggles in school, it can be a source of worry and confusion for parents. Understanding the reasons behind these struggles is the first step toward helping your child succeed. School challenges may indicate an underlying learning disability such as dyslexia, or result from differences in a child’s ability to regulate their attention […]
The Importance of Mental Health Support for LGBTQ+ Individuals
In the not-so-distant past, being LGBTQ+ was pathologized by mental health professionals. Thankfully, society has evolved, and we now recognize that sexual orientation and gender identity are natural variations of human experience. However, embracing your authentic self can still be a challenging process. Whether coming out to others or working on self-discovery and acceptance, aligning […]
Mental Health Awareness is the Start to A Better Life
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, during which Americans are urged to learn, support, and tend to this critical component of overall health. The month encourages a reversal of the traditional stigma and shame attached to mental health challenges, helping people to understand mental health conditions, seek help, and support one another. Finding the proper treatment is […]
Neurologic Symptoms and Treatment In COVID-19 and Long COVID
The COVID-19 SARS pandemic has passed its peak global virulence, but the effects are still being felt, with continued new infections as well as a cadre of patients who have post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2 infection (PASC), commonly known as “long COVID.” The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined it as “the continuation or development […]
The Connection Between Noticing and Change
One of my favorite moments to witness in therapy is when folks realize that life doesn’t 100% happen to them, rather, they have some agency. They can’t control everything, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do anything, either. Wow. It’s a game changer, that understanding. It’s beautiful to see the light bulbs go on, the […]
Diagnosing Autoimmune Encephalitis
The National Institutes of Health describes Autoimmune Encephalitis as “a group of conditions that occur when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy brain cells, leading to inflammation of the brain.” Among the collection of inflammatory brain diseases, Autoimmune Encephalitis causes are one of the most mysterious, potentially due to a malignancy, following viral encephalitis, […]
Setting Boundaries for the Holidays
If the radio and TV ads will tell us anything, it’s now the holiday season. Or it has been since August, according to store displays. At the time of writing this, the winter holiday season is now actually in a few weeks. Thanksgiving was just a bit ago. If you celebrated Thanksgiving, I’m sure that […]
Cultivating Resilience: Tools for Helping Children Navigate Hard Times
There’s a lot of pain in the world. To be sure, there are also moments of rich joy, beauty, and connection, too. But usually, it’s the former experience, not the latter, that brings people to therapy. I have the privilege of working with some really amazing families. Time and time again, I hear caregivers asking […]
Finding My Rhythm: Navigating Life as an ADHD’er
You’re in for a treat with this post because I’m starting without one, but two anecdotes about my life. So buckle in. The first occurred about a week prior to writing this, when my supervisor Dr. Halpern asked if anyone would like to write a ADHD Awareness Month blog post. I jokingly said, “Well, I’m […]
