Question of the Month
Parenting continues to evolve, and the way we live and inhabit our homes evolves in parallel. Thank you, Spencer, for sharing such important, honest insights that highlight your clinical skills, your humor, and your emotional intelligence. Millennials who grew up as bedroom kids notice they are raising living room kids.
Friday, October 10th was World Mental Health Day—a time to focus globally on emotional well-being. Established in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) and recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), this annual event reminds us that mental health deserves attention all year long. While many hoped that the end of the…
This month I spoke with Huffington Post about the “Ostrich Effect” and the link will lead you to the article; however my full answer is below: These days, more therapists and clients are referencing the ostrich effect — the tendency to metaphorically bury one’s head in the sand to avoid confronting negative or distressing information.…
Saturday was International Women’s Day and March is Women’s History Month. I was glad for the change to discuss the state of women’s mental health on Fox Nashville. The monologue at the end of the barbie movie is quite powerful a fitting summary as we unpack the question of the current state of women’s mental…
Happy New Year! Setting healthier boundaries is a common new year’s resolution so I thought I would share this clip from a conversation I had with Good Day DC host Jacqueline Matter. This particular suggested script focuses on the holidays and spending time together as a family, but it can be tweaked to a variety…
Spencer Northey spoke with HuffPost about whether the popular approach of gentle parenting can also be an effect relational strategy in the romantic realm. Gentle parenting is a soft spoken supportive parenting strategy that many parents find enhances their connection with their children and improves listening skills for the family. Several experts made salient points…
As a therapist who works with folks from a variety of backgrounds and political perspectives, this is an important question that comes up quite a bit, especially as we head into the Thanksgiving Holiday. It was rewarding to speak with Axios reporter Maya Goldman about how important it is to not allow politics to drive…
I’ve admired social worker Terry Real for many years. He held an impromptu virtual meeting in mid-March 2020 and invited any practicing therapist to attend. He shared that he has been working virtually for quite a while and expressed his belief that experienced clinicians could indeed pivot from their in-person sessions in order to continue…
For years now, there has been a dramatic shortage of therapists in the field. Waiting lists at agencies are far too long, and folks in emotional pain need to wait, sometimes for weeks or even months, to receive necessary care. What an inspiration it was to speak with Dr. Brooke Stroud, Dan Duane and Karey…
Last week’s NYT’s article does a nice job of outlining some of the strategic advantages of using “I” statements when communicating in our intimate relationships. For example, when a romantic partner says “you never hug me” this sentence is not optimally conducive to inviting a hug. However, saying “I’ve had a horrible day and I…