What’s the difference between worry and anxiety? How can I best parent my anxious child? How do I date after a divorce? Does my child have OCD? Are your thoughts intrusive?
If you’re asking these types of questions, you’re not alone. Welcome.
stop worrying, start living
Stop worrying,
start living
Tell me about your situation
- I’m an adult experiencing anxiety.
- I’m a parent who wants to help my anxious child.
- I’m an adult with obsessive compulsive disorder.
- I’m a parent of a child who has obsessive compulsive disorder.
- I’m divorced and want tools to help me adjust to this new life.
- I’m not looking for therapy but would like career or life coaching.
My specialties and expertise are focused on treating adults and children who have anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive spectrum disorders, are going through life transitions (like life after divorce), or who would like help with their parenting skills.
I prefer the down-to-earth approach, so I translate the evidence-based research and give you useable solutions. I listen to your needs and then together we develop a plan that feels doable and that includes milestones to note improvement. Believe it or not, therapy shouldn’t be boring or stodgy, and it shouldn’t last forever.
Conversations with Joanna
What’s OCD Got to Do With It?
I really try not to be offended easily, and truly, I’m not. But as someone who treats patients with obsessive compulsive disorder, there’s something I need to say. Even in this unprecedented, high-stress, we-have-to-wash-our-hands situation, it is not ok to associate “crazy” with “germaphobe” as I heard a very well-respected reporter say. It’s not ok…
7 Things People Without Excessive Anxiety Can Teach Us
Everyone has some anxiety. It’s a normal emotion that we actually need, because it protects us from danger. We don’t want to get rid of it. For those with excessive worry or anxiety, however, improving your ability to differentiate between danger and discomfort is important. Tolerating discomfort and learning how to better respond to that…
Mastery: A Key to Living With Impact
Every Tuesday, when I leave my trainer, Eric, I thank him and tell him that was the best hour of my week. Believe it or not, I’ve actually gotten side eyes and comments about how lame my life must be to classify that one hour as the best. Granted most of those comments are from…
The Science Behind How You Can Actually Change Your Behavior
Now that it’s February, it’s a good time to evaluate how those New Year’s resolutions are coming along. If you’re like the majority of people who set those goals year after year with the best intentions only to make it a couple of days, or maybe weeks, this article is for you. There’s a scientific…
Lessons from TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé, Part 2
Welcome back! If you’ve come here first, you’ll want to check out Part One of Lessons from TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé. Today, I’ll give you 3 more lessons. And, while the original catalyst for these posts isn’t necessarily the most credible, in all seriousness, the lessons we can learn are good ones. Lesson #3: “Talking…
Lessons from TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé, Part 1
On a cold, miserable, gray Cleveland weekend, my daughter introduced me to the highly addictive reality show 90 Day Fiancé. I know. I don’t know what came over me. But I was hooked, and we binge-watched 2 seasons before she went back to college. What I’ve come to see is that the show is a…