It’s been quite a year at Georgetown Psychology and we’d like to think we were able to provide you with the information and resources you were looking for. Below, we’ve pulled together the 10 most-read blog posts from our website in 2016.

Did you read them all? Employ any of the strategies we gave you? Try out any of the tips or suggestions? Need a review? If you missed any of the Top 10, now’s your chance to read up before the year is out…

10. Too Much Screen Time?

Growing up in the twenty-first century, children and adolescents have become accustomed to the central role technology plays in their everyday lives. From an early age, today’s youth seem to know instinctively how to work the latest gadgets. While advances in technology have yielded increased access to educational resources, the amount of time children and adolescents spend today staring at a screen has reached new heights…

9. Exercise Can Help Reduce Executive Functioning Challenges In Children

Staying active through exercise is not only important for physical health, but also helps reduce stress and improve mood for people of all ages. Exercise is particularly important for children and teenagers. According to the CDC, children who exercise have lower rates of obesity, anxiety, stress, and reduced risk of health problems later in life. Exercising in childhood also helps build lifelong healthy habits. The CDC recommends that children…

8. Helping College Freshman Cope With The Transition

Heading off to college is a significant time of transition for teenagers. The prospect of living more independently can be exciting, and many teens look forward to the increased freedom of living on campus with less supervision from parents. However, it can also be difficult to adjust to living in a new place away from one’s usual support network. It can take time to make new friends and begin to form a new support system to help cope…

7. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Frequently Asked Questions

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a brain and behavior disorder that can be identified by uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that a person feels the urge to repeat over and over. OCD symptoms can interfere with all aspects of life including school, work, and social relationships. People with OCD may have obsessions, compulsions or both. OCD causes severe anxiety in…

6. Part 1. B.E.D. – The Eating Disorder That’s Way More Common Than You Think

B.E.D. is an eating disorder in which a person experiences recurrent episodes of binge eating (on average, at least once per week for three months) that are marked by consuming abnormally large amounts of food, more food than a person would normally eat in a similar period of time. Binge-eating episodes are often accompanied by a feeling of being “out of control” and followed by feelings of guilt and shame. Binge eating may…

5. Demystifying Admissions Testing

Cognitive tests are often requirements for applying to independent schools, and they can be a source of stress for parents and children alike. Parents often wonder what goes into the tests and how they are scored. Here is some information to shed some light on the process and reduce stress. Children 5 years and younger typically take the WPPSI-IV (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence). It usually lasts around 45…

4. Psychoeducational Testing – The Who, What, Where, When and Why

At our practice, we provide psychoeducational assessments ranging from young children to adults. When clients first reach out to us, often times, parents and students express feeling overwhelmed and/or confused by the psychoeducational assessment process. As such, we have pulled together some key information regarding psychoeducational assessment. Psychoeducational testing typically involves a comprehensive assessment…

3. Rethinking ADHD

I often work with parents whose children have recently been diagnosed with ADHD. It can be a challenging and overwhelming diagnosis to digest, with a number of very understandable worries and questions to address. While determining a plan with them, however, what I always try to emphasize is that it’s important for them to understand the actual presentation of ADHD, rather than just the “symptoms” they have probably heard…

2. How Much Sleep Do You Need? An Expert Panel Releases Its Recommendations

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, insufficient sleep is a public health epidemic. Poor sleep can impact many aspects of our physical and mental health and has been shown to impact health problems such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and depression. Importantly, research indicates that many of us, and American teenagers in particular, just aren’t getting enough sleep. But how much sleep do we need exactly?…

1. I Love You More Than Your Grades

I remember attending the screening of Race to Nowhere by Vicki Abeles many years ago and seeing on screen what I was seeing in my office every day: students stressed out about grades, homework, AP classes, SAT’s, and college admissions, and competing with each other and themselves to achieve at the highest levels. The film captured the pressure students face in schools across the nation, in affluent, middle class and lower income…