By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC, ACS

Let’s face it—getting teens to prioritize sleep can feel like an uphill battle. With packed schedules, endless screen time, and their natural tendency to stay up late, sleep often takes a back seat. But the truth is, sleep is vital for their health, mood, and even their success in school. If you’re wondering how to help your teen get the rest they need, you’re not alone—and you’re in the right place.

Alec Rozmiarek, BA, Intern

How much of your energy each day do you spend on work?
 
Not just the work you’re paid to do, but the energy you spend off the clock.
 
The energy spent laying awake at night dreading the work day ahead. The energy spent wishing you were driving to literally anywhere else but work. The time spent mustering up the courage to talk to your boss, worrying how they’ll punish you for speaking.
 
The energy spent thinking:
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“How will my boss set me up for failure today?”
“What will I do ‘wrong’ today?”
“Will my boss just make something up to be mad about today?”
“Why am I being treated this way?”
 
It may surprise you how much of your energy, on and off the clock, can be drained by having a boss who mistreats you, belittles you, refuses to engage with you constructively, or perhaps even discriminates against you. And it can feel like there’s no way it will stop—your boss is the one you are supposed to turn to if you have a problem, right?

By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC, ACS

Parenting a child with ADHD is a bit like trying to teach a butterfly to follow a straight path. They’re colorful, curious, and full of energy, but boy, do they get distracted! If you’ve ever wondered what’s really going on inside your child’s brain and why they act the way they do, you’re not alone. Let’s take a closer look at how the ADHD brain works and how understanding it can help you parent with more patience, compassion, and maybe even a little humor.

What’s Happening inside the ADHD Brain?

Imagine you’re driving a car with an overactive accelerator and unreliable brakes. That’s the ADHD brain. It’s not that your child isn’t trying; it’s that their brain is wired differently. ADHD impacts the areas responsible for attention, impulse control, and emotional regulation. Think of it as having a Ferrari engine with bicycle brakes.
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Kids with ADHD are often amazing problem-solvers, creative thinkers, and full of enthusiasm—when they’re engaged. The trick is learning how to harness these strengths while addressing the challenges.

By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC, ACS

90 degree days are here! Time to go swimming and camping. Time to stay up late and time to sleep the day away.
 
These are some of the things that my boys are loving about summer. 
 
And even though it is still July, I am already dreading the transition to going back to school.
 
While the transition from the carefree days of summer break can be challenging for most children, it can be particularly tough for those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). So, why is this shift from summer vacation back to the routine of school days difficult for children with ADHD?

By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC
​Private Practice Consultation
Private Practice Workshops & Seminars

If you have had an agency job, you rarely get to pick the clients you see and there is typically a huge range of presenting problems and clients that you work with.  This is great training and allows you to work with a huge range of clients, building your skills and confidence.  It seems like having this diversity of skills and experience will be a significant advantage when starting a private practice -- you could see almost anybody.  Do you really need to have a niche?  Isn’t it an advantage to be able to take on anyone in your practice? While it is helpful to have confidence in what you do and your abilities to work with a diverse population, there are some disadvantages to opening a practice that sees everybody. 

It is likely that you already understand the importance in setting goals to have success in your practice.  It is also likely that you have heard the term SMART goals.  If you have not, the acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Focused/Oriented.  This acronym sets a guideline for creating goals that can work.  And while it is a great map, there are a couple of other important factor when creating goals for an authentic and successful practice (or any other endeavor you are working on).

With the end of the year approaching, it is a great time to check in with yourself and your business.  What are your wins?  What have been your challenges?  How was this year different from the one you set out to have?  

In what ways do you go about checking in with your 2018?  You can crunch the numbers and check out if your practice has made a profit.  You can look at your current caseload to determine if you are full or not.  I don’t know about you all, but when I was first asked to review my year, I couldn’t remember anything important regarding my business earlier than the summer.  Sure, I remembered bits and pieces, but not enough to have a thorough review of my year.  For me it is helpful to look at the financial health of my practice, however the numbers do not tell me all I need to know about my year.  Some months may have been higher revenue while some were lower, but what factors made the difference?  Are there other things that are important to you within your work besides your bottom line?  So, while it is important to look at your practice at the end of the year, it is just as important if not more important to check in with your practice more frequently.  While I do set yearly and quarterly goals, I have also chosen to check in with myself and my business each month.  I am so glad that I did.

The holiday season is upon us.  A time for family and friends, too much food and presents.  Many parents I know worry about how much is too much when it comes to presents and gift giving.  Parents buy many many toys that are sometimes tossed to the side and not used in the ways that you hoped.  This can bring up feelings of frustration and resentment and may make you wonder what your child is grateful for, if anything.  If you ask your child what they are grateful for, many times you will hear that they are grateful for their tablets or phones, toys, maybe their house or if you’re lucky they might say you or their family.  While these are definitely things to be grateful for, the ideas of gratefulness or gratitude are much bigger than the things we possess.  How can we teach our children about the power of gratitude?

By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC

Yep, school is coming.  Most likely, your summer schedule has become more lax and free-spirited.  Vacations, inconsistent meal times, staying up late, and sleeping in are all some of the perks of summer vacation.  As school approaches, parents fear the process of getting their kids back into a set and structured schedule.  This is difficult for almost all children and parents alike.  One of the major struggles I hear during the transition time of starting school in the fall is how to set a morning routine.  For children with ADD and ADHD, structure in the mornings can help set the day and help them feel some control over their busy minds and bodies.  

By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC

​If you have a child with either ADHD or ADD or if you are diagnosed with one, you know how difficult organization can be.  Many times it seems that there is a trail of mess and destruction following your child.  You can see the path they took while changing their clothes or while taking off their backpack, shoes, and jacket after coming home from school.  Their folders and binders explode with week-old, half-completed assignments when you open them and their planners have yet to be opened.  There is rarely a spot of carpet that can be seen on the floor of their bedroom and you think, “No wonder they can’t ever find their soccer cleats.”  If your child struggles with executive function, they will probably also struggle with cleaning their room and keeping their school work organized among other things.  As frustrating as this can be, it is our job as parents to find strategies to help.