The CBT Baltimore Blog

Summertime is full of fun adventures, vacations, and breaks from therapy. You or your therapist may go on vacation, have an emergency, or be under other circumstances where you must take a week or several weeks off from therapy. While this is not an ideal situation, it is part of life....

Help Relieve your Child from Anxiety Description:  Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) is a parent-based treatment protocol aimed at helping children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, OCD, and related issues....

As vaccination rates increase, infection rates slow, and safety restrictions loosen, a post-pandemic return to ‘normal’ is on the horizon. The thought of returning to school, the workplace, and social gatherings can be exciting—and anxiety-provoking....

Life has a way at throwing twists and turns our way at times. Over time, these everyday struggles and lifechanging events can start to pile up. While they can create a lot of stress and uncertainty in our lives, they don’t have to control us....

In the United States, our situation with the pandemic is greatly improved when you consider we were still in the thick of the shutdown just one year ago. At this point, reopening is taking place, school is out for the summer and all is perfect in the world! Okay, not exactly....

Intelligence is a metric that humanity has valued since ancient times. It's why we still look back on the works of thinkers like Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato to this day....

Social skills are the skills we implement to verbally and non-verbally interact with those around us. Problem-solving, communicating, decision making and self-management are all factors that contribute to one's social skills....

In the spirit of the cicada arrival, we offered three hypotheses in our last blog post about how our aversion to bugs developed over time....

Technology-based anxiety treatment resources are more prevalent than ever. Is this a legitimate way to receive treatment? Absolutely! However, there are pros and cons to choosing online-based treatment over in-person treatment....

A brief look into mental health statistics will suggest that anxiety is more prevalent now than it has ever been. You can find studies all over the internet that report an increase in anxiety and depression-related disorders over the last century....

We’re fortunate to be alive in this day and age for many reasons. For example, thanks to modern medicine and psychology developments, we now have access to a plethora of safe treatment options for a wide array of mental health disorders....

Ambivalence isn’t necessarily a bad thing! In fact, it’s completely normal. When we witness any change, it’s only reasonable to assume that we may be subject to conflicted feelings at first. This is also true when it comes to taking medications....

Resilience, or the capacity to quickly recover from life’s challenges, is a valuable trait that can help us navigate through times of stress and uncertainty. But how can we develop our own resilience? Sometimes it’s worth looking back in time for the answers to life’s difficult questions....

There are four main communication styles that we use in our daily lives: passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive and assertive. With exception to passive-aggressive communication, each method has its own pros and cons that we should consider to ensure we communicate effectively and appropriately....

The holidays are a lovely time of year, but they can start to feel chaotic at times. Luckily, there are several things we can do to reduce our stress levels and create a sense of peace amidst all the madness....

While the holidays are an exciting time for many, they can also be quite stressful. Luckily, a thoughtful diet can boost our minds and our bodies during any time of year....

We could all use a little bit of a break right now, but what if you could feel a sense of peace and calm at least once every day? Even if you know why practices like meditation are good for you, it can be hard to know where to start....

If you’re like millions of Americans, the transition from Thanksgiving to the holiday season means one thing—gift giving! While giving gifts can be very fun (and they are always nice to receive), paying it forward can give you surprising tangible and intangible benefits....

Graduate Degree in ‘Pandemicing’ My experience as a graduate student in midst of a global pandemic By Malka Dubin, M.S....

If you’re like many other people in 2020, you’re feeling a little stressed. Between a historic presidential election, a global pandemic and all of the changes to the world around us, it’s hard to maintain good mental health....

COVID-19 has changed many things about our lives, and as we prepare to enter the holiday season, many people are reflecting on the value of family traditions. Even in stressful and trying times, our traditions, rituals and shared beliefs can still unite us....

Now that Labor Day has passed, common fashion advice says that white should stay at the back of your closet until Memorial Day and summer roll around again....

Labor Day serves as a reminder of the workers who have come before us and worked for better conditions on the job and a better work week....

If you are like millions of other Americans, you have been experiencing strange dreams during the pandemic and turbulence of 2020. You also might be wondering what your dreams mean....

Sleep might not seem like an important part of our lives, but it is critical to both our physical and mental health. Practicing good sleep hygiene means having good habits that make sure you get a great night of rest and feel energized and awake during the day....

  Our director, Shmuel, is fortunate to be involved with this local organization.  Chai-Lifeline Mid-Atlantic is a wonderful organization that services children and their families who struggle with serious and chronic medical illnesses....

  Are you losing your hearing? No, not the ability to hear sounds with your ears, but the ability to be able to truly hear what someone else is saying....

  2020 has been synonymous with anxiety, stress and depression for many people....

Summer is here, and many kids and teens are headed to sleepaway summer camp to make new friends, enjoy time in the great outdoors and learn new skills....

Every parent wants to help their child or teen build independence, but that can be easier said than done. With so many unknowns in the world today, some parents struggle to let their children grow their confidence and do things on their own....

From saying good morning to the barista at your favorite coffee shop to chatting with your best friend over a cocktail after work, socialization is a part of who we are. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed countless things about how we live our lives, and one of the biggest things is how we socialize....

In 2007, over 1.5 million children were taught at home instead of boarding the school bus to head back to school. That small fraction of children in the United States used to be much higher decades ago, when public schooling was less common or entirely nonexistent....

COVID-19 has changed all of our lives already, whether you are working from home every day, currently unemployed or leaving the house for an essential job every morning. While the degree of change will differ from person to person, nobody is currently living their “normal life....

We are all experiencing a far-reaching pandemic for the first time in many of our lives. As a result, it’s hard for many of us to see a path forward and understand the potential ramifications of what we are going through....

  Can Freedom Be Defined?     In a week’s time millions of Jewish people, devout and otherwise, will be celebrated the holiday of Passover around the globe....

We rely on the media around us, from social media to newspapers, to get accurate information on potential problems facing us. Whether these problems are conflicts with other countries or viruses like COVID-19, it can be difficult to balance preparedness and panic....

Episode 3: Procrastination     Let's admit it.... we all procrastinate.  There are countless things we dodge, dance, and wiggle out of.  For better or worse....

Did you see that article? What about that tweet? What about that Facebook post? Did you check your email this morning? Today, it feels like politics are an inescapable part of daily life....

Did you know that, in the 2010 Census, a whopping 4....

A 2017 poll found that the number of Americans identifying as religious decreased over the course of the five years preceding it....

Every year, millions of Americans set new year’s resolutions in the hopes that this will be the year they finally reach their goals, make new friends, complete a pottery class or read 100 books. However, studies show us that most of those resolutions are abandoned by January 12th....

In the aftermath of the holiday season and with the start of a new year, there’s a good chance that your social media feeds are full of people “humble bragging....

Is laughter really the best medicine? While humor might seem counterintuitive when used in the same sentence as “mental health,” it can be a powerful tool for those looking to improve their mental health....

This is the time of the year when we have to ask ourselves a critical question—to gift or not to gift? From the motives behind gift giving to the pressures that can lead us to overspend to impress, there are many complex forces that govern whether or not we buy a gift for someone in our lives....

Where do you live? While you might not think about the four seasons as having a dramatic effect on who you are, plenty of research indicates that the seasons can affect our mental health....

Do you love dining after dark? Do you thrive during Daylight Savings Time or wish that you never got that “extra” hour of sleep? While few people complain about getting to sleep in a little extra one day a year, they often change their tune when they notice the sun setting closer to 5 PM than 8...

How would you react if you heard that 8 in 10 adults over the age of 30 have anxiety? There’s a good chance that, unless that 80% figure radically challenged what you’ve experienced, you would blindly accept it as fact....

In today’s world, there is so much false information swirling around between social media, other news sites and the television. For every article telling an authentic representation of facts, it seems like there are five dedicated to doing the opposite for personal or political gain....

Get 25 free Now You Know cards Our own Shmuel Fischler had the opportunity to join Tom Rodgers and Fox 45 to discuss the Now You Know Cards and the numerous applications they have.  Interest is growing in our movement to create meaningful conversation for mental health.  

A few years ago I had the opportunity to meet Stuart Ralph, the man behind The OCD Stories, when he was honored at the annual IOCDF conference....

Who are you? A mother or father? An employee or employer? A parent? A child? A volunteer? A friend? A chef? An artist? The more that many people consider this question, the longer the list of different hats that we wear gets....

No life comes without some level of disappointment....

Get 25 free Now You Know cards A story… Years ago, I was sitting with a client in session who was lamenting the disconnect between herself and family and friends....

At times it can feel like we have too much noise going on in our heads.  Thoughts that we don't want and try our best to push away.  The good news is that we have more power than we think we do....

While summer is a wonderful time to gather with friends and loved ones, sometimes spending time with family can be anything but smooth sailing. Whether it’s a family reunion, birthday party or backyard barbecue, navigating uncomfortable family events is possible with a little preparation....

  Myopia is not some unfamiliar rare condition When was the last time you looked around and took note of how many people are wearing glasses? If you yourself don’t wear glasses, I am sure you know someone who does....

In Maryland, spring and summer bring with them plenty of warmth and sunlight....

Next to New Year’s Day, which dawns with plenty of anticipation and resolutions, the start of summer vacation is the next-biggest day for many goal-setters....

Even if you lacked a calendar or any sense of what time of year it is, you would immediately know when summer is only a couple months away....

There’s a condition sweeping through the entire country right now, and it isn’t seasonal allergies! This condition causes a short attention span, constant staring out the window and a need to get outside. What is it? Spring fever....

Young adults today are dealing with mountains of student debt, sky-high stress levels and plenty of social media-induced fear of missing out (FOMO). A combination of factors has led to the current rise of failure to launch in young adults....

The concept of identity formation can seem strange to adolescents and young adults. After all, with such a strong societal focus on individuality and self-acceptance, identity feels like an intuitive state and not like something that is influenced and chosen....

  CBT Baltimore continues to grow! About CBT Baltimore: We are a private practice of dedicated and compassionate professionals providing specialized psychotherapy in our outpatient office....

Social Phobia, otherwise referred to as Social Anxiety, is a struggle that millions (about 15 million in the U.S.!) grapple with every day.  It can present itself when having to ‘perform’ in front of other people (i.e. class presentation, public speaking, and even using a public restroom)....

Were you one of the millions of people who purchased lottery tickets before the $1....

How do we support those struggling with mental illness? Recently, CBT Baltimore's Shmuel Fischler had the opportunity to interview a wonderful human being and OCD advocate, Stuart Ralph.  He is the creator and facilitator of The OCD Stories, an immensely popular podcast....

Every few years, the work week length debate seems to reemerge alongside a study proclaiming that workers are more productive, or happy or satisfied when the work week is either shorter or longer....

Sometimes the answers to our relationship struggles come down to the simple things. One of the most common difficulties people have in their relationships is communication problems....

Whenever we consider the emotions that seem to be universal across humans, a few immediately come to the front of the discussion—love, hate, sympathy, compassion and anger. However, the debate about organic or learned psychological traits has been raging for centuries....

  Lessons all around us Whether you are a fan of his music or not, Eminem AKA Marshall Bruce Mathers III, can be a teacher of sorts.  As sagely wisdom offers, ‘Who is the wise man? He who learns from all people....

Even in the most romantic month of the year, relationships will be thrown into conflict. Who left the cap off of the toothpaste? Why wasn’t your friend invited to brunch? Big or small, disputes that occur in relationships can often be resolved with communication....

“I WANT TO BE MY BEST VERSION OF ME” We tell ourselves this time will be different. This diet will work. This exercise plan is doable. I can do this. I got this covered. On and on we go. And surprise, surprise! We start out with such high hopes only to once again be disappointed....

While “planning” and “weekend” seem like they belong in different sentences unless the planning involves sitting on the couch or heading to the movies, a well-planned weekend is a great antidote to the Monday morning blues....

We’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news: you will, at some point, have a disagreement with almost everyone you meet personally and professionally. The good news: you can learn how to navigate disagreements productively and prevent them from hampering your relationships....

When you wake up to see six inches of snow lining your street and find out that work and school are canceled, what’s your first reaction? Do you dread spending the day cooped up inside, or do you look forward to spending time connecting with your family? Snow days, love them or hate them, are...

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, but that doesn’t mean that holiday sales aren’t still in full swing....

The holidays are here, which means that millions of Americans across the country will be taking trip after trip to tables packed with stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes and endless pies....

You woke up to a cold room and realized your heater has decided to kick the bucket. One week ago you found out that your company might be undergoing a merger. And, it turns out that the mole on your spouse’s back might not be harmless after all....

How did you learn to hold the door open for the person right behind you waiting to enter a store? What about saying “bless you!” after someone sneezes? Modeling is one of the fundamental ways that we all learn how to be responsible, kind and productive adults....

With so many competing demands on time and attention, it is harder than ever for families to spend quality time together. One study found that families spend only 36 minutes of quality time together on the average weekday....

Shhh…. if you listen closely you just may be able to hear the dialog going on in your head right now even as you read this line. The banter can be swift, like an Abbott and Costello routine (Google it, millennials), blink and you miss it....

Football season is here. Millions of sports fans across the country are spending Sunday afternoons and nights sitting on the couch, eating too many potato chips and soaking in the subtle psychological and emotional effects of the game....

More Americans are identifying as spiritual and not religious, but there are still many people who avoid both terms altogether. There is a big intersection between psychology and faith of any sort, and there are numerous mental health benefits of engaging in spiritual and religious practices....

When we or someone we love struggle with mental illness, be it anxiety, depression or something else, the symptoms and stigma can all take a toll. In many cases, stigma causes sufferers to internalize and isolate, which can create a heavier burden and an additional roadblock on the way to recovery....

Your senior year of high school is over. It’s been 12 years (or more) of hard work, tests, classes, meeting new friends and growing as a person. While some people preparing to enter college are excited about a fresh start, others are feeling the pressure and anxiety already....

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the best available psychological treatment for fear, worry, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCSD). Decades of research support the use of CBT, the gold-standard psychological intervention....

There are so many family and kid-friendly activities to tackle over the course of the summer, from outdoor movie screenings to hikes in the woods....

When the weather warms up, many people head outdoors to enjoy the summer sun and shake off the cold of winter. It’s easy to think that better weather means improving your mood, like the sun breaking through the clouds after a thunderstorm....

In the business world, plenty of job-seekers, employees and entrepreneurs have a fear of failure. This deep-seated fear stops them from trying to achieve goals, taking risks or setting goals in the first place. However, a fear of success is emerging as a common problem leading to self-sabotage....

What are you doing right now? There’s a high chance you’re reading this blog on a mobile device with 4 other apps open (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and email), or on a computer while you’re supposed to be working....

Warmer weather is here, which makes it the perfect time to go outside and get moving, exploring and enjoying the world around us. However, if you are dealing with depression or anxiety, it can be hard to get out and do things for reasons that have nothing to do with the weather....

The colors around you every day—from the Metro station to the fast food restaurant—are all designed to elicit a certain response from you based on the psychology of colors....

Graduation is an exciting time. Planning your graduation party, starting to dorm shop and preparing for a summer full of catching up on your Netflix queue are all things to look forward to....

The trend of spring cleaning and decluttering is hotter than ever thanks to the Kon Mari Method and a renewed cultural interest in minimalism. While regular decluttering can be perfectly healthy, an obsession with shedding possessions can quickly spiral out of control....

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and texting are all powerful tools for building new relationships and strengthening the ones that you already have. With many more technological advances on the horizon, interpersonal relationships are sure to keep changing with the times....

Extroverts are gregarious, out-going people who are the life of the party, life of the cubicle and life of the coffee shop. It’s easy for introverts to feel like the red-headed stepchildren of their exciting extrovert counterparts, but introverts have unique strengths that make them special....

Identity is a broad term that encompasses everything about you....

Love is everywhere on the silver screen this time of year, and plenty of teens and adults swoon when taking in the seemingly-perfect relationships of Hollywood. However, authentic relationship-building is often anything but glamorous....

Countless Americans work from “vacation to vacation,” and return to work only to start another countdown until they can leave again. While vacations have been shown to temporarily relieve employee burnout, long vacations aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be....

Football playoffs are here, which means that countless fans are spending their Sundays glued to the television, perched on the edge of their couch cushion and resting their emotional well-being on their team....

As the New Year approaches, many adults will enter the resolution cycle in a quest to improve themselves. However, 32% of people who make resolutions fail within the first two weeks, with 80% failing after three months....

For many adults and children, the holidays are anything but merry and bright. Whether they resurface past trauma or leave you panicking on the drive over to your mother-in-law’s home, the holidays can wreak havoc on mental health....

Holiday shopping is one of the most stressful parts of the season, and it’s even more stressful when you have to bring children along. To help your children stay on the nice list and steer clear of coal in their stocking, managing your child’s behavior and routine is essential....

Thanksgiving is about more than wrangling the turkey out of the oven and politely chatting with your aunts and uncles. In fact, the true reason for the holiday is in the name—giving thanks....

If you’re a high school or college student, how do you feel when you get a C? If you’re like many students you feel frustrated, wish that it was a B and resolve to do better on the next exam....

Comparing your accomplishments, appearance, and belongings to those of others is an age-old problem, but social media makes it easier than ever before....

When was the last time you were bored? Sitting at a red traffic light waiting for it to turn? Waiting in line at the coffee shop? Now more than ever, teenagers and adults are unable to deal with brief periods of boredom without pulling out their phones to open an app....

Fall is here, which means that children are boarding buses headed to school while college students move into their dorms. While the back to school period is very exciting, it can also lead to separation anxiety for both parents and students....

"Optimists build aeroplanes, pessimists build parachutes" The glass half empty or glass half full conundrum has been asked to generations of adults in the office, at home and at restaurants....

Even though it’s called social media, apps like Facebook and Instagram might be negatively impacting your mental health and relationships. It is important to have family time without technology every day to boost your social connections and improve your overall well-being....

Summer is the best time of year for cookouts, catching up with family, barbecues and pool parties. However, if you are one of the thousands of people coping with Social Anxiety Disorder, it can feel like one scary event after another....

While tons of adults feel a strong sense of wanderlust and happily venture into the unknown, others struggle to cope with anxiety about travel....

Take a look in the mirror. What do you see? Even if you are happy with your physical appearance, you might find a few things that you don’t like....

Countless Americans spend all summer dreaming of the beach and dreading it once they arrive for one reason—bathing suits. Something about the heat of the summer sun and the short length of hemlines stirs a lot of us into a frenzy....

Emotional health and well-being are vitally important for raising a resilient child from a young age, as we discussed in the last article about childhood trauma. The good news is that there’s a way to help your child develop resiliency later in life - by raising an emotionally stable child....

There are dozens of therapy jokes out there. From the, “...and how does that make you feel?” sentiment to the vague answers that therapists sometimes give, we’ve heard most of them....

If you’re anything like the average American, you spend about eight hours at a desk every day (at least), typing away and staring at a screen. Some days you probably feel like a sluggish, mindless automaton....

Picture this: you wake up at 6 AM after getting to sleep at around 2. You spend the whole night preparing a make-or-break presentation for work before passing out and dreading your alarm in four hours....

People tend to resist therapy, like most activities that involve change. The idea of picking up and moving, seeking a new job or even changing the route you travel on your way into work can be enough to stress you out....

Choosing your therapist is important. This is someone with whom you’re going to be sharing some of the most intimate details of your life. It’s crucial that you can trust this person and are comfortable discussing the tough things....

Decision making can be tough for anyone, especially with the number of options we have these days....

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a debilitating neuropsychiatric condition that can result in significant distress and daily disruptions for those affected....

There are several reasons why people with mental health concerns struggle to get into treatment, but fear may be the most dominating factor....

Do you know that three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced this stigma? Stigma is defined as a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person....