The Psychological Price of Affluence

on July 14, 2014 at 6:17 PM /

By Megan Sutsko, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist A recent trend in social media has users following their statuses or captions with funny self-deprecating hashtags. Examples are, “My PureBarre class was cancelled #whitegirlproblems” or “iphone contacts deleted! #firstworldproblems.” The assumption is that when upper class Americans complain, their worries are really minimal compared to those with “real” problems. What could financially privileged families and individuals really have to complain about anyway? Well, as far as mental health is concerned, there is actually scientifically supported research that has found that the wealthiest families in our nation have some of the most at-risk children and...

How to Teach Your Child Independence

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on July 2, 2014 at 8:10 AM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist When I went to college, I kind of knew how to do laundry, check the oil in my car, and use my trusty hotpot to make soup. I wasn’t quite so skilled at balancing my checkbook or managing my time effectively and, I was at a complete loss when it came to figuring out a tip in a restaurant. Over the years, I have met with several parents who are getting ready to send their children to college and wonder whether they have adequately prepared them for living independently. As part of an evaluation, we sometimes look...

Helping Children in Split Households Cope with Separation

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on July 2, 2014 at 3:41 AM /

Dr. Wendy Rice was interviewed on The Miguel Show with Holly & Mandy about children in situations with split households and how to help them cope with separation. ...

When to Seek Marital Help

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on June 24, 2014 at 8:00 AM /

With the divorce rate at 3.6 per 1,000 population, according to this CDC report, a lot of couples are asking when is the best time to seek marital help? When is it necessary or when is it too late? The easy answer is that you don’t have to be on the edge of divorce to seek some counseling. When your level of unhappiness is pretty pervasive, and it has been going on for more days than not, and if you are just feeling angry or frustrated, you don’t have to wait for things to go south to talk to somebody. “But what...

Psychology and Confidentiality

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on June 3, 2014 at 4:09 PM /

Dr. Wendy Rice was interviewed on The Stinchfield Report with host, Grant Stinchfield, on 570 KLIF in Dallas/Ft. Worth about psychology and confidentiality around the shootings at UC Santa Barbara in May of 2014. ...

Summer Sanity

By Rice Psychology Group

on June 3, 2014 at 2:31 PM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist Ahhhh…the last day of school! What a magical thing that is. I have memories of streamers flowing out of school bus windows, and throwing overflowing notebooks into the trashcan. When you are little, summer seems like an endless open opportunity for fun, play, and relaxation. I distinctly remember the day in middle school when I figured out that summer was only eight weeks long. I was shocked. It had always seemed to take up at least 50% of my year. Now, as a parent, I have the joy of watching my children experience the building excitement of the...

Problematic Behavior in Children Linked to Soda Consumption?

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on June 3, 2014 at 9:00 AM /

In a very timely study released in the Journal of Pediatrics this month, researchers from Columbia University, the University of Vermont and Harvard studied behavior in approximately 3,000 young children and found that problematic behavior was linked to soda consumption. They used a very well accepted child behavior rating scale, one that I have personally used in my practice for over ten years, to obtain parents perspectives on their children’s behavior over the past two months. They found that 40% of kids had at least one soda per day and 4% drank as many as four or more. They found that aggression, withdrawn behavior and attention problems were highly associated with soda drinking and the behaviors were incrementally worse...

Stop School Year Anxiety and Struggles

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on May 20, 2014 at 3:53 PM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed PsychologistDid your school year fly by or did you and your family trudge through it like a three-toed sloth? Do you have a loved one who struggled this year, either for the first time or yet again? If you are looking for help so that next year isn’t a repeat with the same struggles and roadblocks, perhaps it is time to consider a learning evaluation. Rice Psychology Group tests for learning problems in reading, writing, math, oral language, attention/focus and memory (this is not an exhaustive list) right here in our Tampa offices. Here is a video describing our...

Treating ADHD With More Than Just Meds

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on April 22, 2014 at 5:33 PM /

By Wendy Rice, Psy.D. Licensed Psychologist Today the incidence of ADHD has risen to 7-10% of children world-wide and about 2-5% of adults. The use of ADHD medication is on the rise, with usage more than tripling worldwide since the early 1990's. This leads many parents to search for supplemental or alternative treatments for their kids. Based on research as well as personal and professional experience, Cognitive Training as an alternative and adjunct approach used in conjunction with other, more traditional types of treatment, can be effective when a child needs more than just medications or the family refuses them. Many children struggle...

Parent Report Card Preparation Tips

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on April 9, 2014 at 1:37 PM /

Find out how you can support your child and not freak out when it's time to read their report cards. If you are a parent, four times a year, pretty much without fail, the envelope arrives in the mail for you. As a child in New York, my parent’s got theirs in a thin, white envelope with green edges and a black dot-matrix print. You would fold the end and pull at the tab for the big reveal. Butterflies would ravage my stomach as my mother pulled that tab. For some families, report card time is as ominous as another winter or summer storm. ...