Overwhelming Worries: A Close Look at Anxiety Disorders

on April 19, 2017 at 8:52 PM /

I have to admit that I haven’t felt like myself lately. Actually, I’m not even sure what truly feeling like myself is like anymore. I often find myself trying to battle the most uncontrollable worries imaginable: a sense of panic and overall restlessness. The funny thing is that I can’t find a reason why I’m feeling this way to begin with. I mean, I experience stress from work and normal issues at home, but is this enough to make it as overwhelming as it is? Do you remember standing in front of your classroom, feeling anxious as you prepared to make...

Join Rice Psychology Group for Some Laughs at a Showing of Avenue Q on May 19th!

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on April 12, 2017 at 4:27 PM /

Blog

Avenue Q Comes to Stageworks Theatre in Tampa. I received an email a few weeks ago from the powers that be at Stageworks Theatre in Tampa saying that they were looking for sponsors for their upcoming run of Avenue Q. Now, I receive many emails from Stageworks, but none garnered the type of instant reaction I had with this one. I couldn’t get my “Yes, sign me up!” response over to them fast enough! What’s so special Avenue Q? Well, Sesame Street aired around the time I was born. I grew up loving The Muppet Movie and totally related to the fact that it’s “not easy...

Child Giftedness: Putting Them to the Test

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on April 5, 2017 at 4:15 PM /

I know every parent takes pride in their children’s accomplishments, but lately I’ve felt like my youngest daughter actually is much more advanced than her classmates. I understand it sounds like I’m just being a mother who admires and cherishes her daughter, but I really mean it. Her vocabulary astounds me, she expresses herself better than many adults I know and she’s extremely creative. I realize how this must sound, but what if she’s a gifted child? I’ve heard that other kids are in the gifted program at her school but never knew how they got there! What’s my first...

Do You Love Your Job? I Do and Here’s Why!

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on March 30, 2017 at 2:05 AM /

Have you ever been to therapy? If so, I’d consider you to be one of the lucky ones. Many people have preconceived notions about therapy in terms of who goes, who benefits and what actually happens behind closed doors. Some believe that therapy is only for crazy or weak people, so that if they try it, they must be crazy in some way, have major character weaknesses or at least have very serious issues. Others see it as an unnecessary alternative to having a talk with a good friend. There are also some who view it as a privilege for...

Imposter Syndrome: What it is and How it Can Affect You

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on March 22, 2017 at 7:00 AM /

This May, I’ll be graduating from college with a degree in finance with highest honors. Throughout all four years of school, I worked really hard and learned as much as I could about finance, but as the day for graduation approaches, I’m starting to feel fear that all of my grades might have been awarded to me by mistake. Yes, I studied for each exam, but the grades I received always felt unwarranted to me. It’s almost like I made it this far due to luck. In class, I always had a feeling that I didn’t belong there, that making...

The Benefits Your Child Can Have by Playing Board Games

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on March 15, 2017 at 2:48 PM /

Last week, I decided to get a head start on my spring cleaning and found some old board and card games my siblings and I used to play back in the day. The discovery instantly put a smile on my face, but I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy at the fact that my children haven’t been exposed to classics such as Sorry!, Clue and Uno. It seems like today’s kids would rather spend their downtime playing video games or on their phones, but is there really no going back to board games? Do they even have anything to...

A Close Look at what Self-Efficacy is and what You Can do to Strengthen Your Child’s

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on March 8, 2017 at 9:16 PM /

Every parent wants for his or her child to grow up with healthy self-esteem. However, is liking oneself and feeling like a worthwhile person enough? When we look a bit further, we see that feeling and actually being both capable and competent may be even more important. Self-efficacy is a concept that was developed by psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1970s. It’s described by Julia Lythcott-Haims as, “…having the belief in your abilities to complete a task, reach goals, and manage a situation. It means believing in your abilities – not in your parent’s abilities to help you do those things...

Parenting 101: Is there a Manual to Help Our Kids Become Well-Developed and Socially Responsible Adults?

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on March 1, 2017 at 9:11 PM /

At some point, many parents have wanted a manual or instructions to help raise their children. Is it your goal to help your children become resilient and socially responsible adults? If so, a set of instructions would sure make the job much easier, wouldn’t it? If you’ve ever tried finding a book on being a better parent, the amount of choices was likely overwhelming. In this piece, we’ll be going over a few factors that go into being a great parent. Rice Psychology Group wants all parents to succeed in bringing up their children. If you’re unsure of how to go about...

Too Social: How Generation X’s Obsession with Social Media Can Cause Problems at Home and Work

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on February 22, 2017 at 10:21 PM /

I’ve never been one to obsess over social media. A couple of years ago, I created a Facebook account to connect and keep in touch with long-distance family members and old friends from school. Over time, I noticed that the more time I spent on there, the more I wanted to reach out to people I hadn’t spoken to in years and share news and recipes I found interesting. It was nothing too extreme, though. Then during last Thanksgiving, my oldest son’s girlfriend told me about how much more she preferred Twitter to Facebook, so I decided to give it...

Our Canine Office Companions: Get to Know Milo, Abbey and Gigi!

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on February 15, 2017 at 9:51 PM /

Meet the therapy dogs of Rice Psychology Group! These amazing friends come to work with Dr. Rice, Dr. Schwait and Dr. DeGeso-Jones and contribute so much to the practice. Each with their own personality, they participate in therapy when needed and otherwise do an amazing job of brightening our days with their presence in the office. With child and adolescent clients, our therapy dogs can help ease pain and fear, help with self-control and following directions, get involved in aspects of play therapy and, most importantly, offer acceptance and unconditional love. And, not surprisingly, they are equally helpful with adults...