The Blog
Ways to help your children develop self-esteem and confidence
Self-esteem and confidence are major traits in individuals that affect their success. While these are a lifelong process, the foundation of it needs to be established in early childhood. Building self-esteem will allow the child to deal with difficult situations that...
Cope Ahead to help handle uncertainty
I just listened to a short video where the wonderful Marsha Linehan, PhD talks about her technique of "cope ahead" to help us handle uncertainty. What a great thing to think about! She suggests that we identify the threat that we are faced with then practice coping...
Mindfulness
There are so many great therapists and researchers and thinkers out there working on ways to better understand how we are in the world. The latest advances in brain scans (fMRIs) have allowed therapists to look at the intersection between body and mind, thoughts and...
Kids and Lying
Lots of times parents worry about the lies their children tell. Here is what David Swanson, Psy.D says about that in his very helpful book Help - My Kid is Driving Me Crazy (Penguin Publishing 2009): "Every child lies. And though it may seem hard to believe, if...
Parenting and Natural Consequences
Natural Consequences can be hard to apply! It can be difficult as parents to let our kids experience the consequences of their actions. I had a perfect opportunity to do just that this morning and I didn't take it. My son was going to be late for a class (too much...
Thoughts on Anger
Anger is an emotion associated with feeling wronged by another, feeling frustrated or blocked from achieving a goal. Angry feelings can fall within a range, from mild annoyance to blinding rage. Anger can be positive, spurring us to figure out a problem or express...
Couples Skills
These are based on and a summary of the skills talked about by the great couples therapist and researcher John Gottman as interpreted by Kendall Evans, LMFT: Get to know one another Find ways to nurture admiration and fondness for each other BE NICE to each other...
About Gita Terry, LMFT, MA, JD
I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in California. I was born Philadelphia PA and raised in New Jersey. I have BA in Psychology, with Honors, from Rutgers University, a JD, with Honors, from Rutgers University, Camden and a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. I love working with clients to improve their mental health, happiness, relationships and well being!