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Teens and COVID Stress
Supporting Struggling Teens in the High-Stress Age of Covid-Era Learning As the debate over pandemic restrictions and public education safety continues on, one of the most continuously concerning areas has been the mental and...
Breaking Down the Stigma of Counseling and Men
According to research, men hold more negative attitudes toward psychological help-seeking than women. One of the main reasons is that men have traditionally been raised to ignore their feelings and not show any emotional pain...
Psychology of Supporting Those Without a Home
In clinical psychology we sometimes encounter pernicious problems when common best practices are not getting the job done. Some call them treatment resistant cases...
7 Surprising Mythbusters about Eating Disorders
As someone who has worked in the field of eating disorder (ED) treatment and prevention for 10 years, I am used to the way the disease operates and familiar with the seemingly backward truths that don’t fit the stereotypes...
Perfecting the Morning Routine – Tips for Parents
Would you like to get your children out of bed, fed and off to school on time without nagging, hassling, and threatening them? You deserve a peaceful morning routine as much as your children do...
What Happens in Marriage Counseling?
What To Expect in Couples and Marriage Counseling Family Psychology of South Bend comes from a tradition of clinicians who try to demystify counseling and psychology, thus the straight forward topic of today's article about...
Disrespectful Child
The article below was first written by Dr. Petersen for GoodTherapy.org and is published by them at http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/respect/. It is reproduced here with permission...
Anatomy of Marriage
Divorce and marital satisfaction are not in the stars or a matter of luck. They are highly predictable...
Morning Hassles With Your Preschooler
Sick and tired of getting started on the wrong foot with the children in the morning? Tired of herding the children through the morning sequence – out of bed, dressed, fed, school supplies readied? If so, you are in good...
Emotional Unavailability – When Your Partner Can’t Connect
When we commit to a relationship, we usually expect that our partner will reciprocate with roughly the same level of emotional involvement that we put into it...
All Press Posts
Dr. Petersen interviewed by Dukes about new year
We were happy to contribute to Howard Duke's South Bend Tribune story about the new year in which we all hope to make significant strides away from COVID's hold on us...
How does Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) develop?
We who are generally anxious often have developed a posture of alertness, even vigilance for what might become, or already is, out of control...
Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder – GAD
Treatments for Generalized Anxiety Disorder include:Counseling for self or relationship to help cultivate trust, rest, and safety...
Aftershocks of COVID crisis lead to dramatic spike in anxiety, depression in kids
View original story on WNDU: Local experts see dramatic spike in anxiety, depression in kidsIn March and April, we had many media inquiries about a presumed increase in mental health needs as a result of the...
Warning Signs Of Abusive Relationships
View original WNDU storyLindsay Stone came to my office for an interview on camera about abusive relationships...
Violent threats at South Bend area schools surge after Florida shooting
Tribune reporter Lincoln Wright came to my office for an interview over my lunch break. I was particularly interested in this story because my children were at Adams High School when these threats were made...
Violent threats at South Bend area schools surge after Florida shooting
‘Getting help is the key’: Expert gives advice to parents of kids with concerning behavior
Dr. John Petersen is included in this story about children and concerning behavior.
'Getting help is the key': Expert gives advice to parents of kids with concerning behavior
We've heard stories of kids acting out and becoming problems for their parents, and a recent incident in our area involved an 11-year-old boy allegedly shooting his father. There are resources available if you notice your child has concerning behavior. One of the first steps is accepting the truth. A local child behavior expert says it's important to trust your gut. It's easy to feel guilty for not raising your child correctly, but sending them to get help is worth it before it's too late.