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About On the Yellow Couch

Welcome to On the Yellow Couch with Dr. Angelica Shiels! Dr. Shiels is a wife and a mother of three young boys as well as a child and adult therapist. In her free-time, when she isn’t ninja-fighting, catching frogs, or wiping pee from around the toilet, she enjoys spending time on her own couch…. Which she wishes was yellow, but is actually brown and falling apart on account of the three milk-spilling ninjas…. Dr. Shiels really enjoys her job outside of the house, where kids, teens, adults, and couples can sit on a nice leather couch where no Gogurt is ever squeezed. Therapy with Dr. Shiels in available in the Annapolis/Baltimore/DC area. Find her articles on Psych Central and Lifehack. Find her blog posts on Scary Mommy, Mamapedia, and others.

Response to “Confessions of a Pothead Mom”

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Dear Pothead Mom, How brave of you for publicly admitting to a habit that so many parents secretly also share.  I know that many, many parents can relate to you and feel unburdened by your confession. I just have one reaction: Do you really … Continue reading

Activities for Kids/teens with depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem

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Here is a great resource for parents of kids/teens with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, etc.  Basically a bunch of therapists got together and made a booklet with all of their favorite therapeutic activities, and put it on the internet as … Continue reading

The real deal with bipolar disorder in children

Bipolar disorder is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed in pediatric populations.

Bipolar disorder in kids often includes rapid “mood cycling” (changes in mood) and irritability (I remember learning to be on the “lookout,” but don’t automatically diagnose bipolar disorder if I came across a child with frequent explosive anger.). Also of note, one study found that more that 80% of children with bipolar disorder also met criteria for ADHD (hyperactive, inattentive, impulsive.)

Please check out these articles for more information about the causes, presentation, and treatment for bipolar disorder in children.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder-in-children-and-teens-easy-to-read/index.shtml

http://www.thebalancedmind.org/learn/library/about-pediatric-bipolar-disorder?page=all

http://nurse-practitioners-and-physician-assistants.advanceweb.com/Article/Bipolar-Disorder-in-Children-2.aspx

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10 things we can instill in our kids to make them relationship rockstars

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1) The habit of noticing their feelings and needs and being empowered to express them (directly and respectfully). 2) The awareness that someone else’s feelings and needs are never “wrong” or to be argued. 3) The abilities to delay gratification … Continue reading

The opposite of anger is surrender

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A couple of months ago, I had one of those mommy out-of-body experiences where I was looking down on myself screaming at my five-year old son….And I couldn’t stop.  It was scary, so of course, I started over-thinking it.  I … Continue reading