Jason Hobbs, LCSW, M.Div

12/19/2023

Discounted tickets available for a couple more days for the Intro to Mindfulness class!

Eight-week introduction to mindfulness class, primarily for adults.

11/15/2023

Offering an Intro to Mindfulness Class to start 2024! Early registration discount is available. https://spring24mindfulness.eventbrite.com

07/13/2023

"It’s hard to imagine a less therapeutic environment for a person in crisis than an emergency department: crowded and windowless rooms; harsh fluorescent lights; the ceaseless ping of alarms; this patient retching, that one screaming. And yet, for every eight patients who present at an emergency department, one is there for a behavioral crisis such as psychosis, suicidality, mania, aggression, or substance use. Often these conditions have a years-long history and can’t be treated quickly or straightforwardly, in the way that a broken bone or a knife wound might be. In some cases, showing up at an E.R. can make things worse; patients who pose a danger to themselves or others may be sedated or kept in isolation, even tethered to bedside rails so that they cannot move."

EmPATH units are advancing a radically new approach to psychiatric emergencies. It seems to be working.

05/28/2023

Does Therapy Really Work? Let’s Unpack That.

Research shows that counseling delivers great benefits to many people. But it’s hard to say exactly what that means for you.

04/18/2023

We're hiring a new receptionist for our practice! Dog-friendly is a must!
https://www.indeed.com/job/mental-health-receptionist-9cb4285691de3953

01/09/2023

"The available evidence supports physical activity interventions as an alternative or adjunctive approach to alleviate depressive symptoms in children and adolescents, substantiating the beneficial influence of physical activity on the mental health of pediatric populations."

This systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials assesses the benefits of physical activity interventions on alleviating depressive symptoms in children and adolescents.

12/11/2022

“The main concerning takeaway from our study is that, given exactly the same data and the same hypotheses, different teams of researchers came to very different conclusions,” said paper co-senior author Russell Poldrack, the Albert Ray Lang Professor of Psychology in the School of Humanities and Sciences.

Markedly different conclusions about brain scans reached by 70 independent teams highlight the challenges to data analysis in the modern era of mammoth datasets and highly flexible processing workflows.

12/04/2022

"If mass institutionalization warehoused those people out of public view, deinstitutionalization has encouraged us to build our own walls to separate ourselves from our suffering fellow citizens. We walk past such Americans every day, and we pretend not to see their dishevelment, not to hear their incoherence.
The new policies that Adams and Newsom are implementing will not begin to solve our mental health crisis. But their limitations should spur us to do more, and better."

Plans in New York City and in California won't come close to fixing the problem. But they can spur the rest of us to demand much better.

12/03/2022

Interesting listen on the effects (or not) of social media on our mental health from the Stanford Psychology Podcast.

Anjie chats with Dr. Johannes Eichstaedt, an Assistant Professor in Psychology, and the Shriram Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University. Johannes directs the Computational Psychology and W...

12/02/2022

“Compared to adolescents assessed before the pandemic, adolescents assessed after the pandemic shutdowns not only had more severe internalizing mental health problems, but also had reduced cortical thickness, larger hippocampal and amygdala volume, and more advanced brain age.”

The brains of adolescents who were assessed after the pandemic shutdowns ended appeared several years older than those of teens who were assessed before the pandemic. Until now, such accelerated changes in “brain age” have only been seen in children experiencing chronic adversity, such as neglec...

11/14/2022

"Many of us use coffee to help us to get going in the morning, or to add a little zing to a flagging workday. But recent research reveals psychological effects that go far beyond boosting alertness, and not all of them are good…"

Recent research reveals psychological effects of caffeine that go far beyond boosting alertness, and not all of them are good…

10/08/2022

"Therapist Monica Band, who owns a Capitol Hill practice, says the demand that started in the early days of the pandemic is still there, and her practice has been “swamped.” She has posted notices that her group is at capacity and isn’t accepting new clients, but she still receives up to 30 new-patient inquiries a day."

DC-area therapists share how they relieve burnout.

10/07/2022

Interesting research on "giving feedback". Constructive feedback can be helpful ... but we do have to watch how we give that ... and making sure that we do so in the context of a good therapeutic relationship.

People consistently underestimate others' desire for constructive feedback and therefore don't provide it, even when it could improve another person's performance on a task.

10/05/2022

Register today for Jennifer Lima Tucker's book launch for Breath as Prayer! Last day!

Visit the crossroads of faith, psychology, Scripture & science with Breath as Prayer.

10/04/2022

Two days until the panel and book launch for Jennifer Lima Tucker! Register while there may be seats left!

We wanted this party to be not only fun but also truly helpful, so we’ve invited some local friends from the fields of mental health and faith to join us for a small panel discussion to talk about anxiety and faith, and the spiritual practice of breath prayer — and answer your questions as well!

10/04/2022

Excited to pre-order this resource for those in leadership and education ... from a valued peer on my own educational journey! Especially for you Enneagram folks!
Jon Singletary MSW from VCU and MDiv from BTSR, 1999

Leadership by the Number: Using the Enneagram to Strengthen Educational Leadership

10/04/2022

So glad that this wonderful resource is now open to those insured by Tricare!

10/02/2022