Anna Schäfer Edwards, LMFT, MBA

12/19/2021

Still looking for a holiday gift?

Here are 5 new book recommendations by therapists that you can give as gifts this holiday season.

03/07/2020

"A cookie can distract you from bad feelings. A child may learn that the good feeling of eating relieves a bad moment. Neurons connect at that moment and your brain can wire in the idea that food relieves problems. Each time it works, the pathway builds."

Healthy habits get wired in when they’re linked to happy chemicals

02/27/2020

Unique services to our Veterans AND their families! Nova Southeastern University is now offering an extensive list of services. This is specially important to vets families, who may not always qualify under the coverage of a VA insurance. Spread the word!

Nova Southeastern University creates a full-service Veterans Access Clinic in Florida. And full-service means health care and other services not only for veterans, but also for their families.

01/26/2020

Good co-worker relationships, good work-life balance, colleagues that share goals, in-person connections are some factors that may help decrease loneliness. Therapists are helpful to work with those who need to improve their professional connections.

A new survey of 10,000 Americans finds 61% of us are lonely. Young people, men and those new at their jobs are some of the hardest hit.

12/21/2019

How was your 2019? Not too many goals accomplished? Yes, that seems to happen every year.

Most likely you had a lot of wishes or plans for 2019, now the year is almost over and you're contemplating what you didn't achieve or that it was a bad year.

Even if not much has improved for you, have you perhaps learned a few lessons? Maybe you learned a lesson out of a mistake or out of a difficult situation.

So, what have I learned this year?

Exactly one year ago I had a panic attack. Overworked with my job and my classes, internship taking my weekends, no time out, no exercise, a lot of caffeine in the morning and drinks in the evening.

The body takes the score. I found myself in an emergency room, and at my doctor's office having a panic attack with a lot of heart fluttering. I told my doctor:

"I just want to know what's happening to me". He told me:

"your blood pressure is 180/150 and you're having a panic attack"

(Wow!)

I slowed down and we put a plan together. No more stressful internships over the weekend, reduce caffeine, reduce alcohol, take beta-blockers, join some exercise routine and get some problems solved around the house that has caused stress for a few years.

The lesson I learned is that stress can kill me.

Every time I feel I am going faster than my life's pace, I have to remember to slow down. Some times is really hard because I am the Director of Operations at my household.

Honestly, making sure things are done and life is moving on is part of who I am. I also learned I can't help myself being an executioner and I pay a heavy price for caring a lot about doing things right.

This year was a good year for me, so many lessons learned. I will continue to grow as an individual.

Thank you for reading so far, thank you for liking my page and supporting me in my new project. I'll be back in the new year and I hope we will learn something together.

Happy Holidays!

12/14/2019

It was approved and it will take a while until implemented, but at least 988 will be the new number to call when someone is in need to talk about su***de.

When the months-long process is completed, U.S. residents will be able to call 988 for help in a mental health emergency.

12/11/2019

Need ideas for books to give as gifts? Here are my top 5 recommendations on books about Therapy and Psychology for friends and family.

11/14/2019

"In the beginning, Dr. John Gottman’s research was devoted to the discovery of reliable patterns in observational data. He wanted to see if there were indeed patterns of behavior, or sequences of interactions, that could discriminate happy from unhappy couples. It was not at all clear that these patterns existed. Dr. Gottman and his colleagues began developing the math for sequential analysis, which now is a well-developed methodology. They began discovering consistent sequences that differentiated happily married from unhappily married couples, which Dr. Gottman wrote about in a book, called Marital Interactions: Experimental Investigations."

We are committed to an ongoing program of research that increases the understanding of relationships and adds to the development of interventions that have been carefully evaluated.

11/08/2019

Researchers have found that the type of sleep most apt to calm and reset the anxious brain is deep sleep, also known as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) slow-wave sleep, a state in which neural oscillations become highly synchronized, and heart rates and blood pressure drop.

11/07/2019

Veja algumas considerações de como a ansiedade pode atingir mulheres ou homens.

10/20/2019

Worry is normal. Anxiety is normal too as it protects you against danger. The problem is when we activate our normal stress responses to every day life. How do you know it’s time to seek outside help for a generalized anxiety disorder? Some examples: Everyday worry: paying bills or getting employe...

10/19/2019

Você já ouviu falar do programa PROMISE?

Muitos brasileiros com filhos no sistema escolar público em Broward desconhecem esse programa.

Caso seus filhos(as) tenham tido problemas na escola pública e tenham recebido uma advertência séria, a qual poderia resultar no envio para detenção juvenil, a iniciativa chamada PROMISE do condado de Broward existe para dar ao jovem uma alternativa para reabilitação.

Durante meu trabalho junto à comunidade nesse programa, atendi crianças de idades desde Elementary até o High School que estiveram envolvidas com diversas infrações, como dr**as, bullying, ameaças ou brigas.

Essa iniciativa visa prevenir a entrada precoce de menores no sistema penal. Também ajuda para que eles desenvolvam habilidades para resolver problemas com um amplo uso da comunidade para dar um suporte que geralmente os pais desconhecem.

O programa não tem custo e quando nós terapeutas indicamos a criança ou o jovem para fazer psicoterapia, a referência é para a clinica de custo baixo da universidade NOVA.

Clique no documento abaixo para você conhecer mais sobre esse programa. Envie para algum pai ou mãe que você acha que pode se beneficiar dessa informação.

PROMISE = Prevention, Recidivism, Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Supports & Education.

https://www.browardschools.com/cms/lib/FL01803656/Centricity/Domain/6947/promiseflyer.pdf

10/13/2019

6 things to know if your relationship is healthy August 5, 2019October 9, 2019 by Anna Schafer A lot of us know when things are going in the wrong direction. But how about when they are going in the right direction? How do you know if the relationship is healthy? Is it because we get lovey-dovey and...

10/13/2019

Brief Therapy is not rush therapy September 10, 2019October 9, 2019 by Anna Schafer Have you heard of people who are in therapy for years? decades? Does that remind you of a person laying on a couch and not making eye contact with the therapist? Length of treatment does not say anything about the cl...

10/13/2019

Your spouse just told you they want a divorce? October 1, 2019October 7, 2019 by Anna Schafer So your spouse just dropped the bomb on you after so many years of being together. You got hit with unexpected news and are so shocked, you are lost on where to go next. What should you do? What about the k...

10/13/2019

3 Most Common Types of Depression October 6, 2019October 7, 2019 by Anna Schafer You probably have already read so much about this crippling and pervasive disease. It is widely common and according to the WHO, it devastates the lives of 300 million people of all ages. People normally refer to depres...