Lately it seems like every day I get a phone call or e-mail from a parent asking if they can talk to me about the suspicious scratches or scars that they've found on their teenage son or daughter.   The explanations given by the teen are almost always the same: "It's nothing.  It was the cat.  It was an accident.  Just forget about it and leave me alone."  

It usually is what we call "cutting", or intentionally using a sharp object to, well, cut one's self.  The results are obvious, but the reasons are not.  Always take it seriously, and seek medical attention if needed, but it is far from hopeless even if your kid feels hopeless himself.

Back at the end of July, I was able to expand my hours to the daytime on Mondays as well as Thursday afternoons and every Friday.  After many years of working for the State of Maryland's child welfare system, I have now expanded my practice to full-time in order to meet with the needs of my clients and the busy schedules that we all have.

I'm leaving the child welfare system with a lot of wonderful memories and years of experience that allow me to really get down to it when it comes to those I get to work with here.