Nakieta Lankster, PsyD

The famous "Stroop Effect" is named after J. Ridley Stroop who discovered this strange phenomenon in the 1930s. Here is your job: name the colors of the following words. Do NOT read the words...rather, say the color of the words. For example, if the word "BLUE" is printed in a red color, you should say "RED". Say the colors as fast as you can. It is not as easy as you might think! Why? The words themselves have a strong influence over your ability to say the color. The interf

There’s a lot of information out there dedicated to protecting our kids from bullying and enforcing policies to ensure it doesn’t happen, but the real key to stopping this problem is understanding it. Bullies are definitely people like the rest of us, so what’s so different about them that their social skills are so drastically different? It’s easy to just lump these kids into the “bad eggs” category, but the reality goes years back, all the way into a child’s upbringing and

Jennifer Aniston spoke at Variety's Power of Women luncheon on Friday, talking about the true meaning of "Power" and how it's critical that children are strengthened through love.

This information addresses the most frequently asked questions about play therapy, a mental health modality practiced by thousands of licensed mental health professionals within and outside of the United States. Much of the information provided is descriptive and foundational to play therapy. Why Play? In recent years a growing number of noted mental health professionals have observed that play is as important to human happiness and well-being as love and work (Schaefer, 1993

One boy confided in the gentle-faced golden retriever about exactly what happened in his classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School that day—which his parents said was more than he'd been able to share with them. A little girl who hadn't spoken since the shootings finally started talking to her mother again after petting one of the "comfort dogs." Groups of teenagers began to open up and discuss their fear and grief with each other as they sat on the floor together, all stroki

It can be scary when someone you love is sick. It can be especially scary if they’re diagnosed with a mental illness. It’s hard to see someone you love in pain and it’s confusing when someone you know well is not acting like themselves. You know how you would take care of them if they had a cold or flu, but what do you do for a mental illness? Like any other health problem, someone with a mental illness needs extra love and support. You may not be able to see the illness, but

Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated is a full length documentary that gives a personal and intimate look into Demi Lovato's life as not only a regular 25 year old, but also one of the biggest pop stars in the world. To know Demi best, you have to understand all that she has been through and overcome. This documentary includes never before told stories that inform the person she is today. Go on the journey with Demi as she creates her most important body of work in music yet, and

When I’m providing therapy for people with bipolar disorder, one of the greatest concerns they have is losing their creative abilities. People with a bipolar condition adapt to mood swings by getting as much accomplished while manic, knowing that a period of depression may be right around the corner. During manic episodes, an individual can feel tremendous energy and form intense ideas towards extreme productivity. The prospect of blunting creativity with mood stabilizing med

Habitica is a video game to help you improve real life habits. It “gamifies” your life by turning all your tasks (habits, dailies, and to-dos) into little monsters you have to conquer. The better you are at this, the more you progress in the game. If you slip up in life, your character starts backsliding in the game. Click the link to begin! https://habitica.com/static/home

Everyone has the ability to build mental strength, but most people don't know how. We spend a lot of time talking about physical strength and physical health, but much less time on mental strength and mental health. We can choose to perform exercises that will help us learn to regulate our thoughts, manage our emotions, and behave productively despite our circumstances - the 3 basic factors of mental strength. No matter what your goals are, building mental strength is the key