From the Blog

Polaris Welcomes Two New Counselors!

By Polaris Counseling | Published: March 20, 2013 |

Polaris Counseling is pleased to announce that Julie Barbosa and Jennifer Loughran have joined our team! Julie Barbosa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience working with individuals, couples, and families. Although Julie tailors her approach to the needs of each client, she finds Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Family [...]

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What To Tell Our Kids About The Sandy Hook Shootings

By James Smithers | Published: December 19, 2012 |

In the aftermath of the horrific events that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School last week I felt it important to address how we as parents can help our kids process what happened to the 20 beautiful children and 6 teachers that lost their lives in this unimaginable tragedy. Our first instinct, as parents, [...]

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Spending Time With Dad Improves Self-Esteem In Teens

By Polaris Counseling | Published: December 5, 2012 |

A recent study from Pennsylvania State University found that teens who spent more time alone with their fathers had higher self-esteem and the more time they spent with their dads in a group setting, the better their social skills. The study, published in the Journal of Child Development, found that kids spend less and less [...]

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Polaris Welcomes Two New Counselors!

By Polaris Counseling | Published: October 10, 2012 |

Polaris Counseling is pleased to announce that Marilyn Andrew and Lisa Banner have joined our team! Marilyn Andrew is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has extensive experience working with children, families, adolescents, and adults with diagnosis of Depression, Anxiety, Attention Deficit, Oppositional Defiant, trauma histories, and Adjustment Disorders. She uses a relaxed, relational, client centered [...]

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Our President Is On TV!

By Polaris Counseling | Published: August 30, 2012 |

Our president, James Smithers, was interviewed on the “Business Connections” talk show hosted by Liz Spencer at the Naperville Channel TV – 17 studios last week! James shared his thoughts on the practice, his counselors, the devoted and inspiring work they do, his trip to Kilimanjaro and more! The interview will be airing on Channel [...]

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Our President And His Son Are Climbing Kilimanjaro!

By Polaris Counseling | Published: May 17, 2012 |

To celebrate his son’s golden birthday (he is turning 12 on the 12th July, 2012!) our president, James Smithers, and his son are climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for the Amani Children’s Home in Tanzania, Africa. They have climbed in New Zealand and South America and are avid backcountry campers. Kilmanjaro stands at 19, [...]

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Polaris Counseling Has A New Counselor!

By Polaris Counseling | Published: May 10, 2012 |

Polaris Counseling is pleased to announce that Mandy Semenik has joined our team! Mandy is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Divorce Mediator and Divorce Coach. She has extensive experience in providing individual, couples, group and family counseling to children, adolescents and adults, and has provided consultation and professional trainings for parents, teachers and child care [...]

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Schoolyard Bullying: No Longer the Stereotype

By Polaris Counseling | Published: May 7, 2012 |

A recent study commissioned by CNN and conducted at The Wheatley School in Long Island, New York, set out to understand more about the bullying epidemic that is consuming our schools nationwide. The study included more than 700 students who were given a survey with 28 questions on aggressive behavior four separate times throughout the [...]

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Are You a Shopaholic? When Spending Becomes an Addiction

By Polaris Counseling | Published: April 18, 2012 |

A recent study conducted by Stanford University in the American Journal of Psychiatry found an alarming amount of people are shopaholics across the United States! The study interviewed 2,513 adults, analyzing their buying attitudes and behaviors, their consequences, and the respondent’s financial and demographic data to determine the approximate percentage of Americans dealing with compulsive [...]

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Spanking: Can It Make Our Kids More Aggressive?

By Polaris Counseling | Published: March 8, 2012 |

A recent study published in the journal, Aggressive Behavior found a link between spanking and aggressive behavior in children. The study, that analyzed data from children between the ages of 9 months and 5 years of age, showed a significant increase in aggressive behavior in boys if they had both a genetic predisposition for aggression [...]

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