For much of your life, you may have heard the same things. That you were bright but unfocused. Full of potential but unable to follow through. That if you just tried harder, stayed more organized, or cared a little more, things would click into place. And so you tried harder. You made lists, set alarms, apologized for being late, and quietly wondered why everything felt so much more difficult for you than it seemed to for everyone else.

What nobody told you was that your brain might simply be wired differently, and that there's a name for it.

Adult ADHD is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions in mental health today. Millions of adults are living with it right now without knowing, having slipped through the cracks of a diagnostic system that wasn't designed to catch them. If you've found yourself reading this, there's a good chance you're one of them.

What Adult ADHD Actually Looks Like

When most people picture ADHD, they imagine a child who can't sit still in class. That image, while real, tells only a fraction of the story, and it's contributed to an enormous diagnostic gap in adults, particularly women.

In adulthood, ADHD rarely looks like obvious hyperactivity. It tends to look like this:

You start tasks with good intentions but find yourself suddenly doing something else entirely, unsure how you got there. You forget appointments not because you don't care, but because time feels slippery and non-linear, what's known as time blindness. You lose things constantly. You read the same paragraph four times and retain nothing. You feel emotions more intensely than people around you and struggle to regulate them quickly. You do your best creative work at 11pm under deadline pressure, and feel almost incapable of starting the same work at 10am with plenty of time.

You might also experience hyperfocus, the ability to lock in completely on something genuinely interesting for hours, which can make you look anything but inattentive. This confuses people, including sometimes yourself. "If I can focus on that, why can't I focus on this?" The answer is that ADHD isn't about a lack of attention. It's about difficulty regulating where that attention goes.

Underneath all of this is often a deep undercurrent of shame. Years of being perceived as lazy, flaky, or unreliable leave marks. Many adults with undiagnosed ADHD have internalized those labels and carry them as personal failures rather than symptoms of an untreated condition.

Why So Many People Are Only Finding Out as Adults

ADHD doesn't develop in adulthood, but it does get discovered there, often for the first time. There are a few reasons this happens.

The first is historical bias in how ADHD was studied and diagnosed. Early research focused heavily on hyperactive boys, and the diagnostic criteria reflected that. Girls and women with ADHD, who are more likely to present with inattentive symptoms rather than hyperactivity, were routinely overlooked. Many received diagnoses of anxiety or depression instead, which were real, but were treating the symptoms rather than the source.

The second reason is compensation. Intelligent people with ADHD are remarkably good at developing workarounds. They build systems, lean on natural ability, choose careers that suit their working style, and quietly work twice as hard as their peers to produce the same output. For a long time, this works. Until it doesn't.

The collapse often comes during a major life transition such as starting college, having children, taking on a more demanding job, or going through a divorce or loss. These moments strip away the structures and routines that were quietly holding things together. Suddenly, the coping mechanisms that kept symptoms manageable no longer scale, and everything begins to feel unmanageable in a way it never quite did before.

This is the moment many adults first walk through a therapist's door, often in their 30s, 40s, or even later, wondering what is wrong with them. The answer, more often than clinicians once recognized, is ADHD.

The ADHD and Anxiety Connection

If you've been treated for anxiety for years but feel like something was always missing from the picture, you are not imagining it.

ADHD and anxiety are deeply intertwined, and one of the most common patterns clinicians see is an adult who has been managing anxiety symptoms for years without anyone identifying ADHD as the underlying driver. When your brain consistently struggles to organize, prioritize, remember, and follow through, anxiety is a natural consequence. The worry, the mental rehearsing, the dread of dropping the ball, the hypervigilance about forgetting something important, these can all be downstream effects of an unmanaged ADHD nervous system rather than a primary anxiety disorder.

This matters because treating anxiety alone, while helpful, often provides only partial relief if ADHD is present and unaddressed. It's a bit like treating a headache caused by a neck injury with painkillers. It helps, but the source of the problem remains.

Conversely, people with ADHD who receive appropriate treatment frequently find their anxiety reduces significantly, not because the anxiety was imaginary, but because much of it was being generated by the daily chaos of unmanaged symptoms.

If you've been told you have anxiety and treatment has helped somewhat but never felt complete, it may be worth asking whether ADHD has ever been considered.

Medication, Therapy, or Both? What Support Actually Looks Like

One of the most common questions people have when they first suspect adult ADHD is whether they need medication, and whether therapy can actually help. The honest answer is that for most people, the best outcomes come from a combination of both, though what that looks like is different for everyone.

Medication for ADHD works by supporting the brain's dopamine and norepinephrine systems, which regulate attention, impulse control, and executive function. For many people, the right medication creates a noticeable shift. Tasks that felt impossible become manageable, the mental noise quiets down, and there's a sense of finally being able to access their own intentions. For others, medication has a more modest effect, or comes with side effects that require careful management. It is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and finding the right medication and dose is a process that requires working closely with a prescriber.

Therapy, particularly approaches adapted for ADHD, addresses something medication alone cannot: the years of accumulated shame, the habits and patterns formed in the absence of a diagnosis, and the practical skill-building needed to function well with an ADHD brain. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help identify and reframe deeply held beliefs about being "broken" or "not enough." ADHD coaching focuses on building concrete systems for time management, organization, and follow-through. And for adults who received a late diagnosis, therapy often involves a period of grief work, processing what it means to look back on your life and reinterpret it through a new lens.

Coming back to medication after a gap, as many adults do after managing without it for a period, is also very common and entirely valid. Life circumstances change. What worked at one stage may not work at another, and returning to support is a sign of self-awareness, not failure.

What To Do If You Think You Might Have ADHD

If you've recognized yourself in any part of this post, here is what the path forward looks like.

The first step is an evaluation. A comprehensive ADHD assessment typically involves a clinical interview that explores your history, current symptoms, and how they manifest across different areas of your life. You don't need to come in with proof or a stack of failed report cards. A good clinician will ask the questions that surface what they need to know. It's also worth being honest about what things have looked like since childhood, even if you managed well for stretches of time.

From there, a care plan is developed collaboratively. If medication is appropriate, that conversation happens with a prescriber. If therapy is indicated, and it almost always is alongside or instead of medication, you'll be matched with a clinician who has experience working with adult ADHD.

The most important thing to know is that getting support is not about finding out what's wrong with you. It's about finally understanding how your brain works, and getting the tools to work with it rather than against it.

If you're ready to take that step, we're here. Reach out to our team at admin@larteywellness.com, and we'll help you figure out where to start.

You did the hard part. You noticed your child was struggling, you found a therapist, and you committed to showing up week after week. And it's helping in some ways. Your child has language for their feelings now. They have tools. They have a trusted adult who knows their story.

But you can also tell something is still missing.

The hour in the therapy office is a small slice of a much bigger week. Your child still comes home from school deflated. Still freezes when it's time to start homework. Still struggles to make a phone call, manage their time, or recover from a hard moment without spiraling. Therapy is doing its work, but the rest of life, the everyday, in-between, real-world part, is where things keep falling apart.

If that's where you are right now, you're not failing. You may simply have run into the natural ceiling of what therapy alone can do. And there's another layer of support that fits exactly into that gap: mentorship.

What Therapy Does Well, and Where It Stops

Therapy is essential. A skilled child therapist helps your child name what they're feeling, understand themselves, work through trauma, and build a foundation of mental wellness. None of that should be replaced.

But therapy is, by design, a contained experience. It happens in an office. It happens for 45 to 60 minutes. It happens once a week, sometimes less. Your child walks in carrying the week's struggles, processes them, and then walks back out into the same environment where those struggles will happen again.

What therapy can rarely provide is the practice, someone alongside your child in the actual moment they're trying to start their homework, or recover from a fight with a sibling, or navigate a tough conversation with a friend. That kind of in-the-moment, in-the-real-world support requires a different kind of relationship.

That's the role a mentor plays.

What Mentorship-Based Support Actually Is

A mentor isn't a therapist. They're not a tutor, a babysitter, or a coach in the traditional sense. They're a trained adult whose role is to walk alongside your child in the everyday parts of life, building skills, modeling healthy responses, and being a steady presence between therapy sessions and family life.

In a structured mentorship program, your child meets with their mentor two to three times a month, typically for 30 to 60 minutes per session. And here's where it differs sharply from therapy: sessions don't happen in an office. They happen wherever your child actually lives their life. At your home. At the park. At the library. On a walk. In the grocery store while they practice asking a stranger a question.

The point is that growth happens in real settings, not abstract ones. A child who learns coping skills in a therapy office still has to translate those skills into the moment they're standing in line at school. A mentor helps make that translation.

Signs Your Child May Benefit from Adding Mentorship

Therapy plus mentorship isn't right for every child, but there are some clear signals that your child might be a good fit. Consider whether you're noticing:

• Your child is making progress in therapy, but the gains aren't translating into daily life. They can describe their feelings well in session, but still melt down at the dinner table.

• Your child struggles with the practical, executive-function side of growing up: starting tasks, managing time, completing what they begin, handling transitions.

• Your child has a hard time with peer relationships, social situations, or independence-building moments that other kids seem to navigate more easily.

• Your child's challenges show up most strongly at home or at school, not in the controlled environment of the therapy office.

• You feel like your child needs another consistent adult in their corner, someone who isn't you, not their teacher, and not their therapist, but a steady presence focused on them.

If two or three of these resonate, mentorship is worth exploring.

What a Mentor Actually Helps With

Mentors are trained to support kids across a wide range of areas, depending on what your child needs most. Common focus areas include:

• Confidence and self-esteem. Many kids who struggle internally also struggle to see themselves as capable. A mentor consistently reflects back what's strong in your child.

• Communication and coping skills. Practicing how to express frustration, ask for help, or recover from a difficult moment, in real time, not retrospectively.

• Focus and follow-through. Sitting alongside your child as they tackle homework, chores, or a project, and helping them build the muscle of finishing what they start.

• Healthier relationships. Working through how to navigate conflict with siblings, how to make and keep friends, how to be part of a team.

• Independence and life skills. Learning to navigate transit, manage a small budget, prepare a simple meal, or hold a productive conversation with an adult.

The work is grounded in what's often called the recovery and person-centered model of rehabilitation, meaning the goals are set around your child specifically, not a generic checklist. Two children in the same program can be working toward very different things.

What's Available for Maryland Families

In Maryland, a structured mentorship program for children with emotional or behavioral challenges is available as a covered service for families with active Maryland Medicaid. For most families who qualify, that means there's no out-of-pocket cost.

Eligibility typically involves a referral from a licensed mental health professional, often the same therapist your child is already seeing. The professional helps document that your child has an emotional or behavioral challenge significantly affecting their life at home or at school. From there, an intake process determines whether mentorship is a good clinical fit.

If your child's therapist hasn't mentioned this kind of program, it's a reasonable thing to ask about. Many therapists welcome the addition because they see firsthand the gap between session and real life, and they know mentorship can fill it.

What to Expect from the Process

Adding mentorship to your child's care isn't instant. There's an intake conversation with a licensed mental health professional, a referral, a Medicaid approval window that can take up to two weeks, and then the matching process where your child is paired with a mentor.

Once that mentor relationship begins, give it time. The first few sessions are about building trust, not solving problems. Real progress tends to show up in small ways before it shows up in big ones, your child finishing a task they would have abandoned, recovering from a hard moment a little faster, asking for help in a situation where they previously shut down.

As the parent, you'll stay informed and involved, but the relationship between your child and their mentor is largely theirs. That's part of the design. Kids open up differently when they have a space that feels like their own.

A Final Word for Maryland Parents

If you've been doing the work of getting your child into therapy and you can tell something more is needed, trust that instinct. It doesn't mean therapy isn't working. It means your child may be ready for the next layer of support, one that meets them in the actual life they're trying to live.

At Lartey Wellness Group, our Kids Mentorship Program is designed exactly for this gap. We work with children and families across Maryland, often in coordination with each child's existing therapist, to provide consistent, person-centered mentorship that turns insight into real-world skill.

If you're wondering whether your child is a good fit, reach out. Our team will walk you through what to expect, what's covered, and how to know if this is the right next step for your family.

Because some kids don't need more therapy. They need someone walking alongside them as they put what they've learned into practice.

Many of the clients who reach out to us describe the same invisible weight: a to-do list that never shrinks, a mind that races with worry at 2 a.m., and days that pass without feeling like they've accomplished anything meaningful. Then comes the guilt, and the guilt makes it worse.

If this sounds familiar, you're in good company. Anxiety, depression, and a loss of motivation often travel together, feeding into one another in a cycle that can feel impossible to break from the inside.

"The hardest part isn't being sad. It's feeling like I should be fine — and still not being able to move."

That experience is not a character flaw. It's a signal from a nervous system that's been under too much pressure for too long.

You're not broken. You're depleted.

When anxiety is running the show, your brain enters a constant state of threat assessment, scanning for danger, replaying past mistakes, bracing for future ones. That takes enormous energy. Energy that should be fueling your drive, your creativity, and your sense of purpose.

Depression compounds this by disrupting the brain's reward system. The dopamine pathways that make tasks feel satisfying and worth starting become muted. Tasks that once felt manageable start to feel monumental, not because you've become less capable, but because the neurological "reward signal" for completing them has dimmed.

The result is a very real, very physical experience of being stuck. Motivation isn't a mindset you can simply choose, it's a resource, and right now, yours is running low.

Why motivation is the first thing to go

Anxiety keeps your nervous system in high alert. Depression pulls the floor out from under your sense of reward. Together, they create a kind of paralysis that looks like laziness from the outside but feels like exhaustion from the inside.

This is why pushing yourself harder rarely works. Willpower draws from the same depleted well. What helps instead is working with your biology, not against it, which means starting smaller than feels logical, and being far kinder to yourself than feels deserved.

Small things that genuinely move the needle

Recovery isn't linear, and there's no single fix. But research, and the lived experience of thousands of people, points to a few practices that genuinely help rebuild momentum over time.

Pick one absurdly small task. Not the whole project, just open the document, send one message, make one call. Completion itself is the signal your brain needs to start rebuilding its reward response.

Move your body. Even 10 minutes of walking can lift mood and reduce anxiety for hours. This isn't a motivational platitude, it's physiology. Movement is not optional; for many people, it's the single most effective tool available without a prescription.

Name what you're feeling. Labelling emotions, "I feel anxious right now," "I'm overwhelmed", reduces their intensity. Journaling for even five minutes or talking to someone who listens without trying to fix you can shift the weight considerably.

Protect your sleep. Anxiety and depression both wreck sleep, and poor sleep makes both dramatically worse. A consistent wind-down routine, same time, low light, no screens, is unglamorous but genuinely powerful.

Lower the bar. Setting impossible standards is a fast route back to paralysis. Done is better than perfect, and good enough is often exactly good enough.

Tell someone. Isolation amplifies everything. Reaching out, even briefly, even just to say you're struggling, breaks the feedback loop and reminds you that you are not alone in this.

When to seek support

There is no threshold you need to cross before you're allowed help. If these feelings have lasted more than a couple of weeks, are affecting your work or relationships, or are accompanied by thoughts of self-harm, please reach out to a professional.

Therapy, particularly Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), has strong evidence behind it for both anxiety and depression. In many cases it works best alongside lifestyle changes and, where appropriate, medication guided by a doctor.

Early support makes an enormous difference. You don't have to be at rock bottom to deserve a hand up.

A final note

The fact that you're reading this means some part of you is still looking for a way forward. That part matters. Hold onto it.

If you'd like to explore what support might look like for you, our team is here, no pressure, no judgement, just a conversation about your next step.

Infertility didn’t just challenge our dream of becoming parents, rather it challenged the very foundation of our marriage.

My husband and I have been together for nearly two decades. But there was a season where our home felt less like a sanctuary and more like a waiting room. The grief was heavy, the uncertainty was constant, and the repeated disappointments began to feel like a slow erosion of the life we had built.

In 2011, our journey eventually led us to Russia to adopt our child. But the "happy ending" didn't fix the scars; rather, the work we did during the struggle is what allowed us to be the parents we are today.

If you are currently in the thick of the "two-week wait" or the heartbreak of another negative test, here is how we kept our relationship from becoming a casualty of the process.

Reclaiming the "Us" from the "Problem"

Infertility has a way of assigning blame, even if it’s unspoken. It’s easy for one partner to feel like "the broken one" and the other to feel like "the helpless observer." We had to consciously decide that infertility was a third party trying to move into our house.

The Shift: We stopped saying "your results" or "my body" and started saying "our journey." We chose to be a united front against the diagnosis, rather than letting the diagnosis sit between us at the dinner table. We looked to our church to support us through this tumultuous journey of infertility which eventually led to adoption. 

When your life is dictated by ovulation kits, doctor’s schedules, and financial stress, your marriage can start to feel like a medical project. We realized we were losing the "us" that fell in love twenty years ago.

We had to fight to keep our world big. We made a rule: Date nights were a "No-Infertility Zone." We had to remember how to laugh, how to talk about books or travel, and how to enjoy each other without a "goal" in mind.

Learning a different way to look at this grief was perhaps our steepest learning curve. I grieved loudly; he grieved quietly. I wanted to talk; he wanted to fix it. For a long time, I mistook his silence for apathy, and he mistook my tears for a lack of hope. We had to learn that different isn't wrong. Once we stopped judging how the other person was hurting, we could finally start holding each other through the pain.

Recognizing the Chapter, Not the Book

In the middle of the hormone shots and the waiting, it felt like this was our forever. It felt like our entire legacy would be defined by what we couldn't do. We had to remind each other that while this season was intense, it was just a season. We clung to the biblical verse which hung in my grandparents’ home my whole life: Isaiah 40:31: "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."  Holding onto the perspective that our life was still happening now, even in the waiting, helped us keep moving forward when the path felt blocked.

Staying Open to the "Pivot"

Adoption wasn't our "Plan A," but it became our most beautiful "Plan Yes." However, we quickly learned that choosing adoption didn't mean the "waiting" was over; it just changed shape. Instead of doctor's offices and medical charts, our lives became a whirlwind of trials and tribulations that tested our resolve in entirely new ways. We moved from the physical exhaustion of infertility treatments to the bureaucratic exhaustion of international adoption.

The Mountain of Paperwork: There were months where it felt like we were drowning in documents: notarizations, background checks, home visits, international apostilles and endless forms. Each piece of paper felt like a tiny, fragile bridge we were building toward our child.

The waiting was no longer marked by a two-week cycle, but by the quiet of a phone that wouldn't ring and the uncertainty of Russia’s legal system, which was very fragile during those years. There were moments when the red tape felt like a wall designed to keep us away from our child.

But in 2012, when we finally brought our child home from Russia, the perspective shifted. Those years of "paperwork and patience" didn't erase the pain of infertility, but they gave that pain a landing place. We realized that the endurance we built during infertility was exactly the strength we needed to navigate the adoption process.

Staying open didn’t mean giving up; it meant realizing that our "family" might look different than we imagined, and that was okay. Resilience isn't about getting exactly what you planned—it’s about growing through the obstacles you never saw coming to reach the child who was meant to be yours all along.

A Note to the Couple in the Waiting Room

Infertility can create a vast distance between two people, or it can forge a bond that is absolutely unbreakable. Often, it does both in the same week.

Our marriage didn’t survive because we avoided the struggle. It survived because, even when we were tired and heartbroken, we kept choosing each other. If you feel like the weight of this journey is pulling you apart, please know that you don't have to carry it alone. Whether through community or therapy, there is a way back to each other.

You are more than your struggle, and your relationship can be the strongest thing you own.

Finding a therapist for your child can feel overwhelming. As a parent, you want the best possible support for your child — but navigating the world of mental health care often raises more questions than answers. What type of therapist does my child need? How do I know if they're a good fit? What if my child refuses to go? This guide is designed to make that journey a little clearer and a lot less daunting.

Why Early Mental Health Support Matters

Children's mental health is just as important as their physical health — yet it's often overlooked until a crisis emerges. According to the CDC, approximately 1 in 5 children in the U.S. experiences a mental health disorder in a given year. Many go without support simply because parents don't know where to start.

The good news: early intervention works. When children receive appropriate mental health support, they are better equipped to manage emotions, build healthy relationships, succeed in school, and develop resilience that carries into adulthood.

If you've noticed changes in your child's mood, behavior, sleep, appetite, or school performance — or if they've experienced a significant life stressor like divorce, loss, trauma, or a major transition — reaching out to a professional is a wise and loving step.

Step 1: Understand What Your Child Needs

Before searching for a therapist, it helps to have a general sense of what's going on. You don't need a diagnosis — that's the professional's job — but reflecting on your child's experience will help you communicate effectively when you make contact.

Ask yourself:

• What behaviors or changes have I noticed? (e.g., withdrawal, irritability, anxiety, sadness, school refusal, sleep issues)

• When did these changes begin? Was there a triggering event?

• How long has this been going on?

• Has anyone else — a teacher, pediatrician, or school counselor — raised concerns?

If your child's pediatrician has already flagged mental health concerns, ask for their input. Pediatricians in Maryland often work alongside OMHCs like Lartey Wellness Group to provide coordinated, whole-child care.

Step 2: Know the Types of Therapists

Not all mental health professionals are the same. Here's a quick breakdown to help you navigate:

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) LCSWs are trained to address a wide range of emotional and behavioral challenges. They use evidence-based therapies and are common in outpatient mental health settings. Many child therapists in Maryland hold this credential.

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) LPCs specialize in talk therapy and are trained to support children, adolescents, and families dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and life transitions.

Psychologist (PhD or PsyD) Psychologists are doctoral-level clinicians who can provide therapy and conduct psychological evaluations and testing — useful if you're seeking a formal diagnosis or learning disability assessment.

Psychiatrist (MD) Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe medication. If your child's treatment may involve medication management, a psychiatrist — ideally one working in coordination with a therapist — is appropriate.

At Lartey Wellness Group, our clinicians include licensed therapists and counselors who specialize in child and adolescent mental health, and we coordinate with other providers when additional support (like psychiatric care) is needed.

Step 3: Look for Specialization in Child and Adolescent Therapy

Not every therapist who works with adults is equally equipped to work with children. Children process emotions differently, communicate in different ways, and benefit from age-appropriate therapeutic approaches.

When searching for a child therapist in Baltimore, Laurel, or elsewhere in Maryland, look for:

• Specific experience with children and adolescents — ask about the age ranges they typically see

• Familiarity with your child's presenting concern — anxiety, ADHD, trauma, depression, autism spectrum, grief, etc.

• Training in child-specific modalities, such as:

  • Play Therapy — especially effective for younger children who communicate through play

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — evidence-based for anxiety and depression in children and teens

  • Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT) — for children who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

  • Family Therapy — involves the family system, which is often critical for lasting change

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) — helpful for adolescents dealing with intense emotions or self-harm

Step 4: Consider Practical Factors

Even the most skilled therapist won't be a good fit if the logistics don't work for your family. Consider:

Location and Accessibility Are you looking for a therapist near Baltimore or in the Laurel area of Maryland? Proximity matters — consistent attendance is one of the strongest predictors of therapeutic success. At Lartey Wellness Group, we serve clients across Maryland and offer flexible scheduling to support working families.

Telehealth vs. In-Person Many families in Maryland have embraced telehealth since the pandemic, and for good reason — it removes transportation barriers and can feel less intimidating for some children. Ask whether the practice offers both options.

Insurance and Cost Mental health care should be accessible. Before scheduling, confirm that the provider accepts your insurance plan. Maryland's Mental Health Parity law requires insurers to cover mental health services comparably to physical health services. If cost is a barrier, ask about sliding scale fees or Medicaid acceptance. Lartey Wellness Group accepts a range of insurance plans — contact us to verify your coverage.

Availability and Wait Times Demand for child therapists in Maryland has grown significantly in recent years. Don't be discouraged by wait lists — they often signal a quality practice. In the meantime, ask if the practice has a therapist who can provide an initial consultation or if they can recommend interim resources.

Step 5: Evaluate the Fit — for Your Child and for You

The therapeutic relationship is one of the most powerful predictors of positive outcomes. A technically skilled therapist who doesn't connect with your child won't be nearly as effective as one who does.

What to look for in an initial session:

• Does the therapist explain their approach in a way that makes sense to you?

• Does your child seem at ease, or at least not resistant after an initial adjustment period?

• Does the therapist invite your input and keep you appropriately informed?

• Do you feel heard and respected as the parent?

It's normal for children — especially younger ones or those who are anxious — to be reluctant at first. But if after 3–4 sessions your child is still completely shut down or the therapist seems dismissive of your concerns, it's okay to look for another provider.

Questions to ask a potential therapist:

1. What experience do you have working with children my child's age?

2. What therapeutic approaches do you use, and why?

3. How do you involve parents in the process?

4. How will I know if my child is making progress?

5. What happens if my child refuses to engage?

Step 6: Involve Your Child (Age-Appropriately)

Children are more likely to engage in therapy when they feel some sense of agency in the process. Depending on your child's age and maturity:

• Younger children (ages 3–7): Keep explanations simple. "We're going to meet someone whose job is to help kids with big feelings" is enough.

• School-age children (ages 8–12): Be honest but reassuring. Normalize it — "Lots of kids see therapists, just like we see doctors for our bodies."

• Teenagers: Adolescents often respond better when they feel respected. Let them know therapy is a space that's largely theirs. Discuss — rather than dictate — the decision to seek help.

Avoid framing therapy as a punishment or as something that happens because they're "bad" or "broken." Frame it as a tool for feeling better and understanding themselves more.

What to Expect from the Process

Therapy is not a quick fix. Most children begin to show meaningful progress after 8–12 sessions, though this varies widely depending on the nature and severity of the concern. Some children benefit from short-term, focused work; others need longer-term support.

Progress may not always look linear. There can be weeks that feel like a step backward — especially as children process difficult emotions in a safe space for the first time. Stay in communication with the therapist, and trust the process.

As a parent, you may also be invited into some sessions or given guidance on how to support your child at home. This family involvement often accelerates progress significantly.

Why Families in Maryland Choose Lartey Wellness Group

At Lartey Wellness Group, we understand that reaching out for help takes courage — and we honor that. Our licensed clinicians bring warmth, cultural competence, and clinical expertise to every family we serve.

We provide outpatient mental health services to children, adolescents, and families in Baltimore, Laurel, and across Maryland, with a commitment to care that is:

• Individualized — no two children are the same, and neither are our treatment plans

• Family-centered — we involve parents as partners in the therapeutic process

• Culturally responsive — we are committed to serving diverse communities across Maryland with sensitivity and respect

• Accessible — we accept multiple insurance plans and offer both in-person and telehealth options

Whether your child is struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, behavioral challenges, grief, or the pressures of growing up, we're here to help.

Take the First Step Today

You don't have to figure this out alone. If you're a parent in Maryland — in Baltimore, Laurel, or anywhere in between — and you're wondering whether therapy might help your child, we invite you to reach out.

Contact Lartey Wellness Group to schedule a consultation or learn more about our services. Our team is ready to answer your questions, walk you through the process, and help you find the right fit for your child and your family.

Because every child deserves to feel supported — and every parent deserves a trusted partner in that journey.

Lartey Wellness Group is a licensed Outpatient Mental Health Center (OMHC) serving children, adolescents, adults, and families across Maryland, including Baltimore and Laurel. Our clinicians are trained in a range of evidence-based therapeutic approaches to support mental health and wellness at every stage of life.

In our hyper-connected world, our brains are essentially high-performance engines that have been running at redline for years. Between the relentless "ping" of notifications and the heavy weight of doom-scrolling, our mental bandwidth is stretched thin. We are living through an epidemic of brain fatigue.

But as April 22nd approaches, we have a built-in opportunity for a hard reset. This Earth Day, the most sustainable thing you can do isn't just recycling your plastics—it’s reclaiming your peace of mind through a Digital Detox. By leaning into the power of Biophilia, we can trade our "blue light" for "green light" and heal the stress that modern life has woven into our nervous systems.

Why Your Brain is Burned Out: The Science of Directed Attention

Have you ever finished a day of staring at a screen and felt physically exhausted, even though you barely moved? That is Directed Attention Fatigue. According to Attention Restoration Theory (ART), urban environments and digital interfaces demand "top-down" focus. This is a finite resource. Every email you scan and every notification you dismiss chips away at your ability to regulate emotions and solve problems. When this resource is depleted, anxiety and irritability move in.

The Earth Day Solution: Nature doesn't ask anything of you. It offers what psychologists call "bottom-up" stimulation. This Earth Day, by stepping away from the screen, you allow your prefrontal cortex to finally go "offline" and recharge.

Biophilia vs. The Screen: Choosing "Soft Fascination"

The term Biophilia suggests that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature. Evolution didn't design us for cubicles or glass-and-metal smartphones; it designed us for forests and coastlines.

While digital content is designed to be "hyper-stimulating" (grabbing your attention aggressively), nature provides Soft Fascination. Think of the rhythmic movement of clouds, the way sunlight filters through leaves, or the sound of rain. These patterns—often called Fractals—are visually soothing. They capture our interest without requiring the effort of "focus."

In the world of Environmental Psychology, this shift from forced focus to soft fascination is the primary mechanism that lowers cortisol and lifts the fog of depression.

Mindful Earthing: A Step-by-Step Earth Day Grounding Guide

To celebrate Earth Day, don’t just look at nature through a window. Practice Earthing—the act of physically connecting with the Earth’s surface to stabilize your body's internal rhythms.

Try this 5-4-3-2-1 Biophilic Grounding Method to quiet an anxious mind:

• 5 things you see: Look for the specifics. The jagged edge of a leaf, the way shadows fall on the grass, or the specific shade of the sky.

• 4 things you feel: Take off your shoes. Feel the cool dampness of the soil, the texture of tree bark, or the wind on your skin.

• 3 things you hear: Close your eyes. Identify the distance of a bird’s call, the rustle of leaves, or the ambient hum of the wind.

• 2 things you smell: Breathe deep. Can you smell the damp earth? The scent of pine or fresh-cut grass?

• 1 thing you taste: Notice the crispness of the air.

3 Ways to Practice Sustainability and Wellness This Week

If you want to marry sustainability and wellness, start with these three eco-friendly self-care habits:

1. The "Power Down" Hour: On Earth Day, commit to one full hour of no-tech time outdoors. No podcasts, no fitness trackers—just you and the environment.

2. Micro-Restoration: If you can’t get to a forest, bring the forest to you. Studies show that even looking at a houseplant at your desk can trigger the biophilia effect and lower heart rates.

3. Collective Action for Anxiety: "Eco-anxiety" is real. One of the best ways to fight the feeling of helplessness is to join a local Earth Day cleanup. Turning anxiety into action provides a sense of community and purpose.

Conclusion: Planting Seeds of Peace

Earth Day is more than a global reminder to protect our environment; it is a gift to ourselves. Our mental health is not separate from the health of our planet. When we disconnect from the digital noise and reconnect with the soil, the trees, and the open air, we aren't just "taking a break"—we are returning home.

This Earth Day, swap your blue light for green light. Your brain will thank you.