May

May
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May Hwa-Jones was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Queens. She interned at Rolling Stone Magazine and Elle Magazine in college, and was a freelance editorial assistant at Family Life Magazine. With a Bachelor’s Degree from NYU and a Master’s Degree from Stanford University in Literature, May explored editorial life in NYC, but moved towards a teaching career instead, which led to a teaching certification in secondary education and the eventual achievement of a second Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Denver. As a licensed clinical social worker, May has practiced psychotherapy for nearly seventeen years in multiple settings, from substance abuse clinics in hospitals to community mental health centers, finally finding her passion working with families in a school for severely emotionally disabled children in Westchester County. She is married to a self-proclaimed red neck from Colorado and has three children, who are the beloved centers of chaos in her life. Formerly a ballet dancer and musician for over 20 years, she now does Zumba to keep her joints from locking up and is an avid cheer-soccer-tae kwon do-music-art-dance mom. Her husband regularly begs her to stop volunteering to run more activities, but she never listens to red necks.
A girl hiding behind her hands.

In Her Own Time

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My daughter tends to use me as a human shield between her and other people when interacting with adults. She’ll stand plastered to me, arm rigidly locked around mine, her face half-hidden behind my...
Mom friends taking their children for a walk in the strolller.

Accepting Help and Embracing My Mom Tribe

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I am most grateful for my tribe of mom friends. These women of the “It takes a village” live and breathe the mantra down to their very cells. Mom friends know what it’s like....
A kid holding up he hands with the words "stop byllying."

Supporting Children in the Battle Against Bullies

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Being a parent, there is always a tremendously visceral gut-wrenching feeling when your child is not accepted by their peers, especially when that lack of acceptance evolves into bullying. For me, it’s a mix...
A mom holding a special needs child.

Coping with Negative Emotions as a Special Needs Parent

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There’s a line that I often hear in my work as a psychotherapist for families of children classified as special needs. It’s a refrain that is always heavily loaded with grief, frustration, and anxiety,...
A mother buckling her son into his car seat.

Quieting the Inner Turmoil of Parent Guilt

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Even though I’ve been a practicing psychotherapist for nearly 17 years (11 of those spent exclusively with children and families), I am still subject to crazy parenting guilt. It creeps up on me in...
anxious child

Supporting Function in the Anxious Child

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Anxiety tends to stink, for the most part. There are times when being anxious can be useful, such as when you’re in fight-or-flight mode or when it keeps you alert to the needs of...
rethinking anxiety

Shifting Perspectives and Rethinking Anxiety

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Anxiety is a widespread and yet very debilitating phenomenon. There are two key ways of re-framing perspective (that is, a different way to approach your worry thoughts) so that they don’t become overwhelming. These...
keep them young

Keep Them Young…At Least For a Minute

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When my son was in kindergarten at a local catholic school, a reading teacher of his stopped me in the hallway to let me know that she thought that I ought to let him...
anxiety

Pressure and the Anxious Child: A General Guide for Emotional Support

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Enter the mind of an anxious child, and you step into a storm. Thoughts are a constant swirl that instantaneously runs through a thousand catastrophic scenarios as they rapidly assess situations and determine their safety...
tomorrow

Talk To Me Tomorrow

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Today I didn’t mom so well. I felt guilty about half a million things left undone and agonized over the things I didn’t do for my kids. My daughter’s extracurricular activities have ramped up lately. I’ve...