Malena Ally, LCSW

04/03/2025

I’m looking for 2 more kids for this group and it’s ready to start after spring break! Bullying and friendship skills will definitely be a focus on this group.

04/10/2021

LAST CALL! One more spot left in my junior high girls social skills group that starts on Thursday. Link to the group is in the comments.

06/11/2020

A great first step for talking to your adolescents about race and prejudice could be an implicit bias test (or 2 or 3)! Your teen would probably prefer to do this alone, so you could both do it separately and discuss the results if they feel comfortable. This test has been around for many years. I took the first few back when I was in college but they have added many more over the years!

One of the first steps in making a change and working towards growth in our lives is being able to recognize the problem and ask for help. Yet, examining the problem and getting to the root of it is usually uncomfortable. This is why therapy can make people feel uncomfortable, sad, or angry. Therapy isn't always fun but it's hard to grow or heal without getting to the root of the problem.

Don't worry, your answers aren't recorded and each test only takes a few minutes.

On the next page you'll be asked to select an Implicit Association Test (IAT) from a list of possible topics . We will also ask you (optionally) to report your attitudes or beliefs about these topics and provide some information about yourself.

10/19/2019

Teens aren’t the only ones who make friends online! 😆

I’m at a conference this weekend and finally met Katie K May who is a Teen Therapist and the owner of Creative Healing in Philadelphia! We met on Facebook a couple of years ago and she has taught me a lot. I felt like I already knew her from several years of interactions and a couple of calls.

It may seem far fetched that your teen can have friends online, but it is possible - and adults meet that way too! 😊💜

On another note, I’m learning a lot and will be sharing more later today about how I ended up becoming a therapist!

10/01/2019

There is no need for your adolescent to "find themselves"..... they are still there underneath all of the opinions and judgements from others, the insecurities and inaccurate beliefs about themselves. They are still there underneath the conditioning to be someone or something else. Therapy is about uncovering and unlearning those beliefs and the conditioning so that they can belong to themselves.

07/22/2019

This is something that quite a few of my clients struggle with...feeling the feelings. It’s uncomfortable to feel our feelings sometimes. No one likes to be sad or anxious, but the only way to get to the other side is through.

If you have a child, or an adolescent who has difficulty with this, you can help them to identify their feelings. Ask how they are feeling. Or ask if they are feeling ______. Let them talk about it or explain. Offer some suggestions for things you do to soothe yourself when you are feeling the same way. This will help them to name the feeling, process it, and cope.

Don't numb or avoid your pain. Feel it. It’s going to hurt. But every moment you’re hurting, you’re healing. The only way out is through.

05/30/2019

Wow! I don't know about all of you, but this is super cool to me! I love learning about the brain and I think it's amazing how flexible it is during the adolescent years, in particular.

This is definitely the time that we want to use rewards and experiences to shape behavior and beliefs because the brain is under some major construction during those years.

Of course, we are all forming new neurons and connections all of the time and living a healthy lifestyle can help with that process, as well as antidepressants for someone who needs medication.

05/03/2019

Great article about the power our thoughts/beliefs have on our mood and outlook. It isn’t about being Pollyanna or wearing rose-colored glasses all of the time, but if the worry isn’t productive (i.e. helping you to learn a lesson or do something better) then it probably isn’t serving you. This is where I teach my clients to recognize those negative thoughts and beliefs and reframe them in a way that is more truthful and helpful! 😊

We all know a Debby-downer who is perpetually negative and tends to bring everyone down with them. For these people,

04/02/2019

Last group for the school year! We meet on Tuesdays from 6-7pm. This group is co-ed and I have 2 spots left!

You can fill out the contact form here to apply for a spot in group: https://malenaally.com/group-therapy/

03/14/2019

Following up on my video from Tuesday....growing up near green spaces and spending time in nature makes us happier and can be a protective factor against certain mental health disorders. Check out this study....

Research suggests the more of your childhood that is spent surrounded by green spaces, the lower your risk of developing mental illness in adulthood, whether in the city or the country.

02/20/2019

Something to think about...

I have had some teens who feel a lot of anxiety about what is posted about them or their family online. I also wonder how this will affect younger generations as they apply for colleges or jobs and their life can easily be searched online. Thoughts?

Googling yourself has become a rite of passage.

02/04/2019

Anger is a pretty common symptom, especially in children and adolescents, but could depression also be the reason you feel angry and irritable as a parent? It may be something to bring up with your doctor the next time you go for a check-up.

Physicians have been taught to look for signs of hopelessness, sadness and lack of motivation to help them diagnose depression. But anger as a depression symptom is less often noticed or addressed.