Meet + Greet, Movies & The Man

Hi, my name is Dr. Jaimee Arnoff, I love alliteration, and I’m a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in children and adolescents. About a year ago, I co-opened BFF Therapy, a private therapy practice in Beacon, NY and my clients inspire me on the daily. Over the last few months I’ve been hearing stories from kids, teens, and young adults about a wide range of topics and I’ve noticed a root commonality within all their stories.

Systemic stress! I know there are many ways to understand that concept (i.e., family systems, biological systems, etc.). I also know kids don’t like to be lectured with big, fancy words, so I’m going to refer to comedy genius, Jack Black and his monologue in School of Rock about “The Man.”

…You can try, but in the end, you’re just gonna lose big time because the world is run by the Man. The Man, oh, you don’t know the Man?! He’s everywhere…in the White House…down the hall…Ms. Mullins, she’s the Man. And the Man ruined the Ozone, he’s burning down the Amazon, and he kidnapped Shamu and put her in a chlorine tank!...

This rocks for a couple of reasons:

I love watching movies and have been recalling quotes competitively for a good laugh for most of my life.
Movies make great metaphors for kids because they’ve likely seen the movie and have some context to build their understanding + it’s much easier for them to understand an abstract concept through relatable material.

I digress. What struck me about these stories was that much of the stress, fear, and intrusive ideation that was being mentioned likely stems in some part from the messages we are sent by The Man. While I can respect that shared rules, beliefs, and values are helpful in governing a society, I am struggling with the subsequent negative impacts I’m seeing first hand and how it’s making my clients feel like they are losing…big time.

Thus, I was inspired to start this blog with discussions about how The Man can get you down & how to stick it to him (or her!). I mean, that’s until I run out of ideas or something else catches my attention. I’m all about being upfront and setting realistic and achievable goals: I am a psychologist after all.