Testimonials

"When I first met with Janneta, I was experiencing debilitating panic attacks that had taken over my life. I was in a complete misunderstanding of what was going on with me, how I had gotten into such a state, or what on earth I could do to ever get out of it. Thanks to Janneta, her wonderful insight, understanding, patience and counseling, I have managed to take control of my panic attacks and anxiety. Janneta gave me the tools I needed to control my problem and even beat it. I felt safe, cared for and relaxed every time I met with Janneta. She has a warmth about her that is so contagious. I knew I was in the best of hands. There are times, of course, when my anxiety tries to creep up on me but I now know that I'm not going crazy. I use the tools that Janneta has given me. I stay on medication and I always replay in my mind everything else Janneta has taught me so that I can conquer this disorder. She is truly my saving grace."

Kristi, adult in her 30s

"When my daughter first started seeing Janneta, she was a broken, stunned and grieving teen, dealing with the loss of one of her best friends—her cousin. I knew she needed some professional help to navigate her through the immense pain and loss, but little did I know how lucky we'd be to have Janneta as her guide. Over the past year, Janneta has helped my daughter tremendously. She's taught her coping strategies, and helped her find hope and strength to help her through the darkness. Through Janneta's smart, perceptive, helpful, warm and kind direction, my daughter has emerged a more confident, self-assured person able to handle life's challenges with a lot more ease. The fog that she was living under has been lifted. As a parent, it's incredibly reassuring to know that, should the need arise in the future, we'll always have Janneta's expertise to help get through the challenging times. This is such a reassuring and tremendous relief to my husband and me."

Carolyn, mother of a 14-year-old daughter

"I was at my wit's end with my son who had some serious behavioral and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) issues. We never knew when he would be fine, or prone to fits of crying, rage or just general disrespect. Janneta has helped us to understand why he acts the way he does. In addition, she has given him coping strategies to deal with those times when he feels "out of control." She also has helped us to identify what triggers his OCD and how to approach it. With her guidance, we are now able to anticipate events and deal with them before they get too challenging for us. My son has improved his behavior both at home and at school and we are extremely grateful. We recommend her highly."

Nancy J., mother of an 8-year-old boy with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

"My energetic nine-year-old son often has trouble with his peers. At heart he is a nice kid, but he doesn't understand body language and often misinterprets the intentions of other people. He is diagnosed ADHD. The combination of high energy and poor communication skills leads to many scrapes with other children. I brought him to Janneta Bohlander for social skills training. He has been in both individual and group therapy. Wow! What a difference it has made! At each session, he is shown an example of social behavior that isn't working, often a clip from a movie. Then they discuss how the situation could have turned out better with different behaviors. After each session, I am given a description of what my son learned and, importantly, the language that goes with it, so I can immediately reinforce each new skill exactly the way it was taught to him. He has a lot to learn so it will take a while, but the process is working for us. After just half a dozen sessions, I see significant improvements in his communication skills both at home and in social situations outside."

Mother of a nine-year-old boy with ADHD

"Janneta helps you to learn how to be a better friend."

Emma, age eight, adopted from China

"Janneta has helped my daughter to be confident about who she is and, as a result, she's less anxious about taking risks."

Emma's mother

"Janneta keeps me grounded."

Maureen, 40-year-old woman experiencing anxiety and anger issues

"There is always so much we don't talk about, so much we have trouble believing in, and it is usually these fractions of our lives that are the most imperative, as we should talk about them, if anything. The significance of my past obsessions has become practically irrelevant in my life now, and went from all I could think about to almost meaningless. But I would have never been able to free myself if it had not been for the help I received with the realization of my fears, facing what I didn't want to know, confronting what I was afraid of knowing, and so much more. I have learned to admit the truths in life and to stop hiding from them through excuses. It seems that when I do, the situation always turns out even better than I had even initially expected. Janneta has taught me to see things in a much more positive way, and I have not only become less anxious, but more appreciative as well. My life view is different due to valuable techniques Janneta has taught me, such as remembering that 'What people say about you is none of your business.' They say that you cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails, and if this is so, Janneta is a mighty good captain."

Jackie, 16-year-old teen experiencing anxiety and an eating disorder

"After somewhat unsuccessfully trying to employ the principles of Ross Greene's Explosive Child, we were not sure anything would work with Rachel. We felt we had tried all we could as parents to alter her behavior and were unsuccessful so much of the time. However, we knew we were in the right place on our first day with Janneta when Rachel went into Janneta's office alone and willingly that first visit. Over the course of the next 4 months, we were overjoyed to learn that Rachel would open up and articulate to Janneta what she was feeling during those frustrating and anger provoking times. We would have never thought a 6-year-old could express herself so clearly and well. Janneta was able to help Rachel identify her feelings and teach her how to cope with them. Plus, we were able to put all of Janneta's suggestions into action and saw great improvement with Rachel's disposition and emotional management at home. Also, we were all given a language with which to communicate during these challenging episodes. We can see that with continued effort, Rachel can alter her behavior and learn to cope with the frustrations that life will continue to present her. We could not have done this without Janneta's help."

Karen and Michael, parents dealing with an explosive child

"Our son is challenged by severe (life threatening) food allergies and as he turned nine, he began to realize that a reaction could really mean death. He was suddenly old enough to understand what eating even the smallest particle of wrong food could do to him. So he did what seemed logical. He stopped eating anywhere that wasn't home and anything that wasn't prepackaged with trustworthy labeling. Further, he start questioning us 10 times before eating anything at home, even about foods he had been eating all his life and knew were safe. We could see that he was losing confidence and was becoming depressed and anxious. He needed to eat and we needed to stop arguing with him about eating. Then we were referred to Janneta. What a blessing! Through her careful guidance and assurance she helped all of us understand what was going on and why. She helped us all work together to solve our son's concerns and gave him (and us) the tools to get us there. Her gentle, kind, smart approach made it easy for our son to listen earnestly to her words. She showed him everyday examples of how people control and loose control of their anxieties, examples that rang true to someone his age and made a difference. She gave us weekly, monthly goals that were attainable and not overwhelming but gave our son a strong sense of accomplishment. Each time the goals stretched further but remained doable. She gave our son a way to chart his feelings and reactions that helped define them, making them understandable. She gave him tools to track his progress so he could see how he was doing, constantly giving him the courage and confidence to go further. She gave us all hope and a solution. Our son has "graduated" her care and is back to the self-confident, happy, food loving kid that we had known for nine years and it was accomplished far more quickly than I thought possible. We couldn't recommend anyone more highly than Janneta Bohlander."

Nancy, mother of nine-year-old boy with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and life-threatening allergies