{"id":23573,"date":"2017-03-31T05:35:02","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T12:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=23573"},"modified":"2017-03-31T10:52:53","modified_gmt":"2017-03-31T17:52:53","slug":"pioneering-mutism-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/03\/31\/pioneering-mutism-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Pioneering mutism solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bayit joined forces with Chabad of Richmond in an emoji-themed Purim celebration held at Richmond\u2019s City Centre Community Centre March 12. Pictured here, left to right, are Chabad of Richmond\u2019s Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman, Bayit president Mike Sachs, Yoav Rokach-Penn and the Bayit\u2019s Rabbi Levi Varnai. (photo by Lauren Kramer)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In every community, and ours is no exception, there are folks who frequently capture the spotlight for their work while others quietly get things done behind the scenes, flying below the media radar. In our new Kibitz & Schmooze profile, we\u2019ll try to highlight members of Greater Vancouver\u2019s Jewish community who are doing outstanding, admirable and mention-worthy work out of view of the general public. If you know of profile subjects who fit this description, please email laurenkramer@shaw.ca.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kids and anxiety go hand-in-hand, but, when kids\u2019 anxiety gets out of control, many parents turn to Annie Simpson.<\/p>\n

The 39-year-old Vancouver Talmud Torah mom boasts a PhD in psychology and 10 years\u2019 experience in pediatric psychology. She founded the Cornerstone Child and Family Psychology Clinic in Vancouver in January, where she works with nine other psychologists. But Simpson\u2019s focus is on young patients with anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, selective mutism and depression.<\/p>\n

\"photo
Dr. Annie Simpson (photo from Annie Simpson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her interest in selective mutism, an impairment defined as an inability to speak in some social situations despite speaking perfectly fine in others, began six years ago. That\u2019s when Simpson started getting referrals of children with the impairment and wanted to gain a better understanding of how to help them. She traveled to New York to confer with world-renowned expert Dr. Steve Kurtz, helped run one of his camps for selectively mute kids and came back enthusiastic about applying his cognitive behavioural therapy methods in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Within two years, Simpson ran the first camp of her own at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and soon started receiving calls from all over North America, from parents who wanted to enrol their children. Just under one percent of kids have selective mutism.<\/p>\n

Simpson\u2019s summer clubs are annual now, and in high demand. \u201cI see a wide variety of impairment, from kids who only speak to one parent to kids who cannot speak at school,\u201d she says. \u201cAt the camps, we develop a trusting relationship with the children and then expose them gradually to the feared situation, rewarding their success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Camp is Simpson\u2019s favourite week of the year because the progress is so rapid. \u201cThe children are improving so quickly and they get so excited about their success,\u201d she says. \u201cWith the right supports in place back home, the kids continue to thrive after the camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

For parents who don\u2019t seek help for selectively mute kids, Simpson warns that the mutism gets more challenging to treat the older a child gets, and is particularly difficult when kids become teens and have had so many years of not talking.<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s not counseling patients, you\u2019ll find this enterprising Vancouverite at B.C. Children\u2019s Hospital, where she\u2019s a staff psychologist in the pediatric OCD Program; at Simon Fraser University, where she\u2019s a clinical associate in the department of psychology; or consulting for AnxietyBC.<\/p>\n

***\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"photo
Caf\u00e9 41 put on a fabulous Argentine-style Purim dinner that was well-attended by members of the community March 12. Yamila Chikiar and Daniel Presman (pictured) own the caf\u00e9 with Menajem Peretz. (photo by Lauren Kramer)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"photo
Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver chief executive officer Ezra Shanken with his nine-month-old twin boys at Caf\u00e9 41 for Purim. (photo by Lauren Kramer)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bayit joined forces with Chabad of Richmond in an emoji-themed Purim celebration held at Richmond\u2019s City Centre Community Centre March 12. Pictured here, left to right, are Chabad of Richmond\u2019s Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman, Bayit president Mike Sachs, Yoav Rokach-Penn and the Bayit\u2019s Rabbi Levi Varnai. (photo by Lauren Kramer) In every community, and ours […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6900,6432,5238,3627,3649,6901,982],"class_list":["post-23573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-anne-simpson","tag-bayit","tag-cafe-41","tag-chabad-of-richmond","tag-jewish-federation","tag-mutism","tag-purim"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}