Dr. Michael S. Weissman and his wife, Brina, opened Churchland Psychological Center in 1981, serving Hampton Roads for nearly 45 years.
As clinical director, Weissman offers individual adult psychotherapy, family and marital counseling, and psychological testing, while Brina Weissman serves behind the scenes in payroll, tax, and accounts payable. Together, they have gifted the practice to their daughter, Sara Litt, a licensed clinical social worker with degrees from University of Virginia and Columbia. Litt joined the practice more than 20 years ago.
Succession was not part of the original plan, until Weissman saw an article in The Virginian-Pilot about a family carrying on a business to the next generation. “My wife and I just gave the practice to my daughter. She’s my boss now,” he laughs. Weissman says he plans to continue seeing patients as long as he can function. With Brina Weissman retiring this month, after teaching Litt the ropes, Weissman says he is thrilled to be young enough to see his daughter blossom in her new role. “She took over like a champ,” he kvells.
“Working with Sara is the highest form of nachas, seeing your child follow in your footsteps,” he adds. Weissman describes his daughter as an extraordinary therapist with a gift to understand others.
Litt says that her career path was partly influenced by her father. As a child, she would overhear him dictating his patient sessions. Originally pursing a life in theater, Litt did not have confidence in her talent but loved the character development and moral dilemmas that were presented on the stage. This idea of character study led her to become a therapist.
Both father and daughter remark at the overwhelming anxiety that they currently see in their patients. Weissman attributes this escalation to the divisive political climate and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. While he still counsels for marital problems and depression, he notices a sense of personal insecurity that is overlaid onto these more common difficulties; he also hears concerns about climate change and parents wondering what the world will be like for their children.
“There is a general angst about world events and politics,” Litt agrees. Families can’t get over the fact that someone voted otherwise. She worries about internet addiction and the next generation missing basic life skills, such as picking up the phone and calling someone. Litt observes that parents are so busy with their phones that they don’t look at their kids, and, therefore, these children are not getting the attachments they need.
As an observant Jew, wearing a yarmulke and lapel pin with U.S. and Israeli flags, Weissman explains how Torah infuses his work. While he does not often quote the source, he shares Jewish wisdom even with his non-Jewish patients. He says he is not proselytizing; he is merely imparting wisdom that is more than 1,000 years old. “Don’t discipline your child when you’re angry,” he offers as an example; instead, he suggests, buy time and think before responding.
Litt, too, follows Torah in her practice, though she cites a very different example from her father. Her mother abided by the commandment that “one must pay one’s worker on the day that he completes his work,” and therefore always paid employees on the first of the month. When the holiday of Shavous started on June 1, Litt recognized a dilemma and was grateful when staff came in the Sunday before to run payroll. “My parents created the company with a viable, supportive, and warm work environment. My intention is to keep that.”
As a mother of five boys, ranging in age from 11 to 24 years old, Litt is grateful to control her own schedule and tailor it to her family’s needs. She and her son, Aryeh Litt, revised the center’s website and upgraded the technology.
A graduate student at Hofstra University, Ari Litt is studying psychotherapy and specializing in clients with special needs. Who knows – perhaps there will be a third generation to this family business.
Parents gift therapy practice to daughter
