Embracing the Outdoors: The Healing Power of Walk & Talk Therapy
Imagine this: instead of sitting in an office across from your therapist, you’re strolling together through a peaceful setting, with sunlight filtering through the trees and the soft rustle of leaves underfoot. You might find yourself walking along a winding path, pausing to sit on a park bench, or laughing at a pair of squirrels chasing each other around a tree.
Nurturing a Wholesome Relationship with Food
In today's world, where fast food chains dominate the landscape and processed snacks fill the aisles of supermarkets, instilling healthy eating habits in children is more crucial (and difficult!) than ever. However, teaching children to have a positive relationship with food goes beyond just making sure that they eat their fruits and vegetables. It's about fostering a mindset that can appreciate and understand the nourishing aspects of food while simultaneously enjoying the pleasures of eating.
Your Support Team During a Divorce
A few years ago, Lynn Louise Wonders, MA, LPC, CPCS, RPT-S shared an open letter to parents going through a divorce. In this letter, she shares things that help make the divorce process go smoothly for every member of the family. One of her points is to gather your adult-helpers and know what purpose each person’s job serves. Today, I want to dive a little deeper into helping you understand each of these roles.
Farewell, Not Goodbye: When Therapy Comes to an End
"Are you breaking up with us?" This sentiment is one I've encountered numerous times as I broach the topic of termination with caregivers. While the remark may appear lighthearted, it undoubtedly speaks to the depth and significance of the therapeutic relationships we, as therapists, form not only with our clients but often with the entire family system.
Implementing a Screen Time Plan
With summer break around the corner, I know that many caregivers become worried about their child using screens even more often. Children are no longer at school for a good portion of the day and it can sometimes be just too hot in Austin to stay outside for too long. However, I think the transition into summer makes a great time to implement a new media plan if you’re concerned about your child’s screen time since children understand this to be a time of new routines anyway.
Frustration Tolerance and Why it's Important
Frustration is a familiar feeling no matter who you are. No matter what age, gender, nationality, or spirituality you identify with, you know what it means to feel frustrated. It’s also likely that you know that frustration rises inside us when we want a certain outcome from our efforts and, for whatever reason, we do not achieve that outcome.
Nurturing Emotional Intelligence with Internal Family Systems (IFS)
If you’re a caregiver, you have probably thought about how to support your child’s emotional intelligence. This may look like asking your child to “use their words” to name how they are feeling, or maybe your child has a big meltdown when something they want doesn’t go as planned. Whatever the scenario, equipping children with the tools to understand their emotional world is essential for their well-being and ability to maneuver through life’s ups and downs.
Why Children Don’t Need to Talk in Play Therapy
Play therapy can seem like magic at times. Your child comes to our office for 45 minutes once a week to play and after an average of five months, they’ve completed their therapeutic goals! Their emotional regulation has improved, their anxiety has decreased, or maybe their self-esteem is higher.
Aggression in the Playroom
Typically when someone thinks of therapy, images of a calm and quiet waiting room may appear in their mind. Maybe rain sounds are playing, and the office is filled with mid-century modern furniture and earth tones. As you can imagine, play therapy tends to be a bit different. Especially the sounds!