Social Skills

Friendship Deal Breakers

Line Fleming , M.A.

As we head back to school, there is a lot of anxiety among our students about making friends. And being in the “right friend group.” Many times a new school year means getting to know new classmates. The friends...

Parent Child Interaction Therapy and Childhood Cancer

Facing cancer is an immense challenge for anyone, but for children, it means grappling with their mortality at an age meant for dreams of being a princess or a superhero. For their parents it is a terrifying ordeal to...

The Spectrum of Blackness

By Mollie Innocent-Cupid, Deputy Executive Director In my last blog (Reflections of Colorblindness), I shared my reflections about seeing color. I asked some questions of you, specifically around how acknowledging or omitting race impact your shared personal and professional...

Reflections of Colorblindness

By Mollie Innocent-Cupid, Deputy Executive Director As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, I always find the urge to remind myself that Black History is American History. And if I’m being honest, and if I had it my...

A Tenuous Marriage

Faith and mental health have more than once been at odds with each other. It is commonly said that we are mind, body, and soul. I’ve also heard it said that we are one complete being, so inextricably put...

Building Confidence 101

Looking back at my own experiences as a young female and those of the females around me, including clients, friends, and my younger sister, I wish that “Building Confidence 101” was a course I could have taken at some...

D.E.A.R.M.A.N.

Hello all, As I mentioned previously, my next few blogs will cover a little bit from each DBT module that Summit offers. I shared an exercise from the Mindfulness module last time and will be sharing a skill from...

Effective Communication Style: Listening Skills

In the previous blog, points were shared about ways we can practice responding in conversation versus reacting to others based on heightened emotions. A precursor to responding in healthy ways to de-escalate emotional settings is cultivating effective listening skills....

How to Take Time Away from Your Phone

2009: I had a flip phone. It was only my second year using a phone, but I was obsessed with it- the way it felt in my hand, the rhythm of flipping it open to text, even just the comfort of having...

Effective Communication Style: Learning to Respond versus React

One of the best effective communication skills that I have learned in relationship with others is how to practice responding versus reacting. When we begin to understand the difference between responding and reacting, our self-awareness and ability to self-regulate...

Building Boundaries

Learning and understanding how to build boundaries with your family, peers and coworkers is essential to forming healthy relationships. Having healthy boundaries with others can look different for each relationship you have in your life. Having more rigid boundaries with...

COVID-19 Reentering Reminders Regarding Relationships

As COVID cases go down and vaccination shots go up, so many of us have already experienced the joys of re-experiencing social interactions. But, in the same vein, others have been reminded of the not-so-good side of social engagement...

The Art of Being Assertive

Madeline Redetzky , M.S.

I once had a client who was working on their communication skills. When I had issued a challenge between sessions and asked if they thought it was realistic, they responded, “I think so…and I can always fake it until...