Insights

Size of the Problem: Helping Children Match Their Feelings and Reactions to a Problem

Size of the Problem (SotP) is a tool used to help individuals think critically about how their feelings and responses to a perceived problem impact themselves and the people around them. Simply put, it helps people understand how big...

How to Talk to Your Child About School Shootings

It grieves me to be writing this blog regarding a topic that so deeply affects our students, parents, school staff, and community today. The anxiety and confusion surrounding school shootings is prevalent for us all. This is made more...

Helping Your Student with Back to School Feelings

With summer quickly coming to an end, children and teens in your home may be experiencing familiar and competing feelings like excitement, dread, anticipation, and anxiety. Often, these feelings may not be expressly spoken, but there are clues your...

What You Need to Know About ASD

What Exactly is ASD? According to the DSM-5-TR, the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is comprised of Asperger syndrome and the other autism-related diagnoses which make up the autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder...

Benefits of Authoritative Parenting

You may have heard of the term parenting style. There are four main parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and distant. Authoritative parenting is known as a balanced approach and is widely regarded as the most effective parenting style, because...

How to Support Emotional Regulation in Your Teens

What is emotional regulation you might ask? Emotional regulation is the “ability to exert control over one’s own emotional state.” It is quite common for teens to struggle with emotional dysregulation due to the flood of hormones rushing through...

The Importance of Community

One of the first things I ask a new client when we meet is “tell me about your support system”. Understanding how connected someone is to a community of support gives me a lot of information about their mental...

Helping Your Child Deal with Anger

Anger and temper tantrums/meltdowns in young children, especially under the ages of 7-9, are to be expected and even healthy for a child. It is important for children to be able to experience all emotions. Having these hard emotions...

Understanding the Effects of PTSD: A Guide for Family Members

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a complex mental health condition that can have profound effects on the lives of individuals who experience it. However, it is equally important to recognize the impact PTSD can have on the family members...

My Child Won’t Remember That…. Will They?

As many children do not hold memories before 2-3 years old and even then, memory is often pretty vague, parents tend to be more lenient about what they say in front of their child before that time period or...

What Is the CRAFT Approach?

Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is intended to help family members of someone who has Substance Use learn how to steer their loved one away from substance abuse. It is a great method for someone that’s refusing treatment...

How to Support Your Child’s Behavior Over Holiday Breaks

As the holidays are fast approaching, one thing parents often state their frustration about is behavior regression or increased outbursts during breaks from school. Children thrive when they understand expectations and know boundaries and limitations. The holiday season can...

How to Support Students Facing Academic Pressure & Stress

As we approach the fall, school begins picking up and the weight of different responsibilities can begin to feel overwhelming. Many of our students deal with high levels of school anxiety and academic stress. They are being asked to...

5 Effective Ways to Encourage Your Child to Open Up and Communicate

Communication is a vital skill that empowers children to express their thoughts, feelings, and needs effectively. As parents, we play a crucial role in nurturing this skill and creating a safe environment for our children to open up and...

Your Child’s Anxiety: Signs and Strategies for Calming Their Mind and Body

Did you know that anxiety disorders are the most common type of psychological problem that children experience? One in eight children suffer from a significant anxiety disorder (Wang, 2017). In an average sized classroom of about 25 school-aged children,...

Understanding and Reconciling with Your Estranged Child

How to reconcile Often a parent feels they were cut off by a child without fully understanding the cause of the conflict. While communication is key in resolving discord, it’s hard when your child has blocked all your calls...

Setting Screen Time with your Kids and Teens

Screens are now an essential part of our daily lives whether you are an adult or child. Children and teens now must use either computers or tablets while at school to get work done, do learning activities, and turn...

3 Steps to Help Kids Overcome Anxiety

Opioid Use, It’s Effects on Children, and How to Identify Misuse

On average, 130 Americans die from opioid overdose (including prescription- Oxycodone, Codeine, Morphine, and Fentanyl, and illicit opioids- heroine) EVERY DAY. This statistic affects the children in our community, as 2 million children annually have a parent who uses...

How to Help Your Child Manage Anxiety & Disruptive Emotions