Building Secure Attachment Through Play: A Guide for Parents
Attachment is the emotional bond that forms between a child and their caregiver. When that bondfeels safe, consistent, and loving, it helps children build secure attachment. Children with secureattachment know they can turn to their caregiver for comfort, safety, and connection—especiallywhen they’re upset, unsure, or overwhelmed. This sense of security becomes the foundation foremotional regulation, […]
How Play Therapy Helps Children Heal and Grow
If you’ve ever watched your child build an elaborate story with toys, draw a picture out of nowhere, or act out a dramatic scene with dolls or action figures, you’ve witnessed something powerful: a child making sense of their world through play. In play therapy, this natural way of expressing emotions becomes a path toward […]
What is Intergenerational Trauma?
Intergenerational trauma is broadly defined as the trauma that gets passed down from a trauma survivor and affects the well-being of subsequent generations. Intergenerational trauma is also referred to as transgenerational trauma or multigenerational trauma. Traumatic experiences can be systemic (e.g., war, genocide, poverty, natural disasters, etc.) and can also occur on a micro-scale (e.g., […]
Parenting and Mental Health During COVID19
It’s easy to get caught up in the “magic” you see on Facebook that other families are creating. These families are eating dinner at the table together, baking 42 cakes, helping their child with homework with beautiful Pinterest-worthy set ups, and art projects to put in the windows for walkers in the neighborhood. Then, there […]
The Mental Health Connection Between Parents and Children
The old saying goes that apples do not fall far from their tree, and we see this idiom play out in the traits and features of our children. Some of this is due to the environment we share with our children, or the “nurture” part of nature and nurture, and part is due to genetics. […]
The Mental Health Toll of COVID19
At this point, it is likely an understatement to say that we are in unsettling, trying, and stressful times. With what felt like very little warning, our global economy has ground to a halt, disrupting almost every aspect of daily life. School, work, social gatherings, and regularly scheduled appointments have been altered, modified, or canceled […]
Introduction to Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT): What is It and How Can It Help You Parent Your Child?
One of the major goals of parenting is the socialization of children, during which parents teach their children to cope with the stresses of life in socially appropriate ways. At certain developmental ages, (i.e. temper tantrums in toddlers or adolescent rebellion), negative and disruptive displays of behavior are fleeting and considered “normal.” When these behaviors […]
Maintaining Mental Health in a Crisis
We are currently in a crisis, including threat to our health and well being, economic insecurities, and major disruptions to our routine. This crisis state increases our chances of depression, anxiety, and physical health complaints, and those who have a mental health condition, including ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, or mood disruptions are particularly vulnerable to […]
Resilience, and Why It Matters Now
Things are pretty stressful right now – and likely, that is an understatement. Worries about health, the economy, logistics related to school and work, adapting to a brand new work style and environment, and major routine disruptions have rapidly become our new normal, and coping is probably at the very bottom of everyone’s to-do list. […]
All About Telehealth
If there is a phrase to sum up what we are all going through right now, it is “unprecedented times.” At the same time that we are experiencing increasing uncertainty, upheaval to our work and school routines, and rapid adjustments to expectations economically, socially, and for recreation, we are also faced with increasing isolation and […]