Child Therapy

24 Sep

Anxiety is a term that is often used in everyday conversation to describe our children, ourselves, or others around us. Anxiety is an emotion coupled with feelings of uneasiness, worry, and intrusive thoughts which may occur as a response to a present or perceived threat. When individuals feel anxious, they may experience physical symptoms such as an increased heart rate, sweating, increase in temperature, uneasy stomach, or restlessness. When anxious, thoughts may race through your mind that are difficult to...

17:10 / Child Therapy / Communication / Guest Post / Individual Therapy / Inspiration / Life Coaching / Self Care / Students / Teen Therapy / Therapy / Uncategorised / Uncategorized / Virtual Therapy
12 Aug

Masking (sometimes referred to as camouflaging) is the tendency to suppress certain behaviors that might be related to neurodivergence. The term is most often used in the context of ADHD or Autistic individuals. If you are interested in learning more about neurodivergence, feel free to check out my other blog post: What is Neurodiversity #TipsToBloom. In summary: a neurodivergent individual diverges from the dominant social standards of typical neurocognitive functioning (they might have ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, or Down Syndrome). The...

08:00 / Child Therapy / Communication / Guest Post / Individual Therapy / Relationship Therapy / Self Care / Students / Therapy / Uncategorised / Uncategorized
19 Jun

Happy Pride Month! Pride month is the perfect time to reflect on our use of inclusive language in all aspects of our lives including parenting. Whether you know if your child identifies as 2SLGBTQIA+ or not, there are a few things you can do to make them feel more comfortable with sharing their identity, and supporting their peers as well. This includes language that includes various gender identities, diverse families, and romantic partners. Spectrum: Waterloo Regions Rainbow Community Space has recently...

20:55 / Child Therapy / Communication / Events / Guest Post / Inspiration / Relationships / Self Care / Students / Therapy / Uncategorised / Uncategorized / Workshops
07 Jun

The term neurodiversity describes the natural cognitive differences between individuals, including brain function and behavioral traits. Just like racial, gender, and cultural diversity, variations in neurotypes are natural and valuable forms of human diversity!  Someone who is neurodivergent diverges from the dominant social standards of typical neurocognitive functioning. These differences might include:  -ADHD -Autism -Dyslexia -Dyspraxia -Down Syndrome Contrary to the term neurodivergent, the term neurotypical refers to an individual whose neurocognitive functioning falls within the societal standards of typical. If your family includes individuals who are...

12:20 / Child Therapy / Guest Post / Individual Therapy / Inspiration / Relationships / Self Care / Students / Therapy / Uncategorised / Uncategorized
15 Nov

Self Care 101 Self-care isn’t selfish. “Self-care is giving the world the best of you instead of what’s left of you”  - Katie Reed.  Self-care… What does it really mean? Self-care is a term that has been thrown around a lot lately, especially during the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers, teachers, professionals, family, and other parents have all been pushing this idea of taking care of yourself because it’s becoming more known of how important mental health is, and how some...

15:23 / Child Therapy / Guest Post / Self Care / Uncategorised / Uncategorized
16 Oct

Play therapy is an innovative and effective form of therapy for individuals of all ages, particularly for children whose natural form of expression comes through play. Play therapy dates back to the 1940s. It is usually done in a non-directive, child-centered format. Self-directed, child-centered play therapy means that the child is the center of attention. They are the most important person in this setting and are completely in charge of the situation and themselves. There are no suggestions, mandates, restraints, criticisms,...

21:34 / Child Therapy / Guest Post / Therapy / Uncategorised / Uncategorized
24 Aug

Covid-19 has brought astronomical levels of disruption and uncertainty. It’s like we are all wearing a 20lb weight vest. Although we are all in the same storm, we are not in the same boat so that vest may be heavier for some than others. Nonetheless we’re all impacted.  One group that has faced significant disruption is athletes. When this group is discussed we may automatically think of professional sports organizations who had altered seasons, or elite athletes having to wait another...

08:13 / Child Therapy / Guest Post / Uncategorized
28 Mar

March marks the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic and it is safe to say that everyone has been impacted in one way or another, including children. Children have experienced changes in their routine, missed significant life events, loss of security and safety, along with many more challenges based on the family’s unique situation. Ask yourself: Are you physically and socially distancing from a grandparent or other loved one? Has your child had a disruption in their school or learning...

17:26 / Child Therapy / Grief / Guest Post / Uncategorised
07 Mar

Guest Blogger: Sarah Nyland, Certified Child Life Specialist WHAT IS A CHILD LIFE SPECIALIST? HOW CAN A CHILD LIFE SPECIALIST HELP MY FAMILY? Children process stress and trauma in many different ways, depending on their age and development, that is very different than adults. Child life specialist understand the developmental impact of trauma and assist children and their families when dealing with an illness, trauma, or loss (death, divorce, or relocation). Child life specialists are trained professionals with expertise in...

18:40 / Child Therapy / Guest Post
30 Sep

Play is the language of children. In play therapy the child is given the opportunity to play out their feelings and experiences. Play therapy can be directive in that the play therapist can provide guidance to the child to meet the child's goals. It can also non-directive where the child leads and decides on the direction of the play. Virginia Axiline, the creator of play therapy, suggests that non-directive play therapy is based on the belief that every individual has upon...

17:15 / Child Therapy