Therapy grounded in real inner work and genuine human connection.
Therapy is not cheap. It requires resources. Both time and money, obviously. But in order for it to be as effective as possible, it requires your energy and attention. I think therapy can benefit most people, regardless of how well or how poorly life seems …
One of the foundations of emotional intelligence is being able to identify emotions. One way kids learn about how to talk about and handle emotions is from their parents, both directly and indirectly. How you handle emotions (yours and theirs) makes a significant impact. Yes, …
Happily Family does this parenting conference every year and it is always filled with great information.
This year has some great topics like digital parenting, helping teenage girls navigate friendships online, supporting kids on the gender spectrum, transforming parenting triggers, how to address the topic of racial injustice. So many good ones.
And, one of my favorite experts in this space: Dan Seigel who has done tons of research about neurobiology and parenting.
The last day is today, however, they will likely extend access over the weekend. Sign up here: it’s free to join!
A few weeks ago, we talked about how important it is to consider the possibility that what other people do is not always about you. People are responding to you in accordance to their own past, their own assumptions and their own tendencies. This is …
Our very own Anna Pirkl, MFT, ATR, LADAAC partnered with South Bay Families Connected and created this wonderful series of short videos to support you in staying motivated during distance learning. I know everyone can use some support in this area. I love how the …
What a different “back to school” transition this year. Hopefully it feels a little more organized or manageable than having to suddenly switch to school online in the middle of a school year. And, I know that looking down the pike at many more months of this can bring challenges of its own.
We wanted to highlight some resources in case they are helpful to you. You do not have to do this alone!
Locally, Brain Bridge and My Ed Therapist are excellent resources to support your family in this school at home process.
Brain Bridge‘s Attention & Executive Function Education Specialists are offering onsite (in person) and virtual home school help.
My Ed Therapist is offering Learning Management Services that include homeschool pods, facilitating Zoom calls with school, accountability and check ins to make sure everything is on track.
There is also a great compilation of free resources to support leaning from home here for all different ages.
You might have found out that your student handles their school day pretty independently and are bothered when you are too involved.
You might have found out that they get overwhelmed easily or get anxious, so implementing some structure like a schedule for work periods and breaks, starting the day with physical activity, implementing a basic routine in the morning to get into school mode or a regular daily check in to make sure things are on track could be helpful.
You might have found that your kids learn best through experiences so adding outings or activities that correlate to what your child is learning in school is helpful or fun. Brainstorm or divide up those duties with other parents so you don’t have to come up with it all on your own.
You might find that your work schedule makes you unavailable on certain days/certain times, so you can plan ahead around that with your student and others in your household.
You might have found that your kid is truly an extrovert and it’s helpful to create a quaranteam or a group of a couple of friends that have the same boundaries as you do around exposure to outside. That quarenteam can have a regular outdoor activity they do together each week or multiple times a week.
Regardless of planning and doing your ultimate, very best, there will be challenges. And, that’s OK.
This comes up a lot. I get that it is confusing. How can an interaction between two people not be personal? Meaning, how can you not take what someone does or says personally??? Well, it FEELS personal. Of course. The things is, most of what …
There are so many reasons. And, so often we take it personally when someone doesn’t share. We think it means something about us. Well, sometimes that is true. Very often, it isn’t. We’ll talk about both sides. When it is not about you: There are …
It’s one of those things, like exercising and eating healthy that you know is good for you but can be hard to do consistently, right?
You know meditation and mindfulness practice has a physiological impact on your body. It supports your mental health and relationships with others and yourself. And, it’s an amazing support to therapy or any personal growth work you are doing. The thing is, it can be hard to find a starting point or a routine where you can consistently practice.
If you want to know more about the benefits, check out our previous post: 3 Reasons Why You Should Care About Mindfulness.
InsightLA is a non-profit meditation center teaching the highest quality mindfulness practices in locations throughout the Greater Los Angeles area.
They have courses and single classes to help you learn the basics of meditation to help you get started. They have group gatherings for parents, teens, anti-racism, people of color that help you stay in the game.
Plus, sometimes it is easier to start or stick with something when you actually sign up and people are planning on your attendance. Right now, it is all online, which is also nice because that can break down some of the barriers to entry.
If you are not sure where to start and you want to do something easy, sign up for the Basics 10 day (10 minutes a day) Journey to learn the Basics of Meditation.
This is a great way to demystify the process of meditation and start to get a sense of what works for you to build a sustainable practice.
Until I trained as a therapist, I never intentionally paid attention to what happens in the process of communicating with someone. Communication just happened. As I learned what process vs content meant, I realized how much information is embedded in the actual process of communication. …