Is your child currently in therapy? Are you interested in therapy for your child? If so, it’s likely that you’ll want to share your concerns about your child with your child’s therapist. You may have concerns surrounding how they’re performing in school, behaviors that you’re seeing at home, or just general information you feel the therapist should know as the therapeutic process unfolds. It is completely normal for you to want to share, and there is an appropriate way to do so. The goal is to be able to articulate your point of view with their therapist while respecting your child’s perspective as well. Consider these three points when discussing treatment with your child’s therapist…
May is Mental Health Awareness month and raising awareness starts with you. Did you know that asking for therapy is one of the best things you can do for yourself or a family member? You might even call it a superpower! Think about it: you wouldn’t hesitate to treat a physical illness like a broken bone. Mental health is no different! Therapy is an opportunity to explore who you are while taking control of your own mental health and wellness. Here are some key reasons why asking for therapy can be so worthwhile...
When you’re in a crisis situation, it’s easy to act on your emotions. You may react on an emotional urge without even thinking about it. However, the intensity of emotional urges can often affect how you respond and as a result, cause negative consequences. When you feel yourself becoming frustrated, it can be easy to begin raising your voice or yelling. When you feel upset, you may likely isolate yourself rather than dealing with the issue at hand. While it’s natural to experience a variety of emotions (even powerful ones), acting on the emotions without thinking can negatively impact your mood, your actions, and your relationships. Luckily there is a DBT skill to help you when your emotions are running high: the STOP skill. Learn about STOP so that you can navigate emotional situations more effectively…
Did you know that you’ve had five skills to help tolerate distress your whole entire life? These are skills that everyone has at their fingertips, yet many people don’t know about them! All you have to do is integrate your five senses. Through self soothing, you utilize your five senses in order to cope with stressful moments. Instead of looking for comfort externally, it is important to practice and learn how to comfort yourself. This skill can be used in any situation. Whether you’re in an argument with a friend or becoming frustrated with your partner, use vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch to lower your distress level. Here are some ways to incorporate self soothing with the five senses into your daily schedule…
Did you know that changing your body chemistry can help calm your emotional state? When you’re in a crisis or difficult situation (whether internally or externally) your state of mind can cloud your ability to make wise decisions. By learning to tolerate distress, you will improve your ability to regulate your emotions and act accordingly. In the distress tolerance module, the TIPP skill helps to create a bodily reaction lowers your emotional response. By activating your parasympathetic nervous system during distress using TIPP, you’re able to process and respond to your emotions more rationally. Here’s how TIPP works…
We deal with difficult emotions every day. Feelings like frustration and nervousness can make life challenging. Although you cannot get rid of these uncomfortable emotions, you can choose how you deal with them. As a parent, it’s important to learn healthy ways to accept and cope with stressful emotions and crises. It will not only help you become a more effective human being, it will also allow you to model for your children and your family how to tolerate distress. Consider using IMPROVE the moment to replace negative emotions with positive ones…
It can be difficult to always respond to your child in the most effective way. When you’re in a stressful situation, your body acts without thinking. You may act on your emotions and respond in ways that you later regret. However, you can modify your response before you act on impulse by incorporating mindfulness into your parenting. You have the option to react on emotions or respond mindfully. Let’s explore how you can start to integrate mindfulness into your parenting approach in order to reduce stress and maintain a positive parent-child relationship…
As parents, it is possible that you’re incredibly hard on yourself; this kind of behavior can be destructive. It is easy to imagine demonstrating compassion for those that you love. However, it’s far more difficult to show compassion towards yourself. The mindfulness practice for self-compassion will help you learn to practice self-compassion in your daily life. Practicing self compassion is one of the best ways to improve your wellness and your mood, as well as strengthen your relationship with your family members. Learn how to practice a self-compassion break in order to show yourself kindness, alleviate stress, and help you cope with the challenges of parenthood…
As a parent, it may be difficult to separate facts from feelings. You sometimes find yourself acting on a temporary emotion when the evidence does not support this response. Consider using the skill, “check the facts,” next time you’re feeling that your reaction isn’t matching up to the situation. Check the Facts helps you to modify your response to a level that is appropriate for the situation, or to respond with a more fitting emotion. Before you act, ask yourself, is the way that you are feeling and thinking about a situation factual? Let’s explore how you can find the proof first…
Do you find yourself having the same conversation, argument, or request over and over with your kids—to no avail? It is understandably exhausting asking something of your child or partner and nothing seems to change. However it’s possible that the situation is unchangeable, so learning to accept the situation for what it is may be your only solution. The DBT skill of “radical acceptance” embodies that idea, as it’s the skill of accepting the things you cannot change. Let’s go over how it works and how you can apply it to your parenting…
Have you had trouble seeing eye to eye with your children lately? As your children get older and navigate increasingly complex emotions and situations, you may feel like you’re on totally different pages. One thing leads to the next, your emotions begin to spiral, and you’re in another full blown argument before you know it. You don’t have to be stuck in a cycle of chaos and confusion. By mapping out the chain of events and analyzing each step of the way, you can find points in which you could act differently and then change the outcome. The DBT skill Behavioral Chain Analysis walks you through the process. Behavioral Chain Analysis helps you determine what you could do differently when dealing with problematic behavior with your child. All you have to do is follow these steps…
Parents are faced with a variety of different challenging situations from day to day. From managing the kids’ online activities to breaking up arguments to preparing meals that everyone will enjoy, the stress can add up. In these situations, it might feel difficult to deal with intense or painful emotions as they arise. Ineffective ways of managing a crisis may help in the short term, but they can end up making things worse. Use crisis management skills like Wise Mind ACCEPTS when you feel yourself reaching your threshold to Emotion Mind or if you feel your emotional temperature rising…
Do you ever wonder why you sometimes find yourself acting up or lashing out from intense emotions? It’s possible that you’re being triggered by your emotional vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities are underlying factors that make it more likely for a person to act emotionally. Parents can be especially vulnerable to their emotions because they’re investing more time in their children and less time in themselves. When healthy self-care practices are neglected, it can leave people more emotionally vulnerable. Luckily, learning how to manage these specific vulnerabilities can help you avoid acting in irrational ways. Start managing your emotional vulnerabilities with the PLEASE skills…
Do you ever find you’re hard on yourself as a parent? Do you tend to assume the worst about yourself when the situation unfolds differently than planned? Judgments are FUEL on emotional fire. Although you need judgments in order to stay safe, negative judgments may impact your self-efficacy and how you view yourself in the parenting role. In Dialectical Behavior Therapy, acting non-judgmentally is essential to avoid mistaking your opinions or emotions as facts. Take a vacation from judgment and parent effectively by adopting a non-judgmental stance. Let’s explore how you can identify your judgments and replace them with a non-judgmental, neutral stance…
Did you know that one of the simplest ways to calm your mind is something that you’re already doing every second of the day? That’s right—it’s all about your breath! When you feel intense emotions, your may instinctively try to slow down your breath. Being mindful of your breathing is as easy as that! Mindful breathing is a powerful yet underutilized tool that helps you calm intense emotions and bring awareness to your present moment. By mindfully breathing, you can create a relaxing effect on your mind and body. Consider these three types of mindful breathing techniques to promote a calmer mood…
Parenting as we used to know it (pre-pandemic) has radically changed! We are now being challenged with multi-tasking and problem-solving novel situations with no road map or clear answers. Although positive parenting is possible right now, it certainly is challenging! To feel both effective AND simultaneously good about yourself while navigating this challenging time, use the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skill of FASTtomaintain your self-respect as a parent. FAST is helps you keep your self-respect in relationships by honoring your own values and beliefs. Let’s explore how it works…
As a parent, it’s important to find a balance between making sure your child feels heard and parenting effectively. This is often easier said than done! It can be challenging to be your child’s friend to count on while maintaining boundaries and structure as a parent. Luckily, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, can help! In DBT, building and maintaining healthy relationships is a key component to interpersonal effectiveness. One interpersonal skill, the “GIVE” skill, can help you achieve this parenting balance within your household. Here’s how it works…
The pandemic certainly has impacted our well-being and our relationships as a result! We’re being emotionally and physically taxed in a variety of new ways. They can lead to heightened emotions, feelings of overwhelm, and emotional instability; these all make it difficult to navigate interpersonal relationships. In order to feel validated and heard while also successfully asking for what you want during this difficult time, try using a well-known skill from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, DEARMAN. DEARMAN is a DBT skill that helps you be effective in getting what you want or asserting “NO.” Here’s how it works…
Is your child glued to their screens? Research shows that kids’ and teens’ developing brains are constantly building neural connections while pruning away at neural pathways that are less commonly used. Essentially, the more your child does something, the more likely that habit will stick. Screen time can impact this process by replacing valuable offline experiences, which would otherwise allow them to stretch their emotional and mental capacity. Plus, technology may interfere with everything from your child’s sleep cycle to their ability to think creatively. Help your child find balance between online and offline time so that they can engage in essential brain development. Here are a few ways to give your child’s brain a BREAK from screen time…
It’s mid January and all you can do is count the days until spring. Now more than ever, you’re longing for warmer days and you just can’t kick those winter blues. If it’s proving difficult to trudge through these chilly days, you’re not alone. You can boost your mood by incorporating these three helpful techniques…
