Couples can experience a push-pull dynamic, or any variety of other patterns not understood. Does it feel like you are just living together going through the motions but not connected? Maybe you want to be more intimate with your partner, but they don’t seem interested. Maybe your partner takes differences in …
The word “Trauma” has become a bit of a buzzword with hallmark books about trauma becoming popularized such as “The Body Keeps the Score” (Van der Kolk, 2014) and “What Happened to You?” (Perry, M.D., & Winfrey, 2021). As a licensed clinical counselor my job is to help shape the …
Adoption is part of the identity of many children. Some kids know they are adopted from day one. Their appearance differs from their parents in such a way that their parents have always told them about how they entered the family. Maybe the children were adopted at an older age …
Protective instincts are good. They are God-given. They keep human beings alive. Protective impulses can go into overdrive, though, and when that happens, non-productive behaviors can occur. When others see these behaviors, they may judge them as maladaptive, bad, or even morally wrong. Upon further examination, however, it becomes apparent …
EMDR, or eye moment desensitization and reprocessing, is a relatively new counseling technique. Discovered by Francis Shapiro in 1987, it has since been validated by numerous empirical studies (Rodenburg, 2009; Shapiro, 2014; Shapiro, 2018; Wilson et al, 2018). While not explicitly a Christian therapy, EMDR fits very well with the …
In this episode of the Family Care Learning Podcast, Brandon and Josette share tips from the parenting book The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson. Josette, is our family Coaching supervisor. We hope this brings more parenting …
In this episode of the Family Care Learning Podcast, we hear from Haley and Jennie who discuss what EMDR therapy is really like and how it can help people with PTSD and processing childhood trauma or painful memories. Learn more about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing below. “Today we are …
I am an attachment and trauma therapist, not an art therapist. I often use art in therapy, though. Why? Because art is an extremely effective intervention in trauma therapy. It has been said that play is the language of children. It unleashes a creative side of the brain (Klein, n.d.). …
When considering shared parenting with the birth parents in foster care cases, it’s important to remember that many are in recovery. The Arizona Department of Child Safety (AZ DCS) (2021) estimates that more than 70% of children coming into foster care in our state are coming in due to parental …
Connection is just not a good thing. Connection is vital for kids, especially for kids from hard places. As Robyn Gobbel (2021) says, “Connection is a biological imperative.” Connection is the means by which kids can begin to securely attach (Gobbel, 2021). It is the means by which kids receive …