If you are like me, sometimes you look around in your home, your community, and the world and feel overwhelmed by the pain. So many people are hurting. Children are stressed to the point of thinking about taking their own life. Parents struggle to respond when adolescents seem rebellious, angry, lost, and out of control. Married couples … Continue reading Connection Is The Cure For Relational and Emotional Pain
Category: Parenting
Five Empathy Skills That Create Connection
I have been reading Brene Brown’s leadership book entitled “Dare to Lead”. If you are familiar with Brene’s work you know that this book is full of talk about vulnerability, empathy, connection, and relationship. So, since we at Connections Family Counseling are passionate about building a community of connected families it makes sense that we would … Continue reading Five Empathy Skills That Create Connection
7 Ways to integrate the Teenage Brain
Dan Siegel (2014) writes about the amazing tumultuous wild wonderful teenage brain describing the radical changes that occur in the brain through the teenage years. He also writes in his book “Brainstorm: the power and purpose of the teenage brain” (2013) about the four qualities present in teenage minds based on the radical changes that occur … Continue reading 7 Ways to integrate the Teenage Brain
Play Therapy Explained
Finding your voice in a world of 7.7 billion inhabitants can be quite burdensome. This is especially true for our youngest members of society, who have not mastered the art of verbal or written expression. Try as much as they can, children frequently cannot articulate the feelings, thoughts, or ideas that reflect their worldview. As … Continue reading Play Therapy Explained
Parenting Styles: What Works?
It seems that nearly every month I hear of a new book or article that touts the latest trends in parenting styles. Most recently I heard about the Lawn mower parent –one that cuts down any challenges in front of their children. There is attachment parenting, the helicopter parent, drill sergeant parent, consultant parent and one book … Continue reading Parenting Styles: What Works?
How to build your child’s self-esteem?
Self-esteem is a concept that is regularly discussed in our culture. Many parents fill their child’s life with activities, play dates, and positive affirmations in the hopes of creating greater confidence. In many cases however, it does not seem to work. The harder we work to build our kids up the lower their self-regard. This … Continue reading How to build your child’s self-esteem?
How Porn Addiction Hurts
I was watching my son’s baseball game the other day and happened to overhear an exchange between two parents and their two sons that compelled me to write this post. The two boys were joking and laughing with one another through out the game. One of the boys joked with his mother sitting near by … Continue reading How Porn Addiction Hurts
Helping Your Teen With Depression
What is Depression? The DSM-V defines depression as: “The presence of sad, empty, or irritable mood, accompanied by somatic, and cognitive changes that significantly affect the individual’s capacity to function” More specifically the DSM lists the criteria for a Major depressive episode as 5 or more of the following symptoms when they occur during the … Continue reading Helping Your Teen With Depression
Sharing Faith With Your Children
I have had the wonderful privilege of working with many Christians struggling to parent their child through the difficult teenage years. Most of these families are like any other family that enters counseling. They are struggling with conflict, rebellion, communication difficulties, trust issues, and emotional challenges. One unique concern for Christian parents, however, is the … Continue reading Sharing Faith With Your Children
Adolescent Boredom Busters
For many parents the worst phrase that could come out of their adolescent’s mouth is, “I’m Bored”. This phrase can push the parent fear buttons of “entitlement”, “laziness”, “ungratefulness” or “failure-to-launch”. These buttons when pushed tend to produce feelings of failure, inadequacy, and helplessness. The problem of Boredom Richard Winter described the problem of boredom … Continue reading Adolescent Boredom Busters