“Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids” by Laura Markham offers a comprehensive guide to cultivating a peaceful and harmonious relationship with your children. Markham emphasizes the importance of understanding and regulating your own emotions as a parent to create a nurturing environment for your child’s emotional growth. Here’s a summary along with eight actionable items inspired by the book:
Connect with Your Child: Foster a strong emotional bond with your child by prioritizing connection through attentive listening, empathy, and validation of their feelings.
Regulate Your Own Emotions: Practice self-awareness and self-regulation techniques to manage your own emotions effectively, modeling healthy emotional expression for your child.
Use Positive Discipline: Replace punitive discipline with positive guidance strategies such as setting limits with empathy, using natural consequences, and offering choices to empower your child.
Empathize and Validate: Validate your child’s emotions and perspectives, demonstrating understanding and empathy even in challenging situations, to foster emotional intelligence and resilience.
Practice Mindful Parenting: Cultivate mindfulness in your parenting approach by staying present in the moment, responding thoughtfully rather than reacting impulsively, and maintaining a calm and centered demeanor.
Set Clear Boundaries: Establish clear and consistent boundaries with your child, communicating expectations calmly and respectfully, and enforcing limits with empathy and understanding.
Prioritize Connection Over Control: Focus on building a cooperative and collaborative relationship with your child based on mutual respect and trust, rather than exerting control through authoritarian methods.
Nurture Yourself: Prioritize self-care and self-compassion as a parent, recognizing the importance of your own well-being in nurturing a peaceful and harmonious family environment.
By implementing these actionable items from “Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids,” parents can create a supportive and nurturing environment that fosters emotional intelligence, resilience, and strong parent-child relationships.
Parenting can be a journey of highs and lows but Dr. Dan Siegel, a renowned psychiatrist and author, offers a compassionate and holistic approach to parenting that prioritizes nurturing the minds and hearts of children. His insights draw from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and mindfulness, providing practical guidance for fostering strong parent-child relationships and supporting children’s emotional well-being. Here are ten actionable tips inspired by Dan Siegel’s parenting approach:
Connect Before You Correct: Before addressing behavioral issues, take a moment to connect with your child emotionally. Validate their feelings and perspectives, fostering a sense of understanding and trust.
Practice Presence: Be fully present with your child during interactions. Put away distractions like phones or computers and engage in active listening, demonstrating genuine interest in what they have to say.
Embrace “Mindsight”: Develop “mindsight” by tuning into your child’s internal world. Encourage them to express their emotions and thoughts openly, without judgment, and help them navigate their feelings with empathy and compassion.
Cultivate Empathy: Teach empathy by modeling compassionate behavior and encouraging perspective-taking. Help your child recognize and understand the feelings of others, fostering kindness and consideration in their interactions.
Promote Reflective Parenting: Take a reflective approach to parenting by considering the underlying reasons behind your child’s behavior. Rather than reacting impulsively, pause and reflect on how you can respond with empathy and understanding.
Encourage Play and Creativity: Support your child’s natural curiosity and creativity by providing opportunities for unstructured play and exploration. Engage in imaginative activities together, fostering a sense of joy and spontaneity.
Set Clear Boundaries with Empathy: Establish firm but flexible boundaries that prioritize your child’s safety and well-being. Communicate these boundaries with empathy, explaining the reasons behind rules and consequences.
Foster Secure Attachment: Nurture a secure attachment bond with your child by being consistently responsive to their needs. Offer comfort and reassurance during times of distress, building a foundation of trust and emotional security.
Promote Mindful Parenting: Cultivate mindfulness in your parenting practices by staying attuned to the present moment without judgment. Practice self-regulation techniques to manage your own stress and emotions, modeling calm and resilience for your child.
Celebrate Growth and Resilience: Encourage a growth mindset by celebrating your child’s efforts and progress, rather than solely focusing on outcomes. Emphasize resilience as a valuable skill, highlighting the importance of perseverance and adaptability in the face of challenges.
Incorporating Dan Siegel’s parenting approach into your daily interactions can cultivate deeper connections, foster emotional intelligence, and nurture resilience in both you and your child. Remember that parenting is a journey of learning and growth, and each moment presents an opportunity to strengthen your bond and support your child’s flourishing.
Nature has always been a source of comfort, inspiration, and healing for people. Those good feelings of time spent in natural environments are becoming more well known for their mental health benefits and in response to that, therapists have begun to harness nature’s restorative capacity by challenging convention and offering therapy outdoors. This course is designed to explore the therapeutic benefits of nature and how they can be used to enhance client emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing.
In this course, students will learn about the theoretical foundations of nature-based therapy, the different types of nature-based interventions, and how to apply them in various settings. They will also explore the role of nature in promoting mindfulness, stress reduction, and overall health.
Throughout the course, students will learn how to incorporate nature-based interventions into their clinical practice. Students will explore what works for promoting change as well as safety and other considerations to this form of therapy.
By the end of this course, students will have gained an understanding of the therapeutic benefits of nature and how they can be used to promote healing and wellbeing. They will also have developed the skills, safety and knowledge necessary to integrate nature-based interventions into their clinical practice. The course includes tips for successfully promoting your nature based therapy offering to potential clients.
Who this course is for:
In this course, students will learn about the theoretical foundations of nature-based therapy, the different types of nature-based interventions, and how to apply them.
This course is designed to explore the therapeutic benefits of nature for counselors and how they can be used to enhance client emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing.
Throughout the course, students will learn how to incorporate nature-based interventions into their clinical practice
By the end of this course, students will have gained an understanding of the therapeutic benefits of nature and how they can be used to promote healing and wellbeing.
They will also have developed the skills and knowledge necessary to integrate nature-based interventions into their clinical practice.
https://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/adam-bezer-ewxxOpBM86A-unsplash-scaled.jpg17072560Jamal Ahmelichhttps://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/01_p-1-300x97.pngJamal Ahmelich2023-10-20 16:42:252023-10-20 16:42:25Nature Based Therapy Course for Counsellors
There are many ways to support a young person dealing with anxiety. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Educate yourself about anxiety and its symptoms, so you can understand what the person is going through.
2. Encourage the person to talk about their feelings and listen actively and empathetically.
3. Help the person develop healthy coping mechanisms, such as deep breathing, meditation, or exercise.
4. Create a safe and supportive environment at home, and encourage the person to engage in activities that they find relaxing or enjoyable.
5. Encourage the person to set achievable goals and praise them for their efforts and accomplishments.
6. Help the person identify and challenge negative thoughts or beliefs that may be contributing to their anxiety.
7. Encourage the person to seek professional help if their anxiety is severe or interfering with their daily life.
8. Support the person in sticking to their treatment plan and attending therapy sessions.
9. Help the person maintain a healthy lifestyle, including getting enough sleep, eating well, and avoiding drugs and alcohol.
10. Encourage the person to express their feelings through creative outlets, such as art, music, or writing.
11. Help the person build a network of supportive friends and family members.
12. Encourage the person to take breaks from stressful situations and engage in self-care.
13. Help the person learn relaxation techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation or visualization.
14. Offer to accompany the person to social events or activities, if they are feeling anxious about being in a public setting.
15. Be patient and understanding, and remind the person that anxiety is a common and treatable condition.
https://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/sander-weeteling-swE6Cp7OQM4-unsplash-scaled.jpg25601709Jamal Ahmelichhttps://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/01_p-1-300x97.pngJamal Ahmelich2023-02-01 11:36:542022-12-20 05:14:42What are 15 ways to support a young person dealing with anxiety?
Mindfulness may be fundamentally understood as the state in which one becomes more aware of one’s physical, mental, and emotional condition in the present moment, without becoming judgmental. Individuals may be able to pay attention to a variety of experiences, such as bodily sensations, cognitions, and feelings, and accept them without being influenced by them. Mindfulness practices are believed to be able to help people better control their thoughts, rather than be controlled by them. Try a couple of these strategies and see what they can do for you.
Focus on your breathing.
When you have negative thoughts, try to sit down, take a deep breath and close your eyes. Focus on your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Sitting and breathing for even just a minute can help.
Wake up Early
Choosing to awaken a little earlier in the morning not only allows you to begin your day with mindfulness but also extends the amount of time you have to enjoy life. Give it a try for a week or so. You may be surprised at how much more you enjoy your mornings with just a few extra minutes.
Pay attention.
It’s hard to slow down and notice things in a busy world. Try to take the time to experience your environment with all of your senses — touch, sound, sight, smell and taste. For example, when you eat a favorite food, take the time to smell, taste and truly enjoy it.
Live in the moment.
Try to intentionally bring an open, accepting and discerning attention to everything you do. Find joy in simple pleasures.
Accept yourself.
Treat yourself the way you would treat a good friend.
Awaken with Gratitude
When we begin the day with gratitude, we train our minds to look for the positive rather than focusing on the challenges, frustrations, and slights we have encountered throughout the week. The key to making this habit effective is not the number of things you feel grateful for or even the amount of time you spend in gratitude, but rather the intensity of focus and feeling you have around the effort. A mindful gratitude practice means immersing yourself in the emotion so that you feel deeply and profoundly blessed.
Do a Mindful Body Scan
The simplest way to get in touch with how you’re feeling is to do a mindful body scan. A body scan is a meditative practice in which you focus on each part of every area, often beginning at the toes and moving to the head. The key here is to train your attention on each specific part for a moment and pay close attention to how you feel.
Practice a Morning Breathing Exercise
Do you pay much attention to your breathing? Practicing mindful, focused breathing, even for ten minutes a day reduces stress and promotes relaxation. Slow, deep, rhythmic breathing causes a reflex stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which results in a reduction in the heart rate and relaxation of the muscles.
Notice Your Thoughts
If you allow negative thoughts to run rampant first thing in the morning, you lose the best time for creativity and productivity. Many people wake up feeling anxious and filled with dread, as the cycle of rumination and negative thinking begins the minute their feet hit the floor.
Practice Morning Meditation
Meditation is the centerpiece of practicing mindfulness exercises. It does not take a genius to understand that practicing mediation at some time during your day is going to be an important part of your mindfulness routine. Taking time to meditate for just ten minutes a day will support all of your other daily mindfulness habits, as meditation is a form of strength training for your mind. The purpose of meditation is to observe the patterns and habits of your mind and learn to tame the incessant chattering of your thoughts. With practice, you’ll gain more and more control over your thoughts, rather than your thoughts controlling you and your emotions.
Write in a Journal
Working through a journal for ten minutes is an excellent mindfulness habit because you completely focus on putting your thoughts onto paper. It’s a way to liberate your mind from the mental chatter that can set your morning off to a negative or anxious start.
Be Present with others around you
How many people around the world begin their days with little to no interaction with the people they hold most dear? What are we working so hard for anyway, if not to spend quality time with our loved ones? The best place to start is be being present with those around you, even for just a few minutes before you begin your work or school day.
Eat Breakfast Mindfully
If you eat breakfast, even if it is something simple like a piece of toast or a cup of yogurt, then consider making breakfast a mindful activity. Mindful eating involves both what you eat and how you eat it. Being mindful about your breakfast is a great way to reevaluate your food choices while slowing down enough to appreciate what you are eating. Eating healthy foods at breakfast can set the stage for smart food choices throughout your day.
Recite Positive Affirmations
As a mindfulness habit, affirmations are positive phrases that you repeat to yourself, describing who and how you want to be, using the present tense, as though the outcome has already occurred. Establishing a positive affirmation habit first thing in the morning can impact the outcome of your entire day. Positive affirmations, when practiced deliberately and repeatedly, can reinforce chemical pathways in the brain, making the connection between two neurons stronger, and therefore more likely to conduct the same message again.
https://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/zac-durant-_6HzPU9Hyfg-unsplash.jpg16672500Jamal Ahmelichhttps://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/01_p-1-300x97.pngJamal Ahmelich2021-08-02 08:38:592022-10-25 02:37:0214 Ways to Include Mindfulness in your Day
Imagine being outside with a blue sunny, sky while you feel the soft snow beneath your skis and you feel the wind on your face. Any one that downhill or cross country skis will tell you that skiing makes you feel healthy and happy. But while the physical benefits of being outside in nature and skiing are obvious, it has only been in recent studies that science have proved that the mental benefits of snow sports are just as valuable. A study led by Stanford University found that city dwellers have a 20% higher risk of depression than rural residents and a 40% increased risk of mood disorders.
No stranger to finding creative ways to connect people to nature, Heather Hendrie is a Squamish based clinician who offers Ski Therapy in addition to her regular clinical practice. As an avid skier, former ski instructor and outdoor guide, Heather hopes to add ski therapy sessions to her suite of offerings this winter. Heather became interested in the healing power of nature through her healing journey, where nature provided great relief and a sense of perspective leading her to pursue a degree in Clinical Mental Health Counselling, specializing in Wilderness Therapy. Ski therapy seems a good fit for Hendrie, who made headlines when she created the “Lifts of Love” event in Banff. An annual singles speed dating event held at Mount Norquay. It follows naturally that she’d take her therapeutic work to the chairlifts and groomed trails. I caught up with Heather to discuss this interesting form of therapy.
What is Ski Therapy?
Heather describes Ski Therapy as a playful, Nature Based way to connect with a therapist while moving one’s body. The therapeutic process is at work while breathing fresh air, taking in the surrounding scene and engaging in bi lateral movement that is proving to support significant reductions in the levels of both bodily distress and emotional stress. These combined emotional physical and physiological benefits could make ski therapy a real 2 for 1 type practice, and ideal for people who’d like to try a novel approach in therapy.
Where do you offer Ski Therapy?
Heather hopes to offer sessions through maintained cross country skiing trails at the Whistler Olympic Park in the Callaghan Valley. Making this therapeutic modality accessible to more people is currently a passion of Heather’s, as skiing has historically been such an exclusive pursuit.
Do you need to know how to ski?
While Heather’s background is as a guide and instructor, the focus of ski therapy is healing and relief from symptoms, rather than the technical aspects of the sport.
What theoretical approaches do you use?
Heather applies a Transpersonal, humanistic, mindfulness-based, experiential approach to her work, inspired by such leaders as Rogers, Maslow, Van Der Kolk and Peter Levine.
How do you manage confidentiality with others around?
Confidentiality looks different outdoors than when sessions are conducted within the confines of an office, but fortunately, the field of therapy is increasingly being de-stigmatized. That said, Heather mitigates any concern in this area by always addressing consent and confidentiality with a client before beginning work together.
https://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/patrick-hendry-lCJDpsY2CJo-unsplash-scaled.jpg17072560Jamal Ahmelichhttps://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/01_p-1-300x97.pngJamal Ahmelich2021-01-11 20:27:322021-01-11 20:27:32Ski therapy? An Outdoor Twist on Traditional Therapy
How should I go about transferring colleges? I have been feeling extremely depressed and anxious. Will going to a new school help me grow and cope or should I stay and develop where I am at?
This is a common thought when things are not going well at one place. Having been a counsellor in schools I’ve experienced many students that have changed schools due to the same feelings.
First off, it sounds like it’s been really hard for you. Going through depression and anxiety is not easy and with the stresses of school it can make it that much harder. I hope you’ve sought out some supports (schools usually have great counselling access for free) and have some positive coping tools to help you deal with what your going through. If you haven’t already, please visit your family doctor and discuss what’s been going on with you.
Changing schools would change the environment around you but this would involve a lot of transitioning which would add stress to your situation. In most cases, I’d recommend students try to make it work where they are. Where they are comfortable, have some supports, know their way around, etc. The experience of depression and anxiety is an internal process that is not going to magically change by changing your outside surroundings. A person experiencing depression that gets put in Disneyland, still is a person experiencing depression.
I would encourage you to seek out support for your wellness as your first plan of action at your current school. If when you are feeling better and you still want to change schools, then go for it. Remember that facing adversity can be a positive thing that helps you grow stronger. Building resilience is a lifelong process that will help you face bigger challenges in the future. All the best in your journey.
https://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/human-3509144_1920.jpg12801920Jamal Ahmelichhttps://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/01_p-1-300x97.pngJamal Ahmelich2020-08-27 00:09:362020-08-22 00:21:53Ask a Counsellor: Should I transfer schools when feeling depressed and anxious?
James Michael Sama offers up a list of 7 things that we can do in our day to day life to live a happier life. How many of these are you doing on a daily basis?
1. Help those you can, whenever you can
2. Stay true to your commitments
3. Remain courtesy at all times
4. Be honest and genuine with everyone
5. Care less about who’s right and more about whats right
6. Do your best to avoid drama
7. Show your appreciation for others
https://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/joy-2483926_1920.jpg12811920Jamal Ahmelichhttps://tenacitycounselling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/01_p-1-300x97.pngJamal Ahmelich2015-10-23 18:11:052020-01-15 00:27:157 Rules for a Happy Life
Building a strong connection to a social group helps clinically depressed patients recover and helps prevent relapse, according to a new study. While past research has looked at the importance of social connections for preventing and treating depression, it has tended to emphasize interpersonal relationships rather than the importance of a sense of group identity. In addition, researchers haven’t really understood why group therapy works. “Our work shows that the ‘group’ aspect of social interaction is critical,” the authors note.
