​Thank you so much for checking out my fourth and final blog in this series!  As I mentioned before, this blog series is definitely more personal for me so I do hope that the thoughts that I am sharing are helpful to some of you and hopefully not too terribly offensive to the others! Please feel free to check out the first, second, and third parts of this series here!
 
As a child/teen/family therapist, I am often meeting with families during times of crises in their lives. Parents are calling my office during a time of upheaval, concern, and stress either due to events in their lives or concerns related to their child/teen’s development. This creates a unique bond and dynamic between us, which is part of why therapy works so well. And I should mention that I find it to be such a privilege and honor to be welcomed into a families’ life during such a vulnerable time.
 
Interestingly, what comes up very often in our initial conversations are questions, concerns, comments along the lines of “will my child/teen always be this way?”  Parents are very worried that whatever behavior their child or teen is engaged in will be a permanent presence in their life. This question leads us to often have a conversation about child development and with me encouraging families to see that their child will grow, change, and learn over time. This means that even the most pervasive challenges and symptoms (anxiety, Autism, ADHD, etc) will evolve, change, and some will resolve over time.
 
So, this brings me to my fourth lesson that I hope to remember as a parent of my own kid(s), which is that just because something is happening for him or us in a moment, does not mean it is forever. I want to remember that some things are just a phase or stage of his development and that most symptoms or traits that cause concern will change, evolve, and grow over time. Along similar lines, I want to also remember that the way my child or teen acts at home, with friends, or at school is just one part of them. For example, when I was younger I was a pretty shy child. Like, hide from my babysitter’s husband kind of shy (and I definitely knew him well!). However, I feel that my parents did a good job of encouraging me to do things that were outside my comfort zone and creating opportunities for me to grow in my ability to connect with people. And now, though I get nervous about networking events or meeting new people, I can handle it and most people do not think of me as “shy, quiet, or timid.” I am so grateful that my parents managed to not label me as “the shy one” and kind of write off my ability to develop socially but were able to keep in mind that I could change, grow, and evolve as I grew up!  I hope to do the same for my kid(s).
 
Thank you all for reading!  I will share more with all of you as things progress and would appreciate any feedback you would like to give me!
 
If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about your child or teen attending therapy with one of us, please reach out to us either via email at ewollerman.psyd@gmail.com or phone at 858-342-1304.
 
If you would like to receive updated information about Thrive Therapy, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n. 

As always, thanks for reading  and comments are always welcome. Contact us regarding any issues around child, a teen therapist San Diego and adult psychotherapy and Counseling San Diego​ at Thrive Therapy Studio.  

With summer starting up, I thought it might be helpful to talk a bit about how to have a wonderful summer with your kids, easily! There is so much pressure on parents to cultivate amazing experiences for their kids and I by no means intend to add to that. Quite the opposite actually!
 

1. Slow down – One of the best things parents can do in our current culture is slow things down for their kids over the summer. So many kids come in and talk to me about how they have so many camps and are just exhausted. I think there is a lot of pressure on parents to constantly create the best experiences for their kids and in reality, some of this is completely unnecessary. If possible, give your kids some down time this summer!
2. Create some fun routines – Whether it’s a weekend brunch or Starbucks trip, creating something fun to do with your child or teen and working it into your weekly routine is so helpful to connect with your kiddo! Teens in particular respond well to this, though they will likely never really tell you they want to go!
3. Enjoy the relaxing activities your family likes to do – This could just be playing cards, going to the beach, taking hikes, exploring new places in the area, etc. You don’t need to spend a ton of money or go on elaborate trips or vacations to have fun with your kids!  One idea is to sit down as a family at the beginning of summer and create a list of things you want to do during the summer. Like I said, this can just be relaxing, chill activities and definitely does not need to be expensive or elaborate! 

 
Thank you all for reading!  I hope that you find this blog and brief bit of information helpful in planning your family’s summer!
 
If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about your child or teen attending therapy with one of us, please reach out to us either via email at ewollerman.psyd@gmail.com or phone at 858-342-1304.
 
If you would like to receive updated information about Thrive Therapy, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n.

As always, thanks for reading  and comments are always welcome regarding any issues around child, teen therapy  and adult psychotherapy Therapists in San Diego​ with San Diego Counseling at Thrive Therapy Studio.  

The most basic building block of therapy is communication- our ability to talk with each other.  So what does that mean for our kids?  Children haven’t naturally developed the language to tell us what they have experienced, what they are feeling, or what they need.  This is where play interventions come in.  Play is a child’s natural language and Sandplay is an intervention that allows children to let us into their inner world without words. 

Sandplay begins with a basic tray of either wet or dry sand that can be sculpted into a scene.    The child then selects figures or items to place into the tray to create a scene.  Objects selected will often show personal and archetypal meaning.  The relationships between objects can provide us with insight into the child’s psyche and allow the child a safe space for expression which can often lead to more balance and wholeness for the child.

I will never forget my first experience with Sandplay.  A friend of mine was leading a training for psychotherapists and requested that I put together a tray for her to present.  I didn’t know what to expect and randomly placed items into the tray.  During the meeting, she pulled out the tray and began to discuss interpretations and symbols.  I was shocked at what it revealed.  So many things were going on in my life at the moment that were so vivid in the tray, but I had no idea!  That was when I wanted to learn more about how to incorporate this intervention into my therapy sessions.  I took several other trainings and began my practice.  I am still regularly stunned by the ability of this intervention to reveal our inner world so clearly.  In my first Sandplay session with a child, the scene in the sand will most often be chaotic.  Over time, the scenes begin to make more sense and have more structure as the child’s unconscious thoughts and feelings become integrated.  It is really such an incredible process.  Sandplay can also be used with adults, and can allow access to things within our minds that are below our level of consciousness.

If you’d like to know more about Sandplay or interventions for children, you can contact Lindsey at lindseybradylmft@gmail.com or 619-681-4330. Check out her bio here for more information!
 
We at Thrive hope you enjoyed reading Lindsey's first blog for Thrive! If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about your child or teen attending therapy with one of us, please reach out to us either via email at ewollerman.psyd@gmail.com or phone at 858-342-1304.
 
If you would like to receive updated information about Thrive Therapy Studio, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n

As always, thanks for reading  and comments are always welcome regarding any issues around child, teen psychotherapy and adult psychotherapy with San Diego Psychologists at Thrive Therapy Studio.  

As those of you who read the Thrive blog may know, I am a big advocate for setting an intention for the year rather than a resolution. If you are interested in reading my blog on the topic, please check it out here! 
 
As the year has been just flying by, I thought it might be nice to check in on that intention and see how we are all doing. My word for the year is “gratitude.” I picked this word very carefully as I had realized at the beginning of the year just how much I have on my plate this year. Not only have we expanded our practice location, but we have also hired on two amazing and wonderful new therapists. In addition to that, as many of you know, I am also pregnant with our first child. So, when I thought about words for the year, things like “chaos,” “busy,” “overwhelmed” came to mind. Though I might feel all of those things pretty routinely, I chose to focus on gratitude even during the chaos this year.
 
Doesn’t that sound so nice?  Of course it did in theory, which is what brought me to the blog topic for today, which is a check-in about our words of the year. I really feel that the beginning of the year was not a time you would hear much gratitude from me but in the past month or so, I am really working on cultivating it. The most interesting thing that has happened since I am rededicating myself to finding gratitude even in the chaos, is that I am seeing it all around me so much more. Just the other day, I was coming into our lovely new office location and was overwhelmed with this feeling of gratitude for everything that is happening. For my growing family both at work and at home and just felt this sense of peace. It was a really great moment. And in the interest of creating more moments like that, I am focusing on those moments more than the headaches, heartburn, and other fun pregnancy symptoms! 
 
So, I created a little list of questions that I thought might help guide some of you in stepping back and reflecting on how we are doing with our words of the year, partway through the year. I hope this is as beneficial to you as it has been for me!

• What is your word of the year this year?  First things first, we have to remember what we were trying to cultivate in order to make it happen!
• What was your intention of choosing that word?  Pretty simple, why did you choose it?  What were you looking at creating/cultivating?
• Whatever led you to choose your word, do you see evidence of that happening in your life?  Essentially, whether you have focused on it or not, is what you wanted to have happen, happening at all? 
  • If so, how can you continue creating more of what you want for this year?
  • If not, what can you do to rededicate yourself to cultivating what it is you were hoping for?            OR
  • Is there something else you feel compelled to focus on this year instead? It’s okay to switch and change direction!

 
Thank you all for reading!  I hope that you find this blog and brief check in helpful in cultivating the life you want, rather than just reacting to what life sends your way!
 
If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about your child or teen attending therapy with one of us, please reach out to us either via email at ewollerman.psyd@gmail.com or phone at 858-342-1304.
 
If you would like to receive updated information about Thrive Therapy, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n.
 
As always, thanks for reading  and comments are always welcome regarding any issues around child, teen therapy and adult psychotherapy services by Psychotherapist San Diego by Thrive Therapy Studio.