Four Step Empathy Building
Stop and tune in: hit the pause button and tune in, no digital devices. Set and enforce the 4T rule: no texting, tapping, talking or TV viewing when others talk or are present. Look Face to face eye contact…
Stop and tune in: hit the pause button and tune in, no digital devices. Set and enforce the 4T rule: no texting, tapping, talking or TV viewing when others talk or are present. Look Face to face eye contact…
Lisa Feldman Barret in her book, “How Emotions are Made,” discusses the importance of emotional granulation or the ability to finely separate or nuance our emotions. She describes how it is important to move beyond I feel “happy” or I…
Parents tell me over and over again, “He is just not motivated…” Relentless requests to “Do your homework,” “Practice your piano,” or “Get off the Xbox and go outside and play,” go unheeded or done with grumbling. Some children do…
GOOD PARENTS FRUSTRATE THEIR KIDS As parents we often play the role of rescuer. Our anxiety grows when our child fails, feel bad, or is unhappy. When there is frustration, hurt, or sadness we tend to rush in and rescue…
As we send the kids go off to college or university the moment is often bittersweet. So proud of our “baby” growing up and flying off into the world, yet feeling a sadness at our new life in the “empty…
For a child in grade 1 reading is the one developmental task which is foundation to school success, and may I be so bold as to say “life success.” In counselling and in my work through Oxford Learning I have…
One of my greatest challenges as a family counsellor is coaching parents in how to talk with their teens. Here are some ideas which are helpful. Do you hear yourself saying, “I am just trying to help,” when your teen…
As a counsellor in the Burlington, Hamilton, Ancaster, Dundas areas I am often approached by parents with regard to their children struggling with emotional challenges. Parents wonder whether they should be seeking support for their children. It can be very…
In my counselling practice I am often consulted by parents seeking counselling for their children for being “out of control” or “explosive.” Sometimes, it is not really anger that is the issue, but the inability to deal with frustration. Here…
In my counselling practice I get many parents really challenged with raising their teenage children. I also spend a lot of my time counselling with these children who are struggling with anxieties and sometimes choosing inappropriate ways to deal with…