Flowers vs. Weeds : Cultivating a Positive Inner Voice

In honor of the Superbloom happening in California this Spring I was inspired to create this Flowers vs. Weeds worksheet to help students/children understand helpful vs. unhelpful thoughts. I liked the analogy of a gardener coming in a needing to weed the garden in order to help the flowers grow. In a similar way our

Let’s Celebrate Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Heritage Month

Happy AANHPI Heritage Month! This year The Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) announced the National theme for 2024 as “Advancing Leaders through Innovation.” We are celebrating the “innovation, resilience, and pioneering spirit” AANHPI leaders have demonstrated and contributed to American culture over the year. As we strive to continue our fight for representation, safety

Where Are You Feeling? Art Activity

A great way to keep learning about emotions with the child/student is through identifying where in the body we may feel them! Emotions manifest for everyone differently and it is important to know where your child feels to pair effective calming strategies. This art activity is one of my students favorites and is also great

Feelings Pie

I found some children I worked with struggled with the “What’s In My Heart?” activity due to its more abstract, non-directive aspect. This is an alternative I found to be just as effective and can be fun to customize around the Thanksgiving holiday. I have recently updated the Feelings Pie worksheet – I’ve included both

Honoring Native American Heritage Month

Nov. 1st marked the start of Native American History Month. This is a massively important month that honors the achievements, history, culture, and contributions of Native Americans.  Just like every occasion that marks, highlights, and honors the amazing humanity of ourselves and the humans that walk into our office, it’s an opportunity to celebrate!  Not

Tips for a Smoother Morning School Routine

It’s about that time of year where the excitement to start school may have started to wear off for some our kiddos. You’re having to use more effort in the mornings to get them out of bed and out the door right before the school bell rings. Mornings feel incredibly hectic and every day feels

Let’s Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival!

It’s that time of year! Mid-Autumn Festival is today, September 29th. I love the traditions that surround this holiday so I wanted to make sure I hopped on here to share some of them with you all. Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Lunar Calendar which is

Celebrating Latine & Hispanic Heritage Month

The theme for 2023’s Latine & Hispanic Heritage Month is “Todos Somos, Somos Uno: We Are All, We Are One. My first job as a social worker fresh out of grad school was working as a school based therapist in predominantly Spanish-speaking schools. It is still my favorite job that I have ever had to

Family Therapy Activities with Siblings

One of my most requested asks of parents is “Can you help them get along better with their brother/sister?” I absolutely love doing family therapy. There is something about working with systems and relationships that truly lights me up. Here are a few of my go-to family therapy activities with siblings. DISCLAIMER: Most of these

Grounding Techniques for Trauma

When we are experiencing symptoms of trauma which could include an out of body feeling, intrusive memories/thoughts, startle response, anxiety, irritability, our bodies think we are experiencing the trauma all over again. Grounding techniques are reminders telling ourselves we are no longer in danger. Here are a few I teach my clients and also use