After my recent experience at a 2-day training on ACPT (Attachment Centered Play Therapy), I wanted to give my takeaways, information, and insights and share them this week! Let's talk about it!

One thing that comes up very often when working with children is YouTube as a general pass-time or hobby for kids. Let's dive into YouTube's history of children's content and the possibility of the effects that engaging with this media may have on children.

Sometimes, it's good to take a step back and reflect on where you're currently at. I've been going through a big change with some difficulty and I wanted to bring that around to a problem that surrounds mental health professionals, other professionals in service positions and people-pleasers alike. Let's talk about it.

Therapists, teachers, parents, guardians, caregivers, and most importantly the kiddos know that August means back to school. Let's take a few minutes to talk about what behaviors may come up for children transitioning back to school, why this may be, and how to go about advocating for them.

Sometimes, there are things that may or may not be completely out of our own personal control, but when? That's when the Locus of Control may step in and be a helpful aid. Let's take today to look at what exactly the "Locus of Control" is, the different ends of its spectrum, and the potential outcomes of those opposites.

"I want to find better coping skills" is a phrase that comes up often as goals for clients in treatment. What does this even mean? What separates a 'coping skill' from a 'distraction'? This week, we're looking to answer those questions and give a quick look into what kinds of coping skills there are, as well as when they may or may not be appropriate to utilize.

In this week's episode of 'Talk Therapy To Me,' we're furthering the narrative of exploring plateau'ing or regressing in the mental health journey, the difficulties of being stuck, and ways to address these issues both in a clinical setting and everyday life. Also, we'll look at how a completely other form of media can serve as a reminder of being kinder to ourselves amidst these issues.

This week is the first episode of a series dissecting the mental health symbolism and meanings behind pieces of music, be it songs, albums, or in this week's case, an entire body of work spanning almost 10 years. We're discussing how the world created throughout the lore and art of the band Twenty One Pilots has ties to depression, anxiety, suicidality, and addiction, as well as coping, progress, and regression of mental health symbolized in the fictional world of Trench.

Yes, you see that title correctly! We're taking a brief look into how utilizing the way kids talk about and play video games can be beneficial for a therapeutic experience during every step of treatment through gaming-based play therapy and challenging the negative stigma that may come with associating gaming with the therapy space.

This week, Austin talks about feeling stuck in therapy. We're taking a look at how it feels when you've reached the plateau point of treatment where you've either achieved your treatment goals or have barriers to achieve those goals, why this may be happening, and how to address it both with your therapist and through introspection, from both a client and therapist's perspective.