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Tara Michener
Twenty Random Acts of Joy
A smile, card or a bit of active listening could change the mental health outlook of a suffering person. Before someone walks into my office they have to at least feel motivated to get there. These small steps can inspire them to know that they are worthy of taking the time for therapy. We all have the potential to make…
Counselor’s Corner: Being Polite – When Manners Don’t Matter
Micro-Aggressions revolve around Intention and Impact. In too many scenarios there is a dismissive and callous approach to stereotypical statements, racial jokes, and obvious offensiveness. Yesterday in Target a lady and a man waved at my son. He did not wave back (which is unusual for him I usually have to remind him not to talk to strangers). They continued…
Oh the Places You Will Go…Goal Planning As a Family
Weight loss, potty-train, get organized…what are your parenting goals this year? Think about that for about ten seconds before contininung to read. Okay got it? Good. The goals or goal that you thought about is one that must be of some importance to you so I want to propose a new way to consider this first month of the year…talk…
Random Acts of Thankfulness
What does it mean to be thankful? Better yet what does it do for us as parents to showcase gratitude to our little ones? Well I tried an experiment for myself shortly after having my son. I vowed to keep a daily gratitude list. Every day as a new mom of this spunky and very loud infant I noted what…
Counselor’s Corner: Thank You and You’re Welcome – A Seasonal Blog About Gratitude
Parents, we teach our kids at a very young age what we consider basic manners. At the height of those small teachable moments is saying two words. “Thank you”. This month we talk a lot about gratitude and being grateful but should we expect others to be and if we do…is that okay? Let’s explore the topic. Gratitude is one…
Counselor’s Corner: Little Children Big Losses
As a mom of an extroverted, spunky and fun child I am always learning. My kid knows more people than I do which I consider a big deal. We were in the library recently when he yelled out “Owen” to a random kid. I thought this child is making up names. Sure enough, the preschooler that my son yelled to…
Counselor’s Corner: Teaching Our Children Not to Bully
Let’s stop saying and let’s start doing. Parents, one of our number one fears is that someone will hurt our kids. Will they bruise their self-esteem or even their eyes? Will our kids be called names or made to feel inferior? The answer unfortunately is yes. To all of these? No not so much. However, our kids will be hurt.…
Taking a day… to take a second.
I have found in my life and in the lives of those who I help that many of us are very busy. We have full schedules, rampant deadlines and many people who require so much of us. Our children also have their own schedules to a degree…sports, homework and playdates also are activities that our kids engage in on a…
Counselor’s Corner: Playing Nice as a Mom
“One kid? Just one kid?” “Your child is going to be lonely.” “I think that your son will need a playmate.” “Why would you just have one kid that is not good for your kid’s social skills.” These are comments that I receive often once I admit that our family only desires one child in it. Once I became a…