Kate Kallonen Counselling and Psychotherapy

12/17/2025

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12/17/2025

❤️🫣🤣

12/11/2025

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We don’t hold on to our kids through perfect experiences or grand gestures.

The simplest way to hold on is through rituals — the small, steady movements of gathering, restoring, repairing, and delighting that invite our children to rest in our care.

These 10 attachment rituals are everyday ways of saying,
“You belong with us. You can rest here.”

All of these just require your presence — nothing fancy, nothing scripted. And they matter now more than ever in a world that keeps pulling kids outward: to screens, to peers, to the pressures of growing up too fast.
These rituals keep pulling them home again.

Save this as a gentle reminder:
Connection is not a performance, a set of skills to master, or tricks to remember.
It’s simply a way of showing up — again and again — in the relationship that matters most.

Which one of these are working for you?

12/10/2025

12/09/2025

Free HOW TO CO-REGULATE WITH A CHILD INFORMATION POSTER
Children cannot calm on their own when they feel overwhelmed. They rely on the adult to guide them back to safety. This image shows simple steps that help you co regulate with a child in moments of distress. Slow your breathing, soften your body, reduce demands, and keep your voice steady. These actions help the child feel grounded and understood. When the adult is the anchor, the child can settle and recover.

If you would like this as a free PDF, comment ANCHOR and we will send you a link to it.

12/08/2025

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12/06/2025

How I Strive to Be Neuro-Affirming in My Work🌿

Being neuro-affirming means meeting people as they are not who the world thinks they “should” be. In my practice, I work to create a space where differences aren’t pathologized, minimized, or “fixed,” but understood, supported, and validated.

Here’s what that looks like:

🌿 Honouring lived experience
I listen to how you describe your inner world instead of fitting you into preset boxes. Your experience guides the work.

🌿 Reducing shame
There’s no “right” way to think, feel, process, communicate, or move through the world. I aim to normalize differences, not judge them.

🌿 Understanding nervous system needs
Sensory overwhelm, shutdowns, intense focus, emotional intensity these aren’t character flaws. They’re signals. Together, we explore what your body might need for safety and regulation.

🌿 Expecting and welcoming stimming, movement, silence, and pacing
Therapy doesn’t require stillness or eye contact. You can shift, fidget, draw, avoid direct conversation for a bit whatever helps you feel grounded.

🌿 Collaborative, not prescriptive
We’re not trying to “change who you are.” We’re building strategies around your strengths, needs, and patterns.

🌿 Respecting communication differences
Whether you process out loud, slowly, indirectly, internally, or through stories or metaphors. I adjust to your style, not the other way around.

🌿 Making room for burnout and masking
We talk openly about the exhaustion that comes from masking, the pressure to appear “fine,” and the relief of being able to unmask in a safe space.

Being neuro-affirming is an ongoing practice. I’m always learning, listening, and adjusting so therapy feels like a place where you can show up exactly as you are.

If you're looking for a therapist who is always trying to learn, provide affirming care, and someone who is open to knowing how to best support you or you're loved one. Reach out today.

12/05/2025

Incredible local talent!

12/05/2025

January Women & Children’s Clinic✨

🗓️Date: January 13, 2026
⏰Time: 4:00pm - 7:00pm

No appointment needed, and snacks will be provided!

12/04/2025

12/04/2025

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When screens feel like the safest place
For many autistic young people, the digital world offers something the real world rarely does: predictability. Screens reduce the sensory and social demands that can overwhelm an already hardworking nervous system.

When the world is too loud, bright or fast
Real-life environments are full of unpredictable sounds, movements and social cues. Screens give autistic children control — over brightness, volume, pace and interactions — helping their sensory system settle rather than overload.

When communication becomes easier
Online spaces often feel more manageable because they remove the pressure to interpret facial expressions, tone or fast back-and-forth conversation. Screens offer clarity and time, reducing social anxiety and supporting genuine connection.

When 'special interests' come alive
Autistic passions are powerful regulators. Screens allow uninterrupted exploration of these interests, offering joy, comfort and identity-building in a world that often misunderstands them.

When understanding creates compassion
Seeing screen engagement through an autistic lens shifts us away from fear-based narratives.

When you want the full picture
If you missed our earlier ADHD & Screens visual, take a look — it explains the dopamine side of screen regulation and why ADHD transitions can be so intense. Together, these posts give a complete, brain-based understanding.