Connie Butera Counselling & Psychotherapy

08/11/2025

08/09/2025

🌿 When Your Teen Makes a Bid for Connection… You Take It
This doesn’t happen often… my son asked me to join him on the hammock today.

Yes — he was on his phone the whole time.
Yes — I was trying to take interest in the YouTuber he’s into (and asking questions even though I was mostly confused).

But here’s the thing: when a teenage child makes a bid for connection — no matter how small, subtle, or screen-filled — you respond.

Teenagers and parents can be worlds apart in interests, pace, and energy… but connection isn’t about liking all the same things. It’s about showing up, even if it means watching someone else watch YouTube. 😉

Sometimes the magic isn’t in the conversation — it’s in the hammock, the quiet, and the fact that you’re there when they invite you in.

08/09/2025

(SHARED) buy a bowl from a second hand shop or similar, break it, glue it back together & paint the glued cracks gold. The end result would be that the gold in the repaired parts would be symbolic of the gold found in learning about yourself & how to be a better person when you fix the broken parts of you.

It’s not going well. I have learned:

You can’t rush the repair job. You have to go piece by broken piece.

And you have to wait for the previous broken piece to set after being repaired.

You can’t shortcut by using superglue. It just cracks apart again.

You can’t get to the gold painting part until you’ve fixed each piece into place and waited for it to set.

There are bits that are permanently broken off and will not glue back in - they are too shattered. So, at the end I will have decide how to fill up those gaps.

It’s messy. There is glue all over my hands, the bowl bits, the cotton buds, and there are small pieces I will have to throw out.

Some of the tools I am using to do the repair job will be discarded along the way and at the end. Some of them can be re-used on later repair jobs.

Don’t fall apart to start with. The fall takes no time at all, but the putting back together is a long, tedious, frustrating and yet rewarding process.

08/07/2025

📖 New to the Lending Library: Do What You Can Live With by Brandi Mac 🌿
Today, on what would have been my loved one’s 34th birthday and incidentally I received my copy of the new book “Do What You Can Live With” by Brandi Mac.

I don’t often share publicly about my personal experience loving someone through addiction. But today, it feels meaningful to honour their memory by sharing a resource that I wish more people had access to.

Brandi Mac’s book offers a refreshingly honest and compassionate approach for those who love someone struggling with addiction. Instead of pushing for control or “fixing,” it centers on personal clarity, boundaries, and self-compassion. It’s not just about helping the addict—it’s about surviving and healing as the one who loves them.

While addiction treatment isn’t my primary area of practice, I do work with many clients who are partners, siblings, adult children, and parents of those facing addiction. The grief, guilt, and exhaustion can be profound—and often invisible.

That’s why I’m so excited to share that this beautiful and brave book is now part of my lending library, available to clients starting tomorrow.

Today, I honour my loved one—and all those who have lost someone to addiction.
And I honour you—if you’re walking beside someone in addiction, navigating loss, or just doing your best to make peace with your own path.

You’re not alone.
❤️

08/07/2025

Only parents of Neurodiverse or sensory specific kids will ever understand 🤣❤️

07/06/2025

PSA ❤️😘💋

07/02/2025

Did you just receive an autism diagnosis for your child and are wondering what comes next?

Join us on July 9 for a live online session designed for parents and caregivers of autistic children over 5 years of age. We’ll walk through available services, financial supports, and ways to build a strong support network that works for you.

Register now to reserve your spot: https://ow.ly/gWGc50WfFYF

06/27/2025

Independent practice status here I go>>>> direct submission to benefits will follow shortly to my clients!!!!

06/26/2025

Please note that Connie will be out of office until July 7. Feel free to book your next sessions online conniebutera.janeapp.com