therealworkpdx

09/01/2025

🌿 Therapy That Moves With You
Jenn works with parents and young adults, offering a unique style of therapy known as walk-and-talk. Instead of sitting across from a therapist in a small room, you can walk alongside Jenn outdoors — moving your body, breathing fresh air, and letting the natural rhythm of walking help your thoughts and feelings flow.

🚶 Why Walk-and-Talk?
For many people, movement and nature make it easier to open up. Walking side-by-side can feel less intimidating than being face-to-face in an office. The grounding presence of trees, sky, and open space often helps clients feel calmer, more connected, and ready to explore what’s really going on.

💡 What Jenn Offers
Whether you’re a parent navigating stress and burnout, or a young adult figuring out life’s transitions, Jenn provides a supportive space that feels less “stuffy” and more natural. Her approach is about meeting you where you are — literally — and helping you find healing and clarity through both conversation and movement.

📍 Book with Jenn in Beaverton
Jenn sees clients outdoors in Beaverton for walk-and-talk sessions and also offers in-office therapy for those who prefer a traditional setting

08/27/2025

✨ Parenting a child on the spectrum can feel joyful, overwhelming, isolating, and everything in between. ✨

You don’t have to do it alone. 💛

Join our Autism Parent Support Group, led by licensed therapist Amber Kanallakan, LMFT. This is a safe space to connect with other parents, share experiences, access helpful resources, and feel supported by a community that gets it.

📅 2nd Monday of each month (starting Aug. 11)
⏰ 6:30–7:30 PM
📍 The Real Work | Downtown Beaverton
💵 $30 per meet-up

📧 Email amber@realworkwellness.com for more info.

08/20/2025

Our Sandtray therapy room got a makeover thanks to the talent and contributions from Play Therapist Bonnie Davey!! Bonnie went out of her way to create these amazing bins for sorting our miniatures, and we love it! 😍 can’t wait to see more tweens and teens in this room at our 4775 SW Watson address 😻

07/28/2025

Happy Monday from our little therapy yard! We are landscaping it ourselves, so it’s a work in progress but isn’t it sweet so far? 🎶

07/08/2025

Thanks to some help from .ot we are developing our side yard into a nature-based play space both for kids and social groups at The Real Work and for use by our team, by Thrive Outside, and hopefully many other gatherings of parents and kids alike in the community! What type of gathering would you want to see here?

07/01/2025

07/01/2025

The Real Work's second bi-annual networking mixer was a SUCCESS! We met new trusted providers, got to talk brain science, neurodiversity, inclusivity, and family systems with some really great people in the Portland and Beaverton area! Stay tuned for more information on the stellar providers we met! So fun to hang out with real, talented, authentic providers who are committed to caring for this community here in Portland and Beaverton.

06/19/2025

🌿 What Respectful Support Looks Like
…when your child is Autistic, and you're looking for care that honors who they are.

We meet your child where they are.
💛 We attune to your child’s sensory world, communication style, and natural rhythms—because connection comes before compliance
We understand behavior as communication.
🧠 Meltdowns, shutdowns, refusals, stimming, it all means something.
Our goal is to listen, understand the needs and functions of behaviors, and not correct.
We honor Autistic ways of being.
👏 We don’t discourage stimming, eye gaze differences, or special interests.
We celebrate what lights your child up—and build from there.
We support you, too.
👪 You don’t have to do this alone.
We offer parent coaching grounded in co-regulation, sensory strategies, and real-life tools—without shame or judgment.

03/22/2025

When your child is melting down, yelling, or refusing to listen, it’s easy to think they’re just being difficult. But according to Dr. Ross Greene, behavior is the signal, not the problem.

💡 Instead of asking: “How do I make my child stop this behavior?”
Try asking: “What’s getting in the way of my child handling this better?”

✨ When we focus on skill-building, not just compliance, kids thrive. ✨

In our 6-week Parent Book Club, we’ll break down Dr. Greene’s Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model so you can:
✔️ Understand your child’s lagging skills
✔️ Reduce stress & emotional outbursts
✔️ Improve your relationship & communication

📆 Tuesdays at 12 PM | April 8 - May 13
📍 Online via Zoom
💰 $195 total

✨ Led by Amber Kanallakan, MA, Marriage & Family Therapist, a parenting expert who gets it!

🔗 Save your spot today! www.realworkwellness.com/groups

03/18/2025

Ever wonder why your child melts down over socks feeling “weird” or their sandwich being cut the “wrong” way? It’s not defiance—it’s a lagging skill in flexibility & frustration tolerance.

According to Dr. Ross Greene, kids don’t act out because they want to push your buttons. They do it when:
🚨 Their expectations exceed their skills
🚨 They feel unheard or powerless
🚨 They lack problem-solving strategies

The good news? You can help your child build these skills—and make your home calmer in the process!

Join our 6-week Parent Book Club on The Explosive Child to learn:
✅ How to reduce meltdowns & power struggles
✅ Simple strategies for helping kids develop frustration tolerance
✅ A compassionate, neuroaffirming way to parent

✨ Led by Amber Kanallakan, MA, Marriage & Family Therapist, this group will give you the tools & confidence you need!

📆 Tuesdays at 12 PM | April 8 - May 13
📍 Online via Zoom
💰 $195 total

🔗 Join us today! www.realworkwellness.com/groups

03/15/2025

Power Struggles at Home? Try This Instead!

If you’ve ever found yourself in a never-ending battle with your child—whether it’s about getting out the door, homework, or bedtime—you’re not alone. The good news? There’s a better way than rewards, punishments, or “because I said so.” When a child isn’t cooperating, it’s usually because they lack the skills to problem-solve, regulate emotions, or adapt to changes—not because they’re trying to be difficult.

That’s why we’re hosting a 6-week Parent Book Club on The Explosive Child. This group will help you:
✔️ Understand why your child struggles with frustration & flexibility
✔️ Learn a collaborative problem-solving approach (instead of repeating the same battles)
✔️ Feel more confident & less exhausted in parenting

📆 Tuesdays at 12 PM | April 8 - May 13
📍 Online via Zoom
💰 $195 total

✨ Led by Amber Kanallakan, MA, Marriage & Family Therapist—a parenting expert who gets it!

🔗 Spots are limited—save yours today! www.realworkwellness.com/groups

03/15/2025

If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure how to help your child through their toughest moments—you're not alone.

This Spring, join our 6-week Parent Book Club and dive into The Explosive Child by Dr. Ross Greene, a groundbreaking approach to navigating challenging behaviors with collaborative and proactive solutions. Instead of power struggles, we'll focus on problem-solving, connection, and understanding—all from a neuroaffirming lens.

✨ Why join?
✔️ Gain sustainable, real-world strategies for handling hard behaviors
✔️ Connect with other parents who truly understand
✔️ Become more confident in supporting both your child & yourself

💡 “Kids do well if they can.” – Dr. Ross Greene
When children struggle, it’s not because they won’t behave—it’s because they can’t yet. This book club, led by Amber Kanallakan, MA, Marriage and Family Therapist, will help you reframe behavior and build skills to reduce stress and increase harmony at home.

📆 6 Weeks | Tuesdays at 12 PM (PT) | April 8 - May 13
📍 Online via Zoom
💰 $195 total

🔗 Sign up today: www.realworkwellness.com/groups