SoCo Counseling

01/10/2026

Out-of-the-Ordinary Self-Soothing Tools for Kids with Anxiety or Stress ✨

Not every child responds to “take a deep breath” — and that’s okay. Some kids need creative, sensory, or imaginative tools to help their nervous system reset. Here are some less common (but very effective!) ideas you can try at home or suggest to your child:

🧠 1. The “Worry Remote Control”
Have your child imagine a remote control that can pause, mute, rewind, or fast-forward their worries. Ask: What button do you need right now?

🖐️ 2. Ice Cube Rescue
Hold an ice cube in a paper towel and describe it out loud — temperature, texture, how it melts. This grounds the body quickly without feeling like “therapy.”

🎧 3. Sound Scavenger Hunt
Name 5 sounds they can hear right now — near, far, loud, quiet. Bonus points if they’re silly or unexpected.

🐢 4. Slow-Motion Challenge
Pick one activity (walking, opening a door, petting the dog) and do it as slowly as humanly possible. Slowing the body helps calm the brain.

🖍️ 5. Emotion Color Mapping
Ask: If your feeling had a color and shape, what would it be? Let them draw it — no talking required.

🫧 6. Bubble Breathing (Without Bubbles)
Pretend to blow the biggest, slowest, most perfect bubble in the world. Long exhales calm the nervous system — imagination keeps it engaging.

🧦 7. “Cozy Pressure” Reset
Wrap up tightly in a blanket burrito, wear snug socks, or use a weighted lap pillow. Deep pressure can be incredibly regulating.

🎭 8. Act It Out — Then Shrink It
Let your child exaggerate their worry dramatically (voices, faces, gestures), then replay it smaller… and smaller… until it’s tiny.

🌱 9. Nature Anchoring
Pick one natural thing (a leaf, stone, cloud) and describe it using all five senses. This shifts attention out of the stress loop.

🧩 10. The “What Would My Future Self Say?” Game
Ask your child to imagine themselves tomorrow or next week giving advice to today-them. Kids often surprise us with their insight.

💛 Remember: Self-soothing isn’t about making feelings disappear — it’s about helping kids feel safe enough to move through them.

If your child struggles with anxiety, emotional overwhelm, or big transitions, support can make a huge difference. You don’t have to do this alone.

📍 SoCo Counseling
📞 Now accepting new clients
Contact- admin@sococounseling.net

01/02/2026

✨ Hello, 2026 ✨

A new year doesn’t mean you have to become a “new you.”
It can simply be an invitation to keep becoming more you.

At SoCo Counseling, we’re stepping into this year with compassion, curiosity, and room for real life—the messy parts, the healing parts, and everything in between.

Whether your goals are big, quiet, unfinished, or still forming…
you don’t have to navigate them alone.

Here’s to:
• progress over perfection
• rest without guilt
• boundaries that protect your peace
• and support that actually fits your life

We’re honored to walk alongside our clients, families, and community in the year ahead.

🖤 Welcome, 2026. We’re ready.

— SoCo Counseling

12/24/2025

We wish you peace and comfort this holiday! From all of us at SoCo Counseling- Amanda, Melony, Ashley, Dominque, Faith, Nate and Shakira

12/21/2025

A Winter Solstice blessing celebrates the longest night and the gradual return of light, focusing on themes of rest, reflection, inner strength, and hope for renewal, often wishing for peace, courage to embrace the darkness, wisdom in stillness, and joy as days lengthen. Blessings encourage slowing down, connecting with nature’s cycles, setting intentions, and finding comfort in the quiet promise of brighter days ahead, honoring both shadows and light within.

12/01/2025

Not all trauma looks like crisis.
Often it looks like:
• high responsibility
• fear of disappointing others
• needing control to feel safe
• perfectionism

These are protective patterns — but they don’t have to run your life.

Therapy helps you untangle them.
We have openings for therapy at SoCo Counseling. Email admin@sococounseling.net

11/20/2025

Anxiety and panic attacks show up differently:

Anxiety
• Constant worry
• Muscle tension
• Overthinking
• “What if…”
• Can last hours or all day

Panic Attack
• Sudden, intense fear
• Heart racing
• Trouble breathing
• “Something is very wrong”
• Usually peaks within 10 minutes

If this sounds like you, you’re not “too sensitive” or “dramatic.”
You’re human — and your body is asking for support. 🌿
Therapy can help. Contact us at admin@sococounseling.net

11/15/2025

Systematic reviews of green space and mental health find that access to quality green spaces is linked with lower rates of depression, anxiety, and other common mental health struggles. Research shows even 20 minutes in nature can lower stress hormones and calm the nervous system. Where do you spend time in nature? -

11/11/2025

💙Your Mental Health Matters Here in Southern Anne Arundel County

In every community, there are people quietly carrying more than they let on — the parents doing their best to hold it together, the teens trying to navigate big emotions, and the adults who spend all their energy taking care of everyone else.

At SoCo Counseling, we believe no one should have to face life’s challenges alone. Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, relationship stress, or just feeling stuck, therapy can help you find clarity, calm, and connection.

🌿 In fact, studies show that about 75% of people who enter therapy report improvement in their mental health and overall well-being. (American Psychological Association, 2023)

Our therapists offer compassionate, confidential care for adults, teens, couples, and families — right here in Churchton and throughout Southern Anne Arundel County. We also provide convenient virtual sessions for Maryland residents.

💬 Ready to take the first step?
Visit www.sococounseling.net to meet our team, learn more about our approach, and schedule your first appointment.

You deserve support. You deserve to feel better.

🩵 Healing happens right here — one conversation at a time. www.sococounseling.net

11/03/2025

🌿 Now Accepting New Clients at SoCo Counseling! 🌿
Located right here in Churchton, Maryland, SoCo Counseling offers both in-person and virtual therapy appointments to fit your needs.

We currently accept BCBS, Aetna, and Cigna insurance plans.

💚 We also have 2 open slots for clients who cannot afford counseling — because everyone deserves support and healing.

To learn more or schedule a session, email us at admin@sococounseling.net.
Let’s take the next step together toward growth and wellness. 🌱

10/29/2025

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a complex mental health diagnosis characterized by emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, and instability in relationships and self-identity. It often develops in response to early trauma, attachment wounds, or chronic emotional invalidation—not because someone is “difficult” or “attention-seeking.”

People with BPD feel emotions deeply and intensely, often carrying pain they were never taught how to manage. But BPD is treatable. Evidence-based therapies such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT), and trauma-informed care help individuals build emotional regulation, healthier relationships, and a stronger sense of self. Healing is absolutely possible.

If you or someone you love struggles with intense emotions, fear of abandonment, or patterns that feel out of control, you are not alone—support is available and recovery is real. 💛

— SoCo Counseling
🌿 Trauma-Informed | Compassion-Focused | Evidence-Based Care
📩 Now accepting new clients | Message us to get started

10/15/2025

🌧️ When It All Feels Like Too Much 🌧️

Some days it feels like you’re being pulled in every direction—
trying to be a good parent, a supportive partner, a dependable employee, and maybe even a caretaker for your own aging parents.

You’re juggling so much that there’s barely room left for you.
And when tension builds, maybe it comes out in arguments with your spouse, frustration with your kids, or just that quiet guilt that whispers, “You should be doing better.”

But here’s the truth: you’re not broken. You’re overloaded.
You’ve been holding so much for so long, and it’s okay to ask for support.

At SoCo Counseling, we help women untangle the overwhelm — to find calm, compassion, and clarity again.

✨ You deserve space to breathe.
✨ You deserve to feel connected — not just to others, but to yourself.

If you’re ready to stop surviving and start healing, we’re here.
📍 In-person in Southern Anne Arundel County
💻 Virtual sessions available

SoCo Counseling offers quality online counseling in Maryland and in-person, near Annapolis. We offer evidence-based and trauma-informed mental health services for southern Anne Arundel & northern Calvert counties.