Blue Dove Counseling, LLC

01/18/2024

Good explanation of the brain. Going to print this off and post it in my office!

Helping young people understand how their brains work is not only empowering but also essential for mental well-being. By unraveling the mysteries of their minds, they gain valuable insights into handling emotions and thoughts, making daily challenges less confusing. This knowledge fosters self-awareness, normalizes common experiences, and encourages a compassionate approach to mental health (theirs and others!)

Picture a young person learning about their brain and realizing that a panic attack is not a sign of weakness but a natural response to stress. Understanding that the brain's "fight or flight" response can sometimes misfire and trigger intense physical sensations can make the experience feel less mysterious and frightening.

With this knowledge, the young person can start to understand the panic attack as a temporary and manageable reaction, rather than an overwhelming threat. This understanding can empower them to implement calming techniques, seek support, and ultimately make panic attacks feel less scary and more controllable.

Image Credit: Journey to Wellness

01/16/2024

Parents, you make more of an impact than you may realize.

01/13/2024

Good Saturday morning! It’s a balmy 0* degrees outside. While you’re cozy at home today, take a look and listen!

The reality is at times children need discipline (support/ structure/ boundaries/ teaching) and correction. But we have an important choice to make. Check out our FREE downloadable to see the differences between discipline that DIVIDES versus discipline that CONNECTS and listen to our January Discipline Podcast series on Tuesdays to learn more!

01/02/2024

Hello! I haven’t posted in so so long, and I intend to do so more this year. This just popped in my feed and is worth a read and sharing!

04/26/2023

Co-regulation can be difficult when your child wants to be alone. I really like these suggestions and hope they are helpful to you!

Graphic credit: Flourishing Homes & Families

05/25/2022

In light of the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, I feel this important to share. Please reach out with any questions.

Please turn off the news in front of your young children. Answer questions in a simple, developmentally-minded manner. Reassure your children that they are safe with you. Reach out to mental health professionals for intense or lingering distress. We are here to help.

02/18/2022

Wow! Kristalle is spot on when talking about social cues and remembering that our kiddos may not have had certain behaviors modeled for them. I love her advice and think you’ll find this applicable to your kiddos.

I felt the sting as my girls, ages 7 and 7.5 headed out the door to catch the bus without as much as a wave. What was that? Were they blowing me off

01/29/2022

We may feel uncomfortable when someone else is expressing emotions, and we may be struggling to find words. Should I pat them on the back? Should I change the topic? Or, we may feel so in line with the other person that we start to over-relate and share our own stories, making the other person feel like we are trying to one-up them! Here's some ideas of how to express empathy and validate emotions. Remember... empathy is about trying to understand someone's perspective just how they are experiencing it, not how we think they should feel, think, or act!

01/26/2022

VoyageKC released a feature on me earlier this week. Thanks to Nathan Croy for nominating me for this article.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Dominick. Debbie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? I grew up in a dysfunctional family, with an abusive, alcoholic father. There was domestic violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and s...

01/18/2022

A little *client artwork for today. We can apply MLK Jr.’s teachings in many areas of our lives, and can begin by showing love to one another. How are you celebrating his life today?

*Shared with permission

01/17/2022

We are a house divided! I cheer for the Chiefs, and my husband is a lifetime Steelers fan. One of us will win tonight, and the other will probably sorely lose, LOL! One thing we've learned in parenting our children though, is that we cannot be divided when it comes to how we parent. We have to be on the same team, or we both lose.

Our therapist (yes, we have a therapist!) has encouraged us to be "shoulder to shoulder" in parenting, meaning we make the decisions together. This helps prevent triangulation and anger with each other. Some of our kids have had more practice trying to get their way than Mahomes has had practice throwing the ball. They know if they go to one parent, they can get them to say yes to something the other parent won't. Or maybe one parent is quicker to anger and pass out consequences like being grounded for a year (you know who you are! LOL!) when in reality, that's a consequence that won't get carried out. So, no matter who wins the NFL game tonight, make sure if you're co-parenting, you're doing it shoulder to shoulder. Then you'll both win every time.