Katrina Johnson, LLC - Counseling, Prevention & Resiliency

11/16/2025

Pay Attention !!

11/15/2025

Crucial for Wisconsin

Erin Merryn founder of Erin’s Law speaks directly to those who work with students on warning signs of child being abused. How to handle disclosures. You are ...

11/13/2025

Closer Than We Think

Our departed loved ones
are closer than we think.
Not gone,
but transformed,
woven into the quiet moments
of our lives.

Love, once given,
does not disappear.
It changes form,
softens,
and lives within
the spaces between us.

If we grow quiet enough,
if we let the world rest
for a moment,
we can feel it,
not as memory,
but as presence.

They are here,
just beyond the veil of sight,
breathing through the spaces
love once opened,
reminding us,
with every stillness,
that nothing truly loved
is ever lost.

~ 'Closer Than We Think' by Spirit of a Hippie

✍️ Mary Anne Byrne

~ Art by Olamik

11/13/2025

Creative rest

11/12/2025

So needed.

11/12/2025

11/12/2025

Sarah Jean is a powerful healer.

11/11/2025

In honor of Veterans Day, ❤️

11/11/2025

SECOND CHANCE SUNDAY - revisiting your favourite posts from the last 7 days.

Worries are part of growing up. As children learn about the world, their brains are still working out what feels safe, what feels uncertain, and how to make sense of big feelings.

This visual shows common worries by age — to help young people (and the adults supporting them) see that many worries are developmentally normal, not signs of something 'wrong'. These are common patterns, not fixed rules. Every child’s worries are shaped by their environment, temperament and experiences.

We stop at around age 14 because, from this point on, worries become more individual and tied to identity, friendships, belonging and life experiences. Support at this stage is less about reassurance and more about connection, curiosity and co-regulation.

If your child is feeling overwhelmed, or if worries are starting to take over everyday life, our When Worries Take Over Toolkit offers step-by-step scripts, support strategies and gentle, brain-based tools you can use right away — link in comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

11/11/2025

Interoception. Attunement. Dual Attunement.

11/11/2025

Co-regulate

During a meltdown, the goal is not to 'fix' or 'stop' the behaviour.
The goal is to help the nervous system return to safety.

What we say — and how we say it — makes a profound difference.

When a child is overwhelmed, the thinking parts of the brain are offline.
They can’t reason, respond, or problem-solve yet.
They need co-regulation, not correction.

This post offers phrases you can use at each stage of the meltdown cycle — not to control the moment, but to support safety, connection, and repair.

Because when a child learns:
“I can have big feelings and still be safe with you,”
they develop emotional resilience, trust, and self-understanding.

If you found this helpful and would like a deeper breakdown of each phase (with step-by-step support strategies), you’ll find the full Timeline of a Meltdown resource via link in comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

Save this to come back to when things feel overwhelming