Madeline Thompson Smith, Associate Professional Counselor

05/16/2025

As a neuro-affirming counselor, I don't "teach social skills". Instead, I work with the kid to help them achieve what THEY want. Do they want to interact more with peers? Or are they happy with the connections they have? Would they like to learn small talk skills to feel more comfortable meeting new friends? And if they do, can I also help them see the value in and embrace their natural way of communicating?

I'm not teaching "quiet hands", I'm embracing stimming. We're not teaching eye contact, because it can feel painful!

What I can help teach: turn-taking in games if they want to play more games with others, sharing toys when appropriate like at daycare, and respecting others personal boundaries as well as upholding their own, such as not touching others without permission.

05/08/2025

Introducing summer LGBTQ+ tween & teen empowerment groups at Sunrise Counseling!

My favorite part of being a therapist is facilitating our tween & teen groups. Watching the kids grow together from beginning to end of group never gets old.

We'll focus on building confidence in identity, inner-strength and resiliency for facing hardship, healthy coping skills for expressing emotions, and visualizing and building goals that lead to the future they want.

Dates are not yet set, so make sure to fill out the potential interest form so we can take into account your preferred dates!

Don't let the art part make your teen nervous - I don't have natural artistic talent ;) The focus is on expressing yourself, engaging in guided crafts, and exploring your power and identity through a variety of projects.
https://forms.gle/MMbPmvrqhB4C2e9T9

Child, Teen, and Adult Counseling and Therapy in Snellville, Georgia. In Person and Online. Play Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Trauma, ADHD, DBT, CBT, Depression, Anxiety, Self-Harm, LGBTQ+, Couples Therapy, Family Therapy, Relationsh

05/08/2025

Did you know that LGBTQ+ kids who parents are unaccepting of their identity are more than twice as likely to attempt su***de as LGBTQ+ kids whose parents are accepting? (source: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/).

You don't have to understand. You just have to respect, be open, and love.

03/29/2025

Providing empathy and autonomy gives your child the strength to trust their feelings, their bodies, and themselves and then make a courageous choice- even when they’re scared!

“We clarified that she did want to do it but was scared.

And I reminded her that we can do things scared.

And so she did. She okayed every step. And the second ear was done. She claims it hurt worse…

Yes it hurt. Yes she cried. But she did it. She did it scared.

And it was her choice.”

Her ears.
Her choice.

I am here to shame no one. I know there’s lots of cultures where babies ears are pierced.

I’m simply here to give an example and assurance about our experience today when we got my daughter’s ears pierced at six years old.

First of all, we went to a tattoo shop. I am not shaming anyone who goes to Claire’s or a place like it, but it is a fact that piercing with a gun leads to the ears not healing as well, getting infected, etc. likely- you will be getting them pierced again

Again, you do you.

We went to a professional. He was amazing. He carved out an hour of time. He let her pick out jewelry- she had to sign waivers alongside me. He showed her every step and asked permission every time he did anything.

“Can I put this gauze on your ear? Is it ok if I do that?”

Making sure she said yes every time.

We were fine- until right before the first piercing. She said no and that she wanted to go home.

The response was a simple “ok” - we could try again another day. No pressure. No “we came all this way just do it!”

I knew she wanted it done. She explained she wanted to talk through the process, as a distraction. And so that’s what we did. We asked her questions about school, and when the needle went through- it was a shock. There were tears. And more pain than she was expecting.

Then came the second part- the hardest choice of the day. Do we leave a pirate? 🏴‍☠️ or do we push through and do it again?

I told her we could leave and try again. I also said though- it would be better to do it today and just be done!

He said “these are your ears, and it’s your choice. I know it hurts and it’s scary. But it doesn’t matter what I say or what mom says - this is YOUR choice. “

I loved that.

We clarified that she did want to do it but was scared.

And I reminded her that we can do things scared.

And so she did. She okayed every step. And the second ear was done. She claims it hurt worse…

Yes it hurt. Yes she cried. But she did it. She did it scared.

And it was her choice.

03/18/2025

Know the signs that you or a loved one may be struggling. If you can get help early, the less time you have to suffer and easier it is to get back to feeling like yourself again.

Mental illnesses are disorders that can affect a person’s thinking, mood or behavior. These early warning signs and symptoms can help determine if you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health condition.

Learn more & get support: http://samhsa.gov/mental-health

03/12/2025

There's a Daniel Tiger song that goes, "Saying I'm sorry is the first step - then how can I help?" But really, pointing out how the other person is feeling or how they were affected and asking your child, "How could you help?" can actually lead to the sorry.

Example:
--Evan pushes Jaxon away so that Evan can be first to the swings.

--You say, "Evan, you pushed Jaxon away so you could be first. Jaxon is crying. How do you think he's feeling?"

--Maybe Evan is embarrassed. He says, "I don't know" or "I don't care". That's okay, we can roll with that.

--You say, "I'm thinking he's sad. I cry when I'm sad. What do you think we can do to fix this?"

--Then let Evan lead. He may say sorry and give Jaxon the swing, or he may simply give Jaxon the swing and walk away.

Either way, this conversation has sparked Evan's empathy skills, helped him pay attention to how his actions affect others, and strengthen his ability to solve problems and help others.

03/09/2025

We all mean well when we give advice! But sometimes, it's not what the person needs. Other times, the person does need the advice, but won't be able to truly hear you if they think it's a criticism or a demand.

Here's some sensitive, caring ways to approach advice-giving that truly considers the other person's needs AND makes it more likely that they will take the advice (for those of you with teens who know everything, hint hint).

Advice giving needs to be done with care. It can quickly cross the line into being invalidating or intrusive, especially for those who have histories with invalidating and intrusive people.
If advice isn’t delivered with care, it can discourage others from opening up to you.
Advice giving is important and we need it to have space in our world, so let’s learn to do it with safety.

This list is not exhaustive. There are many ways to give advice respectfully. Another idea is “ultimately only you know the entire situation, so take what I’m about to say or leave it….”

Also, if your advice is attached to an overriding need for that person to follow your advice, that’s based on needing to control that person and probably won’t work out well.

Sometimes in this situation, setting a boundary (or sharing how something is impacting you) is more appropriate than giving advice.

For example, if your partner is always late and you’ve been advising them to keep a calendar, set timers, etc, and they aren’t doing it, it’s probably time to move away from giving advice in order to control the situation and instead share with them how it’s impacting you: “I’m feeling powerless and frustrated over this. We’ve got to work together to figure this out because the situation isn’t workable for me.”

03/08/2025

Distress tolerance is an important skill that I teach as part of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy with people who self-harm or have suicidal ideation. No feeling lasts forever. If we can "ride the wave" of emotions, we KNOW that we will come out on the other side.

We have to learn to avoid the urge to panic that comes with distress, the impulse that says, "we can't handle this pain! We have to stop it immediately!"

When you can learn to trust yourself to handle the distress, you can learn to ride it out and come out on the other side having processed and experienced it, giving you a change to feel and heal, rather than suppressing it or turning to negative coping mechanisms.

03/07/2025

You don’t need parent guilt because you’re not following conventional or new parenting “wisdom”. You know your child. Use parenting advice for new ideas, and then incorporate them in a way that makes sense for your family!

03/06/2025

Accommodations are basically Life Hacks - do what works for you, with no judgement, no shame, and don't look back!

This feels so much like the exact heart of occupational therapy. And maybe that's why I feel like it overlaps so hard with my parenting style...because I'm also on a mission to just try to instill these things in the next generation from the beginning, instead of having to re-teach them again as adults.

WHY FADE SUPPORTS THAT WORK? I'll have kids on my caseload who have been doing great with some particular support for weeks, months, years, and then the push becomes to try to remove that support or fade it so that the child doesn't "depend" on it anymore.

Let me be clear: if the child is the one driving that push, because they don't want the support in place, that's a wholly different thing. (Unless the reason for them not wanting it is because adults have shamed them into feeling "babyish" for it or whatever.)

But if the adults have just arbitrarily decided that the child needs to stop relying on something that works for them, nah. I'm not here for that. The world has so many things, so many supports, so much technology, so much access. If we're arbitrarily limiting ourselves from it for absolutely no real reason, then I'm not here for that.

Start by asking yourself what's the reason you feel like you can't/shouldn't use xyz (or your child can't/shouldn't). If you don't have any reason...well, then, there you go.

[Image description: A tumblr post which reads, "This is your daily reminder not to be ashamed of making your life easy for yourself.
Cut your food into small pieces, make the font size 30 on your e book, use straws to drink, get a pen that's comfortable to hold, take more naps, walk slowly, eat another cookie, buy velcro shoes, re-watch the part you couldn't understand the first time, write things on your hands so you don't forget it...whatever you want and/or need
Don't let anyone tell you how you should be doing things. We don't need to prove each other anything"]

04/07/2024

Talk with your children about EVERYTHING! Find out their opinions, find out what their friends think, ask about their experiences and expectations.
Let them know they can talk with you about anything.

03/30/2024

Saturday inspiration! Give yourself permission to rest today.