Lauren Pasqua, Psy.D.

06/13/2025

06/03/2025

Last cal!!! Get in now with a few spots left! Get your teen ready for the new school year armed with new coping skills and tools for healthy relationships.

🌟 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗣 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡-𝗨𝗣𝗦 🌟

Help your child build confidence, resilience, and healthy coping skills this summer! 🌱 Our DBT-based camps offer tweens (10-13) and teens (14-17) practical tools to manage emotions, improve relationships, and handle stress - all in a supportive, fun environment.

📍 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Connections Family Center, The Woodlands, TX
📅 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: June 16 -19th, Ages 11-13 | June 23 – 26th, Ages 14-18
🎯 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: Coping skills, emotional regulation, mindfulness & more!

Spots are limited - register now! ➡️ https://connectionsfamilycenter.com/coping-skills-dbt-summer-camp/

LIMITED AVAILABILITY! Questions? Email melanie@connectionsfamilycenter.com to learn more. Set your teenager up for success this summer, and register now!

05/22/2025

As a psychologist who works with kids, moms, and families every day, I have to speak up: the proposed cuts to Medicaid and SNAP are not just bad policy, they're dangerous. These programs are lifelines for so many of the families I serve. Taking them away will hurt the people who are already struggling the most.

But it’s not just about individual families. These cuts will push even more healthcare providers out of the field. We’re already seeing burnout and staffing shortages across the board. Providers can’t keep being the safety net when the system falls apart. We’re not meant to be the charity arm of the government.

And for those of you in rural communities, this will hit even harder. Fewer doctors. Clinics closing. Even if you have private insurance, it won’t matter if there’s nowhere left to go for care.

This isn’t just about politics, it’s about values. We’re supposed to take care of each other, especially the most vulnerable. This bill does the opposite. It’s not right. And I hope more of us will speak out.

05/12/2025

Are you on Linkedin? Follow me there! I post two newsletters regularly, Raising Resilient Families and Resilient Leaders. Follow me on LinkedIn:

1 billion members | Manage your professional identity. Build and engage with your professional network. Access knowledge, insights and opportunities.

05/10/2025

You’re not a bad parent. You’re a burned-out one. That’s different.

This is something I say often—and I mean it every time.

Parenting doesn’t come with a roadmap. And when your child is struggling—especially with anxiety, ADHD, or emotional overwhelm—it’s easy to think you’re the one doing it wrong.

But here’s what I’ve seen over and over:
When the parent gets tools and support, the whole family changes.

You don’t need to be perfect.
You don’t need to be a therapist.
You just need help that works in your real life.

What do you need most right now—sleep, support, or strategy?
Drop it below, and I’ll send something your way. 💛

05/09/2025

Sometimes the hardest part of parenting is knowing what to say in the heat of the moment.

Here are a few phrases I coach parents to use when emotions are running high—for their child and themselves:

• “You’re allowed to feel this. Let’s figure it out together.”
• “I can see this is hard. I’m right here.”
• “Let’s take one small step right now. That’s enough.”
• “I’m working on calming my body. You can too.”

The goal isn’t to sound like a textbook. It’s to anchor your tone in calm, so your child feels safe—and so do you.

Want a printable version to stick on your fridge or bathroom mirror? Drop a 💬 and I’ll send it your way.

05/08/2025

Today is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. And here in our local community, the grief is heavy.

We are mourning another teen lost to su***de.

Another young life gone too soon. Another family changed forever.

These are not isolated tragedies. They are signals—warning us of the cracks in our systems, the silence around suffering, the missed opportunities to step in.

If you’re a parent, teacher, coach, therapist, or leader in a school, clinic, or community setting—this day isn’t just about raising awareness. It’s about taking responsibility.

Ask yourself:
• Do we know how to respond to distress—or just how to document it?
• Are we building real prevention pathways—or only reacting in crisis?
• Do our teams feel equipped to recognize and support kids who are struggling?

If not, we must do better.

Here are powerful, evidence-based resources and trainings for those ready to act:

For Providers & Community Leaders:
🔹 QPR Institute – Su***de Prevention Training
🔹 Youth Mental Health First Aid
🔹 The Trevor Project – Training & Crisis Support
🔹 Zero Su***de Toolkit

From Our Team at CCFC:
Join our free webinar for parents & professionals:
Making Sense of the Unthinkable: Self-Harm & Suicidality in Teens
Watch here

And always—
📞 Call or text 988 to reach the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline.
It’s free. Confidential. And available 24/7.

Let’s break the silence. Let’s take action. Let’s show up for our kids—not just in crisis, but in prevention, in connection, and in hope.

***dePrevention

05/08/2025

You can’t co-regulate with your child if you’re running on fumes.

And yet—most of us are doing exactly that.

Skipping meals, sleeping 5 hours, stressed all day, and wondering why we’re losing our patience.

Here’s a DBT acronym that brings us back to the basics: PLEASE.

P – Physical illness: treat it
L – Low sleep: rest when you can
E – Eating: regularly and enough
A – Avoid mood-altering substances
S – Exercise/self-care in any form (yes, walking to the mailbox counts)

Choose just one of these to reclaim today.

You’re not failing because you’re tired. You’re tired because you’re doing the work of 10 people without support.

That gets to change.

05/07/2025

Ever snapped at your kid and instantly felt awful?

Same.

One DBT skill that has saved me—and so many parents I work with—is called STOP.
It’s your pause button in the chaos.

S – Stop. Freeze. Don’t act yet.
T – Take a step back. Breathe.
O – Observe. Notice what’s happening in your body and theirs.
P – Proceed mindfully. Make your next move on purpose.

When the volume is up and everyone’s dysregulated, STOP is your way to slow it down and get a little space to choose how you want to respond.

It’s not magic. But it is powerful.

Comment “STOP” if this is one of those weeks—and I’ll send you a full toolkit for when emotions run high.

05/04/2025

If you’re feeling like your child’s therapist, personal assistant, and emotional sponge—you’re not alone.

So many of the parents I work with are doing everything right and still lying awake wondering:
“Why is this still so hard?”
“Am I missing something?”
“Is it me?”

Here’s what I want you to know:

Your mental health isn’t separate from your child’s.
It’s not selfish to get support—it’s foundational.

When we feel more resourced, more regulated, more understood… our kids feel it.
It changes how we show up—and how they respond.

I’m sharing tools all week long for parents who are running on fumes and still trying their best. If you want the full article with everything in one place, drop a 🧠 in the comments and I’ll send it to you.

You’re not failing. You’re transforming.

05/03/2025

Parenting is hard. Resilience makes it easier.

I’m excited to offer The 5 Keys to Resilience—a practical, empowering workshop for parents and caregivers, created in collaboration with the incredible team at GoZen!

This session is designed to help parents:
✔️ Support their kids' emotional wellbeing
✔️ Manage their own stress and burnout
✔️ Build stronger connections at home
✔️ Feel less alone in the chaos

Perfect for schools, PTAs, nonprofits, and parent groups looking to offer real support—not just another to-do list.

✨ It’s engaging, research-backed, and immediately usable.
📅 Now booking summer and fall events!

Let’s bring resilience to the families who need it most.

DM me or comment GOZEN and I’ll send you the details!

04/15/2025

🌟 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙏𝙚𝙚𝙣 & 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙨 🌟

Help your child build confidence, resilience, and healthy coping skills this summer! 🌱 Our DBT-based camps offer tweens (10-13) and teens (14-17) practical tools to manage emotions, improve relationships, and handle stress - all in a supportive, fun environment.

📍 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Connections Family Center, The Woodlands, TX
📅 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: June 16 -19th, Ages 11-13 | June 23 – 26th, Ages 14-18
🎯 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: Coping skills, emotional regulation, mindfulness & more!

Spots are limited - register now! ➡️ https://connectionsfamilycenter.com/coping-skills-dbt-summer-camp/

LIMITED AVAILABILITY! Questions? Email melanie@connectionsfamilycenter.com to learn more.