Young Sky Counseling

04/08/2025

Shout out to ICT OCD Alliance on sharing mental health education! While both specialists and generalists are incredibly valuable, certain challenges are best supported through a specialist 🧠💙

Julie Lang, LPC

Thank you so much Julie for sharing your thoughts on being a specialist. Remember, generalists and specialists are both crucial to the mental health field. ICT OCD Alliance may focus on the importance of specialists, however, realizes the intense appreciation and necessity for having generalists. We are incredibly thankful for all mental health practitioners. ❤️

“To me being a specialist means having a deep understanding and expertise in helping individuals navigate a specific challenge. It involves specialized knowledge in delivering the best therapeutic options for the unique needs of an individual. To me, it also suggests a commitment to ongoing learning and self-awareness, as the field of counseling continuously evolves. Specialists are often dedicated to staying current with new research and best practices while also developing their own intuitive understanding of human behavior. It’s about offering a safe space where individuals can feel understood and supported as they work through their challenges

In my opinion, specializing in a mental health field is important because it allows professionals to focus on specific issues and develop a deeper understanding of the challenges their clients face. Mental health can be really complex, and different struggles - like eating disorders, anxiety, or trauma - or demographics - like children, couples, elderly - need different types of care. When a therapist specializes, they’re able to offer more tailored support and use techniques that are most effective for those specific issues.”

12/05/2024

It's the most wonderful time of the year! AND it’s a stressful time of the year. Tips for handling the Santa question below!⬇️⬇️

11/15/2024

All behavior is communication.

10/01/2024

No one told us that when we become parents, suddenly WE have to learn to regulate OUR emotions. The good news? It’s never too late to show up for yourself so you can show up for your kids too.

There’s so much pressure out there to get it *just right* with our kids. But the work really does start with *us*. Learning to identify emotions and feelings OURSELVES. Learning to use healthy coping skills OURSELVES.

Our kids are little sponges, and when WE can learn to rewire our own brains and show up as whole people—that’s where our kids soak it up and REALLY learn emotional regulation. Try this:

✨SEE YOURSELF, instead of pushing it down (‘cause you know that sh*t will come up later, in a different form).

“I’m feeling tired, overwhelmed, and helpless.”

✨ALLOW YOURSELF TO FEEL, and notice yourself in your body.

Feel it fully, cry, breathe INTO IT so you can release it.

✨COMFORT YOURSELF, instead of only comforting others.

“This is a hard moment, and I deserve a break. I deserve love and another chance.”

Breaking generational cycles is intense, so give yourself some grace. Be gentle with yourself in your hard, stressful, overwhelmed moments.⁠ The journey isn’t linear. It’ll never be perfect. A little bit of progress goes a long way.

Proud of you, generational cycle breakers. You’re doing it. 🤸🏻‍♀️

✨If you’re triggered by your toddler’s tantrums, you’re not a monster. You’re HUMAN. We’ve all been there. And? You deserve the tools to regulate *yourself* so you can teach your child to regulate their big feelings too. Our course Winning the Toddler Stage, teaches you exactly how to do it. Guaranteed to calm the chaos in your home, or your money back! For parents + caregivers of kids ages 1-6. Link in bio.✨

09/03/2024

There’s nothing more powerful than connection.

🧡🙌🏼

08/20/2024

This is step one of self regulation in kids. To self regulate a child must first learn to co-regulate and that’s a skilled learned from a regulated adult ❤️

The Holistic Psychologist 🩵

06/05/2024

Play therapy in schools? Absolutely essential! Grateful for the opportunity to present at the KSCA annual conference this year and spread the word about compassionate, play-filled support for our children. 🌟🌱

04/12/2024

I have been absolutely blown away by the support and encouragement my wild career ideas have been given in the last year and this nomination is icing on the cake! I never set out build a ‘business’ but instead to make a professional home for clinicians to show up and have the freedom to do their best work in whatever capacity that is for them, because that’s what gets hurting people the help they need. Watching it all (my Counseling Studio family!) be wildly successful is one of the biggest honors of my life!

Whether or not I get further along in this award process is of no importance to me but to be nominated is incredibly humbling. Thank you to all the people that support my adventures and trust me enough to come along for the ride. 🖤

The Counseling Studio
Young Sky Counseling

04/10/2024

I was so honored to be on the mental health panel at Wichita Collegiate School’s event today! Any opportunity to offer parents education on supporting student mental health and well-being is something I will gladly be a part of. Huge shout out to the Collegiate School Counseling team for being proactive advocates for student mental health! These events are vital to facilitate conversations that help end mental health stigma and bring valuable resources to the community. The event featured some of Wichita’s leading experts and I was humbled to be included alongside these amazing leaders in the mental health field!

Spencer D Post LMSW
Jenny Helmsterrell31
The Counseling Studio

04/04/2024

🚨Sandtray Therapy🚨

Ooooffff!! My kiddos did all the processing today! (Insert mega proud therapist picture here!) 🤗

But what’s Sandtray Therapy? I’m glad you asked!⬇️

Through the tactile medium of sand and a collection of miniature symbols, kids can create scenes that reflect their inner world in a tangible form. This gives them a unique and powerful way to explore and process their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

🤫Within the sandtray, kids have the freedom to express themselves without the need for words.

🧭They can arrange and manipulate the sand and objects to externalise their emotions and navigate complex issues such as relationships, trauma, and attachment.

❤️‍🩹 With the guidance of a trained sandplay therapist, kids engage in a process of self-discovery and healing as they:

☑️Foster Emotional Expression: Through creative play in the sand, kids can express emotions that may be difficult to articulate verbally, fostering a sense of relief and validation.

☑️Process Trauma and Conflict: The sandtray becomes a safe container for kids to explore and process traumatic memories or challenging life experiences, leading to healing and resolution.

☑️Cultivate Self-Awareness: By observing their sandtray creations, kids gain clarity and understanding of their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, empowering them to make positive changes in their lives.

💪🏼Sandplay therapy offers kids a non-threatening and empowering space to explore their inner world and find their own path to healing and growth.

03/30/2024

🧩 Kids are often blamed for being emotionally dysregulated and partly for good reason. While children's brains are developing they physically can't manage big emotions. But so often children are singled out for having emotional melt-downs when parents are completely losing control of their own emotions too.

👉🏼 It's easy to blame the child as we as parents can feel justified in losing control because kids can be so frustrating. Let's face it, nobody can push your buttons like your child. The problem is, if we lose control of our emotions when our kids are out of control, then we set up a culture of dysregulation. Emotions feed off emotions, so if we are going to bring calm we need to learn to regulate ourselves.

03/26/2024

It’s an honor to be invited to speak on a professional panel regarding mental health in school aged kids! Please join us for some great resources as well as a Q&A session where a professional can help answer your individual questions.

Wichita Collegiate School

Therapist