Play is often considered an impractical activity that should only be engaged in for recreational purposes. Nevertheless, mental health professionals are discovering that play is an essential element of human happiness and a form of communication for children. Play is an enjoyable activity that elevates an individual’s mood, and can expand self-expression, self-knowledge, and self-efficacy. Furthermore, play is an additional language for children that they harness to relieve feelings …
The LifeCare Blog
This memory frequently comes back to me in my work with clients. I worked the first shift during my undergraduate studies at a Panera Bread. This meant coming into work at 5 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday. My job was to prepare the cafe to open which included slicing loaves of bread and putting all of the bagels and pastries out. One morning my boss came to me and …
We live in a Veruca Salt world, don’t we? You know, Veruca—the quintessential spoiled little girl from Roald Dahl’s classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? If you’re like me, you know Veruca best from the movie adaptation starring Gene Wilder. Even now I can picture her singing at the top of her lungs about everything she wants, a goose that lays golden eggs being at the top of that …
Over and over God calls us into a deeper, more loving, more peaceful relationship with Him. His perfect love is sufficient for us, it heals the most painful wounds, it shines a light in the dark places, it gives peace to the chaos. He draws us closer to Him by calling us to let go of fear and to focus our thoughts on gratitude. In Philippians 4:6, He promises …
As a play therapist I follow a certain model of setting limits and expectations. This is the ACT model developed by Gary Landreth. The model goes like this A- Acknowledge the feeling C-Communicate the limit T-Target the alternative I use this model so much that recently I found myself doing it while walking my dog. He’s a very sweet black lab named Sam. My ACT limits with him went …
Every year around this time, grief pays me a visit. In the beginning, grief was my constant companion. It was there when I awoke and never left my side. While I dreaded its very existence, I also found a strange comfort in its presence. I felt validated by my grief while simultaneously resenting that it was always there. While I recognized grief’s grasp, I believed then that it was …
Photo By: Shawn Rause Pulling-out weeds is terrible. My mom has one heck of a green thumb and as a chore she would make me pull weeds for hours in the hot North Carolina sun every year. To make it worse North Carolina’s soil is a hard orange clay, so it is hard to dig with your hands. At some point you need a tool or two to help. …
When I think about all that our nation—and the world—is experiencing with regard to the coronavirus and COVID-19, we all are impacted in many different ways. Our routines have been dramatically altered, the health of loved ones is in question, physical contact with family and friends has become minimal, employment is unstable, our freedom to shop anywhere we desire is no longer an option, and statistics are sobering as …
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”Phillipians 4:6-7 When your child is spiraling out of control with negative thinking it can feel like there is no way to stop them, no way to intervene, that everyone has …
Waiting for the news of a diagnosis, waiting for your son to find the courage to make the right choice, waiting for your marriage to heal, waiting to feel more content in your job, waiting for the pain of the past to stop interfering with your present… If only you could know the future maybe then the waiting wouldn’t be so painful. If you could have a small glimpse into …