Kerry Counselling

Kerry Counselling Blog

Blog #1: February 3, 2022

What if Anxiety was your friend? 

What if Anxiety was your friend? An over-protective, sometimes annoying, but well-meaning friend, constantly trying to warn you of dangers and protect you from harm. What if this well-meaning friend makes mistakes once in awhile and warns you of dangers that are not really there? Imagine walking along a street and your friend grabs your arm and screams at you to “Watch out!!” because a car is driving at you. Your heart starts to race, your breathing speeds up, you get laser focus and for a moment you think you might die. Then you look up and see the car is actually 2 blocks away and you are totally fine. You roll your eyes at your over-protective and sometimes dramatic friend and the two of you carry on, safely with no danger of being hit by the car. You don’t berate your friend, or say “what is wrong with you?” And, yet, when we get an anxious response, we can judge ourselves harshly and be mean. We may even create a barrier to the anxiety symptoms, work hard to get rid of it, block it out, ignore it, or even hate it or hate ourselves for having an anxious response. 

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Kerry Counselling 

Resources

This is a page with resources designed for parent/guardians to help support their children/youth 

by Kerry Lee

Co-Regulation

Self-regulation is a difficult skill for anyone, especially children and youth. Children learn the skill of self-regulation through co-regulation with a trusted adult, such as parent/guardian. Self-regulation is a skill, just like learning to ride a bike and young people need support and practice in learning this skill. Co-regulation is best practiced regularly, for at least 5 minutes a day of uninterrupted time with parent/guardian. Co-regulation can include a variety of activities, including singing, read-a-loud, playing games, sports, nature time, as long as it's child-led (and without screens). By allowing your child to take the lead in play, they get to experience a sense of control, which allows them to take risks, build confidence, and explore the full range of emotions with the support of their parent/guardian. 


Click here for the full Co-Regulation Handout 

by KERRY LEE

Smooth Transitions 

How to hold boundaries while transitioning from a one activity to the next.

 Background information: 

Providing choice activities for children is important for their sense of control and autonomy, but sometimes you need to direct them to an activity that is not a choice, such as sleep time, or going to school. 

 Here are some general reminders and a step-by-step guide for holding the boundary while transitioning from one activity to the next. 

Click here for the full Smooth Transitions Handout