If you have a child heading back to school, you may be wondering how to best support them with the transition to a new school year after summer break. While some kids thrive on the routine of school, others struggle to adjust to a new environment, new peers, or new demands placed on them.

One of the common questions we get at Family Roots Therapy is about the difference between our providers’ titles. What does a Licensed Professional Counselor mean as opposed to a Professional Counselor Associate or a student intern? What are all of those letters after providers’ names (LMFT, LPC, LCSW)?

Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is a model of therapy that specifically works with young children (ages birth to six years old) who have experienced trauma, domestic violence, and/or separation from a primary caregiver. In this model, therapists work with the child and a caregiver (often a parent, but can also be a grandparent, foster parent, or anyone who is a primary caregiver to the child) together in sessions. Therapists also typically work with the caregiver alone outside of the parent-child sessions to support parenting skills and help the caregiver understand and process their own emotions related to the child’s trauma responses. 

By Maddie Snell

Art Therapy is a form of psycho-therapy that focuses on self-expression through both a non-verbal and verbal method. The American Art Therapy Association explains that Art Therapy is an integrative approach that engages the mind, body, and spirit in ways “distinct from verbal articulation alone”. 

We understand that insurance can be a difficult system to navigate. Insurance has many uses, as well as limitations, and we believe that you can best utilize the benefits from your insurance if you have an understanding of what the benefits and limitations there are before you seek access to care.

My insurance benefits aren’t affordable for me for mental health at this time, does this mean I can’t get a therapist?

Each insurance company has different rates that they reimburse for different types of services, represented by specific billing codes (or CPT codes). To make things more difficult, some services aren’t covered at all which is why it’s important for you as the client to contact your insurance company before scheduling services to make sure there won’t be any surprise bills. 

What are some common terms that explain my benefit coverage?

Play seems to come naturally for children and is a fundamental part of their world and daily routine. Play is crucial to children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development, improves their relationships with peers and attachment figures, and even helps them learn skills for emotional regulation. But have you ever thought about the importance of play beyond childhood?

Think back to when you first noticed feeling negatively about your body image. How old were you? Many adults say they had good self esteem about their body until third to sixth grade.

For adolescents with social anxiety the pandemic could be described as, for lack of a better word, a rollercoaster.  As a child and family therapist, I have had an up close look at the many peaks and valleys.

Imagine you are married with 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 1 cat. One night your spouse asks you, “Hey honey, can Spot sleep in our room tonight, he gets too cold sleeping outside?” You think to yourself, I don’t really want an 80-pound dog sleeping in our bed, but you don’t want to upset your partner, so you agree.

On the November 2020 ballot there is a measure that we would like to share some information with you. Measure 110, official titled Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act looks to remove criminal penalties for low-level possession of all drugs, which currently is classified as a misdemeanor, and replacing it with a fine.

With higher levels of individual stress and anxiety combined with increased time at home, it’s no wonder many couples are finding their relationship under strain.

Having a therapist can be very helpful for many people who are going through a divorce. Here are a fewT reasons why working with professional on both the legal front, and the mental health side, can be beneficial.

Many parents are very reactive to disrespect from their children. Often this stems from being raised in a household where that kind of disrespect was not tolerated, and often when it was punished in a very harsh way. It can also come from a need to feel in control, or when we feel like the way our kids behave is a direct reflection of our parenting (hint: it often isn’t!)

While the holidays are a wonderful time to visit family, celebrate, and enjoy time together, they can also present a challenge when you have a child who is dependent on routine and predictability.

“Attachment” has become somewhat of a buzzword that is often misunderstood and misused in the parenting world. I work with parents and young children in therapy around issues with attachment, and I find that most people want some clarification on what attachment is and what I’m looking for in the relationship.

I often write about helping kids cope with anxiety or recognizing anxiety in children, but what about when parents are dealing with anxiety themselves?