Therapy for your Child

A Message For your Child...

HI! My name is Shawny, and I’m a therapist. Here’s what that means. So, just like your doctor helps you take care of your body and your teacher helps you take care of your mind, I help kids take care of their feelings. To show what I mean, I brought some friends here. These are the feelings from Pixar’s Inside Out — one of my favorites— this is Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. Now, in the movie, sometimes these feelings didn’t get along, and things got really loud and confusing. And the same thing can happen to us! So, when I work with kids, we help those feelings get along a little bit better with each other. My favorite part of my job is that i can to play with really cool kids every day. Some of the ways we play together are: reading books, playing games, making art, and even playing with puppets. Right? (Puppet nods). Now just like probably a lot of other things in your life, we are going to meet on video, instead of face to face. But I promise you, you will get to play exactly the way you need to. If you have any questions about me or about therapy, feel free to ask a grown up who you live with. I can’t wait to meet you! See you soon, bye!

Your Child Has a Gentle, Sensitive Spirit.

They take in the world with all of their senses and bring their whole, beautiful hearts to everything they do. You are consistently amazed by the million-dollar wisdom they casually spout off.

But, oh my, do they struggle.

Shifts in routine, slights from friends, and perceived anger from adults send them into a spiral. Everyday is filled with:

Tears. Like, weep till they lose their voice tears.
Shutdowns. Forget about zooming with grandma.
Tummy aches. Meals are so tough, you’re starting to worry about their nutrition.
Constant worry about something bad happening. The reality of COVID-19 and growing social injustice is not helping.
Emotional hangovers for the whole family.

Then, there is their LGBTQIA identity. (Or yours!) The things you celebrate and nurture at home also cause worry when you think about your child out in the world. The idea that someone could bully them for who they are is too painful to contemplate.

You love them so much, and a very secret part of you wishes they could just toughen up already. Wouldn’t life be easier for them?

You think this so often it’s starting to feel like a mantra:

“I wish they could feel the freedom of just being a kid.”

This is what I know:

Your child is doing the best they can; the feelings are just too big.

Your child has an emotional traffic jam inside of them. The feelings are all backed up, honking, full of road rage, and stalling out on the freeway. It’s loud. It’s stressful. And it makes your child dread their daily commute.

I support your child in clearing the pile up of feelings.

Then, we put on our construction helmets and widen the road. We create more capacity, so they don’t have to sit in rush hour every single day.

Most importantly, I collaborate with you. Together we will:

Discover the parenting philosophy that makes sense for your unique family.
Practice concrete techniques to help you stay calm and connected to your child.
Build confidence in your ability to be a consistent LGBTQIA advocate, no matter the situation. I will help you stand up for your child at school, with other parents, to extended family, and beyond.

Imagine the family evening of your dreams. A low-key dinner followed by play, bathtime, snuggles, and the sweetest bedtime stories.

Your little one drifts off to sleep, able to peacefully let go of the day. You notice that you have enough energy to spend a few moments taking care of yourself, instead of collapsing into Netflix. But first, you joyfully watch your child rest.

You know they’re going to be ok.

Let’s get there together.

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