All posts filed under: creative

What type of therapist do I need?

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There are so many types of different therapists, and it can be challenging to figure out which one is the right fit for you or your child. This blog post will hopefully help you make a better-informed decision on which kind of therapy is best for you or your kids. A psychotherapist primarily uses talk therapy and can help children dealing with a wide range of issues, including but not limited to ADHD, anxiety, depression, executive functioning, eating and food issues, sleep and emotional regulation. The psychotherapists on our team have been trained in various modalities, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy as well as art and play therapy. Since psychotherapy is a regulated profession, it is often covered by insurance companies. Psychotherapy fees are not covered by OHIP. A psychotherapist cannot diagnose mental health or behavioural disorders and are unable to provide prescriptions or medication. While a psychologist can provide a mental health diagnosis, they cannot prescribe medications. Psychology fees are not covered by OHIP, though many insurance …

back to school supplies

Back-to-School Tips for Anxious Kids!

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Are your kids feeling anxious about going back to school? Perhaps they’re starting school for the first time this year or returning to in-person after doing virtual. Here are some tips to help them ease their worries and transition into the new school year. Establish and practice a back-to-school routine: If you’ve been enjoying the summer and the late sunsets then most likely your kids have been going to bed late. Don’t wait until the Sunday before school starts to establish new bedtimes. Start pushing bedtime earlier and earlier, a little each day, starting around the week before school starts. Help your kids with the school morning routine by giving them a checklist, for young kids, a visual checklist of what needs to be done can be helpful. For older children, try using a wipe board checklist that can be reused. The dollar store has great supplies for this. Keep it simple; Get dressed, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, and pack a bag. Completing the list before school sets your kids up for success, by …

A Guide to Screen Time for Parents

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Screens are everywhere in our modern world, but spending too much time looking at screens can be harmful for children. Setting limits on screen time can protect your child’s health, with many tools available to limit what types of content your child can access online and for how long. To help parents, MyVision, an organization of expert ophthalmologists and optometrists who aim to provide trusted information on eye health and vision, created a guide on Screen Time for Parents, reviewed by Dr. Carli Bunn, a board-certified optometrist at Eye Care Associates. This guide features information on how to develop screen time rules and enforcing them, teaching digital literacy and additional resources for parents. Click here to read the Screen Time Guide

Why is everyone preaching about Gratitude?

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I’ve been cultivating my gratitude practice for around 5 years now. It’s not one of those practices that makes an immediate difference in your life, it takes times to grow and rewire neurons in your brain, but it does and will happen with time. Donald Hebb, a neuropsychologist once said that “neurons that fire together, wire together” and he was 100% right. Two major shifts occurred in my life as a result of practicing gratitude. The first was a shift from pessimism to optimism. I was never very good at seeing the glass half full, it was always verging on empty for me. Practicing gratitude made a shift in my thinking, it meant that instead of immediately going to the negative there was a pause, a moment to consider that there were other options. It didn’t happen overnight and there wasn’t a Moses parting the seas moment for me to see the change. It happened very quietly, but it did happen. The first time I recognized it was in a flower shop. It was busy …

Toddlers and Self-Isolation – Ideas for small hands

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Are you stuck at home with a toddler? We have plenty of experience hanging with these small people – here are some scheduling and art suggestions for trying to maintain your sanity. Babies and toddlers like routine, their world is so unpredictable so providing them with some sort of routine helps them to know what is coming next. If you’ve got a babe between the ages of 18+ months to 3 years try out our daycare schedule for them. 8:30-9:30 free play Clean up 9:45am circle time – we’re hosting a FREE circle time on Tuesday/Friday if you want to join – send us an email! 10am – snack 10:30 – outdoor play 11:30 – lunch 12-2:30 nap time 3-4pm outdoor play 4pm snack time 4:30pm art 5-5:30 free play. Art Ideas A list of materials needed (all can be purchased at your local dollar store, which is currently still open). Paper Markers Watercolour Paint Gluestick Salad Spinner Shaving Cream Food colouring Qtips Paint Bingo Dabber Letter Art: Toddlers love repetition – we start the …

#COVID19JEDI

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It’s ok to go dark sometimes…it’s totally ok to NOT BE OK right now. Say this sometimes to yourself, it can be helpful. “I AM NOT OK RIGHT NOW”. I took a class recently – on Mindful Self-Compassion and there’s a theory about self-compassion being composed of 3 basic things – mindfulness, self-kindness and common humanity. I took this class with the amazing Dr.Heidi Walk and it uses the Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook. I’ll break down the 3 parts, if you’re new to this theory.  Kindness:  So be “NOT OK” and give yourself a fucking hug. Tell yourself what a friend would tell you. Pretend you live on another planet (which would actually be really cool right now, you wouldn’t have to deal with any of this craziness, there’s no COVID-19 on Mars…or isssss there? Ok sorry…so you’re on Mars and your friend calls you and says, listen to what happened on earth today. Would you believe it? Would you feel like you were listening to a movie plot? Maybe, but either way bet you wouldn’t be …