Call or email us today!  303-551-9072​
Arvada Therapy Solutions
  • Home
  • Specialties
    • Play (Child) Therapy
    • Teen Counseling
    • Individual Therapy for Adults
    • Family and Couples Counseling
    • Group Therapy
    • Supervision and Consultation
    • Safe and Sound Protocol
    • Fees
  • About
    • Philosophy
    • Meet the Team
  • Low Cost Counseling
  • Workshops & Seminars
  • Contact
  • Blog

School's Out: Sitting with Disappointment During the Summer of COVID

5/22/2020

0 Comments

 
By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC
Sitting with Disappointment
The end of the school year is upon us!  As we start our summers during the age of COVID-19, we will continue to have to be flexible and manage our expectations.  Trips have been canceled.  Summer camps will look different; if they happen at all.  And the worry of what school will look like in the fall looms large for many.  Radical acceptance is a difficult concept for many adults to adhere to, so what about our kids?
 
In my lifetime, there has not been a global situation that has affected our children as much as this pandemic is, and the effects will be ongoing, long after there is a vaccine and our worlds look closer to how they were in 2019.  These times can be confusing, frustrating, and scary for many.  Our children’s mental health will be affected if it hasn’t been already, and while mental health professionals are equipped to deal with these experiences that our children are living through, parents are on the front lines.  Parents are the first line of defense.  This may seem really scary as a parent (I have the privilege of being a parent to two wonderful boys and feel unsure all the time).
 
How can we as parents help our children weather this storm?


Read More
0 Comments

Improving Executive Function with Martial Arts

11/9/2018

1 Comment

 
By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC
Kids Karate
​Extra-curricular activities can be a fun way for children to learn skills and values such as time management, the value of team work, the value of hard work and dedication, as well as many others.  There are all types of activities that are beneficial for kids to participate in; music, art, volunteering in the community, drama, and athletics.  If you have a high energy or hyperactive child, providing your child ways to exercise and burn off some of that energy is needed and athletic activities are great for this.  If your child has ADHD, it can be challenging to find an extracurricular activity that will keep your child engaged, motivated, and will help with the illusive skill of time management.  Many children with ADHD not only struggle with focus and attention to detail, many also struggle in the social world as well, making team sports more difficult.  Some children with ADHD do very well in a team environment and the team dynamics do not cause anxiety or blows to their self-esteem.  If you do have a child that struggles in the social arena and may need an individual sport, martial arts may be exactly what you are looking for.


Read More
1 Comment

I Never Thought I'd be a Nag

6/14/2018

0 Comments

 
By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC
Picture
If you’re like me, you have always thought you’d be cool as a cucumber as a parent.  I will connect with my child and they will tell me everything.  We will be so close.  I will not do all of those annoying things that my parents did.  And then your sweet little child gets in your car after a day at school and you ask, “How was your day?”  The response, “Fine.”  So then you casually ask, “Well, did you learn anything new today?”  “No.”  By now your anxiety is moving up through your body.  “Did anything interesting happen at school today?”  “Not really.”

THAT’S IT!  I haven’t been with you for the past 8 hours (sometimes even longer) and that’s all I get?  Four words!!!  For many families, this change from sharing every little piece of information about their day to one and two word answers starts in the tween years (10-13 years old).  Well, for me, this conversation, if you can really call it that, happened when my child was three years old and I was picking him up from preschool.  


Read More
0 Comments

When Connection with Your Child Isn’t Enough: Parenting the ODD Child

5/22/2018

0 Comments

 
By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC
Picture
​If you listen to and are interested in the current research in parenting and discipline, then you will know that a focus on connecting with your child is one of the most important prevention strategies for misbehavior.  You know that a child acting out is a child unable to get their needs met in a way that is “appropriate.”  What your child needs during a tantrum is not a time out, but is understanding and a hug from you.  After ordering every new parenting book you can find on Amazon and reading half of them, you get to work.  You spend time each day reading with your child, learning about Fortnite, snuggling on the couch watching Sponge Bob, helping them with their homework, and taking them to special restaurants.  I will no longer scream at my child.  I will be peace and tranquility.  My child will behave because we are connected.  And then your child looks you in the face and says, “NO,” to all requests to clean their room or do their homework.  They argue that the sky is brown and not blue (which depending on where you live is actually true).  And then you get another call home from school that your child has been disrespectful and defiant towards his teacher.  Your next thought (after thinking of ways to destroy your sweet child) is “I am the worst parent in the world.  I am not connected with my child and clearly don’t know how to connect.”  It might switch to “what do all these experts know anyway?  Do they even have kids?”


Read More
0 Comments

Support Problem Solving with Creative Play

1/12/2018

0 Comments

 
By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC
Play (Child) Therapy

Picture
Does your child get frustrated easily? 

It doesn’t matter if they are doing homework, trying to get dressed by themselves, playing video games, or playing with friends or siblings, your child is frustrated.  Their frustration may look like a complete melt down with tears or really angry, complete with yelling and throwing things.  Most likely, in the end, your child feels like giving up.  As a parent, I have seen this first hand with my oldest child and as a play therapist, I see this very often in my office.  Watching your beautiful, smart child give up on something that seems easily fixable to you can be heart breaking and make you feel as frustrated yourself. 

So, how can you help your child solve everyday problems, which will then help them solve bigger problems later in life?


Read More
0 Comments

    Author

    Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC

    Picture
    ​Sybil is a certified expert on Marriage.com.

    Archives

    May 2020
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018

    Categories

    All
    ADD/ADHD
    Adolescents
    Behavior
    Business
    Child Counseling
    Child Therapy
    COVID
    Gratitude
    Networking
    Parenting
    Play Therapy
    Private Practice
    Problem Solving
    Teens
    Tweens

    RSS Feed

Arvada Therapy Solutions Logo
​5460 Ward Road, Suite 110
Arvada, CO 80002
303-519-0620
Email
10200 W 44th  Suite 136 Ave Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

217 E. 7th Ave
​Denver, CO 80203
Play (Child) Therapy
Teen Counseling
Individual Therapy for Adults
Family and Couples Counseling
Group Therapy
Supervision and Consultation
​Safe and Sound Protocol
Low Cost Counseling
Workshops and Seminars
Fees
Contact
Blog
Copyright Arvada Therapy Solutions, PLLC 2022. All Rights Reserved.