By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC
​Private Practice Consultation
Private Practice Workshops & Seminars

If you have had an agency job, you rarely get to pick the clients you see and there is typically a huge range of presenting problems and clients that you work with.  This is great training and allows you to work with a huge range of clients, building your skills and confidence.  It seems like having this diversity of skills and experience will be a significant advantage when starting a private practice -- you could see almost anybody.  Do you really need to have a niche?  Isn’t it an advantage to be able to take on anyone in your practice? While it is helpful to have confidence in what you do and your abilities to work with a diverse population, there are some disadvantages to opening a practice that sees everybody. 

It is likely that you already understand the importance in setting goals to have success in your practice.  It is also likely that you have heard the term SMART goals.  If you have not, the acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Focused/Oriented.  This acronym sets a guideline for creating goals that can work.  And while it is a great map, there are a couple of other important factor when creating goals for an authentic and successful practice (or any other endeavor you are working on).

With the end of the year approaching, it is a great time to check in with yourself and your business.  What are your wins?  What have been your challenges?  How was this year different from the one you set out to have?  

In what ways do you go about checking in with your 2018?  You can crunch the numbers and check out if your practice has made a profit.  You can look at your current caseload to determine if you are full or not.  I don’t know about you all, but when I was first asked to review my year, I couldn’t remember anything important regarding my business earlier than the summer.  Sure, I remembered bits and pieces, but not enough to have a thorough review of my year.  For me it is helpful to look at the financial health of my practice, however the numbers do not tell me all I need to know about my year.  Some months may have been higher revenue while some were lower, but what factors made the difference?  Are there other things that are important to you within your work besides your bottom line?  So, while it is important to look at your practice at the end of the year, it is just as important if not more important to check in with your practice more frequently.  While I do set yearly and quarterly goals, I have also chosen to check in with myself and my business each month.  I am so glad that I did.

The holiday season is upon us.  A time for family and friends, too much food and presents.  Many parents I know worry about how much is too much when it comes to presents and gift giving.  Parents buy many many toys that are sometimes tossed to the side and not used in the ways that you hoped.  This can bring up feelings of frustration and resentment and may make you wonder what your child is grateful for, if anything.  If you ask your child what they are grateful for, many times you will hear that they are grateful for their tablets or phones, toys, maybe their house or if you’re lucky they might say you or their family.  While these are definitely things to be grateful for, the ideas of gratefulness or gratitude are much bigger than the things we possess.  How can we teach our children about the power of gratitude?

By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC

Yep, school is coming.  Most likely, your summer schedule has become more lax and free-spirited.  Vacations, inconsistent meal times, staying up late, and sleeping in are all some of the perks of summer vacation.  As school approaches, parents fear the process of getting their kids back into a set and structured schedule.  This is difficult for almost all children and parents alike.  One of the major struggles I hear during the transition time of starting school in the fall is how to set a morning routine.  For children with ADD and ADHD, structure in the mornings can help set the day and help them feel some control over their busy minds and bodies.  

By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC

​If you have a child with either ADHD or ADD or if you are diagnosed with one, you know how difficult organization can be.  Many times it seems that there is a trail of mess and destruction following your child.  You can see the path they took while changing their clothes or while taking off their backpack, shoes, and jacket after coming home from school.  Their folders and binders explode with week-old, half-completed assignments when you open them and their planners have yet to be opened.  There is rarely a spot of carpet that can be seen on the floor of their bedroom and you think, “No wonder they can’t ever find their soccer cleats.”  If your child struggles with executive function, they will probably also struggle with cleaning their room and keeping their school work organized among other things.  As frustrating as this can be, it is our job as parents to find strategies to help.

By Sybil Cummin, MA, LPC

​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?”

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

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?