by Harper West | Dec 1, 2024 | Parenting
As a psychotherapist who uses play therapy with young children, I often get questions about why I do this. I explain that play is the language of children. It is obvious that children cannot come to therapy and discuss in depth with insight the inner workings of their...
by Harper West | Nov 19, 2024 | Parenting, Shame
Many child emotional and behavioral problems are due to the child not yet learning healthy ways to manage experiences of inadequacy and failure and the associated emotions of guilt, regret, and shame. These are difficult experiences and emotions, so children...
by Harper West | Apr 12, 2024 | Parenting
I’m sure you’ve seen videos of those amazing sheepherding dogs, usually Border Collies, who masterfully urge flocks of sheep into fields and pens. These dogs seem to have an instinctive understanding of the best way to encourage the sheep to move in the direction they...
by Harper West | Mar 13, 2024 | Parenting
When I was a child in the ‘60s and ‘70s I grew up being very active — sledding and ice skating every day in the winter, camping and hiking with my family, and playing softball on the vacant lot. But I wasn’t a competitive athlete, largely because this was pre-Title IX...
by Harper West | Dec 22, 2023 | Emotional Intelligence, Emotions, Parenting
Carlson’s therapy sessions often start the same way. He comes in loaded with energy and talking a mile a minute. He uses the chair less to sit in, but more as a climbing apparatus. Sure, he’s a 7-year-old boy and they often are energetic, but this behavior is next...
by Harper West | Dec 14, 2023 | Parenting
I confess that I am old enough to remember when there were no video games. I remember when Pong, Space Invaders and early Mario Brothers arrived, but I never played them because I found them tedious, predictable and annoying in their pinging and zapping. Conversing...
