Online Counselling & Support Services
There is still time to register for my online parent course, Supporting your child with Anxiety! Please note that there are a few date changes. I’ve moved the start date forward by one week and changed the Tuesday sessions to Monday sessions.
If you are interested in registering for this course, click here.
At the halfway point of the summer, we may start to see our young ones begin to anticipate the start of the school year. We may have noticed some changes in their behaviours while being around them more often during the summer. Are they showing early signs of anxiety? Are they worried about things that we may not understand?
Anxiety in childhood is a normal and necessary emotion. It allows our children to make sense of the world and find ways to navigate through difficult or challenging situations. But sometimes, as parents, we may not know how to support them.
I am very excited to be hosting my first set of online workshops for parents of children who may be exhibiting signs of anxiety. This is a 5-part series and will take place weekly for 1.5 hours from the comfort of your own home. I will be facilitating an informative and interactive program to help parents find different ways to support their child and answer any questions that may arise about the topics introduced.
For more information, click here.
I am beyond honoured to be a Trainer in this amazing program again! For more information or if you would like to register, please visit www.tinalackner.com!
This program was life-changing for me and I would love to share this experience with other Children’s Mental Health and Academic Professionals!
I am so excited to be involved in such an amazing program. As a former student of the TIYAMA program (Therapeutically Integrated Yoga And Mindfulness Approach), I learned so many amazing tools that I use both personally and professionally. This program has added another layer to the services that I can provide my younger clients and I am honoured to join Tina as a Faculty member.
For more information or to register, please visit www.tinalackner.com.
Taking early bird registration for this new online parenting group hosted by myself and my colleague, Uresha Salgado.
To register or for more information, feel free to contact me here.
We completed the first month of 2021…how has it been for you so far? On a positive note, the Covid-19 vaccinations have been rolled out, the second lockdown is ALMOST behind us, and winter is more than halfway finished. For those who committed to New Year’s resolutions, you are probably still motivated to do what you planned to do…if so, GOOD FOR YOU! And, before the month is finished, Happy Black History Month!
February is also the month that hosts the day of love and affection – Valentine’s Day. For some, this day symbolizes the celebration of the emotional, intellectual and physical connections that we have with our significant others – our partners, our children, our dearest friends. For others, this day can be more challenging – a day to remind us of the “love” that may not be present in our lives, or the relationships that are no longer here, leading us to experience feelings of grief, loss, and loneliness. Some of us don’t acknowledge this day and view it as a commercialized event characterized by an influx of jewelry, clothing and car commercials that identify these material items as observable measures of just how much you are cared for.
To complicate things further, we are in the midst of a second lockdown in Ontario, which means more restrictions on social contact, closures of venues that would be the site of some celebrations, limits to social gatherings and, in some areas, stay at home orders. This makes things difficult every day, not just on February 14th, but nonetheless, it exacerbates the isolation during a day that focuses on the human need for social connection.
Self-compassion is so important during this time because we are always in the presence of one person who is capable of showing ourselves love and affection. Hint: I am referring to yourself.
Let me be clear: this article is not just for those who are struggling through this time. Self-compassion is one of those no-need-to-explain practices that can be used by everyone.
Continue reading “Be Kind and Give Love to Yourself: Using Self-Compassion This Valentine’s Day”
The jury is split among the clients I have been seeing. The holiday season is either cancelled or it’s going to be celebrated in an excessive and overly abundant manner. One thing is common though: it is definitely going to be a holiday season that will be different from all holiday seasons. This pandemic has taken a lot from many of us and our hopes that a sense of normalcy would return before the end of the year have come and gone with little progress. Many of us have returned to “lockdown” and most of us still face restrictions limiting interactions with people outside of our family home. And being with family, friends and loved ones is something so important to some of us during this time of the year, right?
So, in response to the onset of a pandemic holiday, I put my planning hat on and started to think of other creative ways to enjoy this season with my family. I thought I would share these ideas with you.
Continue reading ““Happy” Holidays? Finding creative ways to stay festive during a pandemic holiday season”
(Also posted on Instagram and Facebook pages)
Welcoming another week!
I’ve used my Yoga Bear to help today! He can do pretty much any pose, which helps me when I have to show a pose that I can’t physically do myself. This week, we used the bear to show the steps needed to get into our pose, rather than moving our body parts all at once. After I had the boys try putting the bear into pose, they attempted to do it themselves.
So this week we are practicing the Half Squat Pose, Elephant breathing, and reminding ourselves that we can do anything we set our minds to.
Start by standing with feet wide apart, toes facing forward. Place your hands on your hips. Bend forward, placing fingertips or hands on the floor. Bend right leg, placing knee above the ankle. (Toes should still face forward) Straighten the left leg (for an added stretch, point left toes up). Relax your neck. And don’t forget to BREATHE. Do the same movements using the opposite leg.
Stand straight and place your hands in front of you and interlace your fingers (this is your trunk!) Take a long breath in while raising your hands above your head. Exhale through your mouth while forcefully swinging your hands down between your legs. For added fun, exhale and make a sound like an elephant 
!
Repeat a couple of times.
What is something that you want to learn to do?
How can you learn to do this?
What support do I need to do this?
Hope this helps you start the week as well 🙂 Have a wonderful week!
With all the uncertainty in the world, our children require as much structure and predictability as possible. They also need positivity and peace. I’ve made the difficult decision to keep my son’s home for at least the first part of the school year and I understand that this can be stressful for them – they won’t be seeing their friends, they won’t be familiar with the new learning environment and format, etc.
In my ongoing training in mindfulness (for adults and children), I thought that I would implement some of these strategies with my boys to start their day on the right foot. This activity should not take more than 10 minutes, the first day being the most difficult as they will be learning different techniques and may need some more support and instruction.
Continue reading “Start your child’s school day mindfully: An interactive and easy activity to set up at home”Through this pandemic, I’ve learned a few things about myself. First, there is always time to do the things I want, even though it seems like there is not enough time in the day. Second, in difficult times, it’s important to find “silver linings”. And if there doesn’t seem to be any, make them for yourself.
So, while my children return to the virtual classroom this Fall, I have decided to join them! I have just enrolled in two certificate programs to help me learn more about myself, as well as, help meet the needs of my clients. I am super excited about this new venture because, for all of those who know me, I love learning new things.
I am holding myself accountable with this entry, but putting it out there in the universe and committing myself to follow through and achieve my goal. So hopefully by Spring of 2021, I will be certified in “Children’s Grief and Bereavement” through Sick Kids Hospital and Hincks-Dellcrest and “Foundations of Applied Mindfulness Meditation” through the University of Toronto. Let’s do this…
Cindy Nash Counselling