Tag Archive for: counseling

Lola the Therapy Dog

A Life of Service: Lola’s Retirement From Animal-Assisted Therapy

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While in graduate school earning my degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, I spent a semester working as a student counseling intern at a psychiatric hospital.  Also at that hospital worked a Therapy Dog named Brinkley who offered a sweet and calming presence to the patients with whom he worked. Brinkley was the first Therapy Dog I’d met. While I had known of working Service Dogs, I had never met a Therapy Dog and was excited to learn about the difference between the two and something called Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT). Learn More...

“Hello…I’m looking for a Feelings Teacher for my children.”

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A parent recently called and said she was looking for a “Feelings Teacher” for her two children.  I explained that this was not necessarily a title I’d been given before, but that perhaps I could help.  While discussing what exactly her goals would be for bringing her children in to see a “Feelings Teacher,” she identified what I would call typical treatment goals for counseling with children: Learn More...

Therapist offering counseling

A Space for Healing: The Perspective of a Play Therapist*

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As a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate in practice at Creative Family Counseling in Louisville, KY, I work mostly with kids, teens and their families. The pandemic has changed many aspects of what therapy looks like; I practice via telehealth with many clients, conducting sessions with them via video conferencing. I also meet with younger clients (ages 4-12) in-person at the office while we are masked because meeting via telehealth with that age group is, typically, too challenging for them to engage in in a meaningful way longterm.  Learn More...

Nugget, therapy dog at Creative Family Counseling in Louisville, KY

Nugget’s Knowledge: A Check In with Nugget the Therapy-Dog-in-Training

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Creative Family Counseling is a group practice in Louisville, Kentucky that specializes in working with families that include young children and teens.  The practice offers many types of experiential and creative interventions to help young clients engage and participate in therapy in developmentally appropriate ways.  Known in town as the “practice with the dogs,” Creative Family Counseling has become somewhat known for offering Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) with Certified Therapy Dogs as one of the creative ways to engage family members of all ages.  While AAT has been limited in the last few months due to the Pandemic, the practice’s two Therapy Dogs – Lola and Archer – and one Therapy Pup in training – Nugget – continue to be a source of joy for clients, even if from a distance.  Marriage and Family Therapist Associate Leslie Cashion and her Therapy Partner, Nugget sat down for a little checkin to give us an update on Nugget’s certification training as a Therapy Dog as well as some other topics such as working from home.

Leslie: (calling from her office chair) Nugget, c’mere buddy! I know you really want to finish tearing up that new dog stuffy to spread fluff all over the office, but Lacey wants to hear about how life is going as a 1+ yr old Golden Retriever therapy dog in training.

Nugget: (bounding in from the other room, enthusiastically leaping on Leslie’s lap) LACEY! I love Lacey, she’s Lola’s mom and is always ready to pet my soft head or give me amazing treats! Learn More...

Therapist offering counseling at Creative Family Counseling located in Louisville, KY

The Therapeutic Specialty of EMDR: What is it and how is it used?

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While Creative Family Counseling offers many different Specialties for clients, depending on their interests and therapeutic needs, EMDR Therapy is a specialty that many people have questions about when first introduced to it.  For this reason, I sat down with my colleague, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Dawn Pendleton, who is Certified in EMDR. As a seasoned clinician with over 20 years in the field, Dawn has used numerous types of approaches to therapy, including EMDR.   She states that her goal is to facilitate healing for her clients in as short an amount of time as possible, which is why she’s so passionate about her use of EMDR.  In this interview, Dawn gave some background on this therapeutic tool, discussed how and why it is used, and suggested who might benefit from EMDR Therapy. Learn More...

Teletherapy

Creative Family Counseling Offers Online Counseling and Support in Response to Pandemic Covid-19 While Businesses are Closed to Shelter at Home

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As Kentuckiana families prepare for another 4-6 weeks of being “Healthy at Home,” the Team of Marriage and Family Therapists at Creative Family Counseling has been busy finding creative ways to provide support for existing clients and their families as well as the community at large.  Effective this week, all Therapists at Creative Family Counseling are able to provide Online Counseling Services and various kinds of support through secure Telehealth options. Learn More...

Archer provides Animal-Assisted Therapy at Creative Family Counseling

A Chat with Archer: Being a Therapy Dog at Creative Family Counseling

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A Chat with Archer: Being a Therapy Dog at Creative Family Counseling

Creative Family Counseling is known for offering creative interventions to help clients and their families experience change and healing.  Animal-Assisted Therapy is one of the unique modalities of therapy available for clients of our practice.  Rebecca Street, LMFT and a sweet Doberman Pinscher named Archer are one of the two animal-assisted therapy teams at Creative Family Counseling.  I sat down with them for a quick interview about the amazing work they offer to their clients. Learn More...

Toddler Meltdowns

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As a parent of a toddler, this article titled “Toddlers, Meltdowns and Brain Development: why parents need to ditch traditional discipline” on www.RaisedGood.com really struck me.  Here’s an excerpt:

“…remember a tantrum is not a reflection on you. Let’s repeat that; your child’s tantrum is not a reflection on you or your parenting. What is a reflection on you is your response to the tantrum. Can you find the courage to disable generational imprinting and cultural expectations and be the calm in your child’s storm? You cannot control another person, but you can choose your response.” Learn More...

Sleep Myths Debunked!

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As a Therapist, I often try to talk with clients about the importance of quality sleep and work with them to find ways to improve their sleep habits.  After all, sleep is responsible for so much of our physical, emotional and mental health!  Oftentimes people come to see me because of difficulty managing a negative emotion such as anger, fear, and/or sadness.  It seems many people don’t realize how much credit we should give to Sleep for our very own emotion regulation abilities! CNN published a SUPER helpful article (“Wake up, people: You’re fooling yourself about sleep, study says”) earlier this week about sleep myths, which I found really helpful.  Please take a look: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/health/sleep-myths-facts-study/index.html Learn More...