Stepping Stones Psychology

18/08/2022

The social hierarchy of high school can be brutal. What drives it and how can we help our kids evolve beyond it?

07/08/2021

Developing empathy in children of any age is vital. But how do you do it and why do tweens and teens find it difficult? Includes 10 useful strategies.

04/06/2021

19/09/2020

Denver’s new Support Team Assistance Response program launched on June 1, and instead of police, it sends a team comprised of a mental health professional and a paramedic to respond to 911 calls that are non-violent and don't threaten public safety.
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As of a week ago, they'd responded to 350 calls, none of which required calling the police for backup. Their goal is to connect people, who most often are experiencing an unmet mental or physical need with the services they need — and free up the local police to respond to calls that need them.
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The STAR van has arrived on scene in response to: a woman changing her clothes in an alley because she didn't have anywhere else to (911 was called for indecent exposure), a man setting up a tent near someone's house (911 was called for trespassing), people experiencing suicidal thoughts, or even people just acting a little strange.
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STAR had been in the works for years, and builds off a co-responder program Denver already had in place, which since 2016 has paired police officers with mental health professionals to respond to calls which they suspect might need mental health services.
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“It’s the future of law enforcement, taking a public health view on public safety. We want to meet people where they are and address those needs and address those needs outside of the criminal justice system," Denver police Chief Paul Pazen told the .
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This is really good news, and the success of the pilot program in Denver gives us hope for the future of public health and safety in the U.S.
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These types of programs do require funding — for mental health professionals, paramedics, logistics, services to connect people to, etc. When we consider what the future of policing in the U.S. looks like, reallocating funds to those programs and services is a way we can be the good for our communities.

09/09/2020

15/08/2020

Mums who have girls. There may be times when you want to ‘chat’ more than your daughter does. You might be dreaming of cozy, intimate conversations while she might be dreaming of going to her friends house for a sleepover. You have a difference in priorities, and needs.

I can't tell you how developmentally normal it is for our teens to push away from us. SO normal. I hope these few tips give you a little insight into the mind of teenagers, and how best to work with them.

1. Recognise the need that YOU have. Name it.

2. There is an energy attached to our emotional needs that isn't easy to be around. Deliberately dial it down.

2. Stop asking leading questions (for at least a few days). While you might think you are showing interest and trying to connect, she may be feeling interrogated.

3. Remind yourself that her quest for independence is developmentally normal. She is looking for her needs to be met outside of the family. You are looking inward. Crozy chats in coffee shops are more likely to be enjoyed once she is older. You have time.

4. Start making statements which imply, “I get you, even though you are changing.” Try and repeat her internal dialogue to her. Let her know that you are still as wise and insightful as you have always been. More on this in tomorrow's post.

5. Lean into the silence. It’s loaded with meaning.

6. If you stay close enough for long enough the conversation you have been longing for is likely to happen.

09/08/2020

The APS has put together this guide for our communities on how to cope with feelings of loneliness, isolation and anxiety right now. It includes tips for staying connected, and info on how to seek help if you need it http://ow.ly/WCfz50AS6QJ

06/04/2020

To help parents interact constructively with their children during this time of confinement, these six one-page tips for parents cover planning one-on-one time, staying positive, creating a daily routine, avoiding bad behaviour, managing stress, and talking about COVID-19. Use them to your and your....

13/01/2020

is one of the fastest-growing areas of psychology.

Many researchers define emotion regulation as the ability to enhance or reduce your emotions as needed. It’s the ability to know what you’re feeling and what to do about it in any environment.

Kris Lee, Ed.D., behavioural science expert and a professor at Northeastern University, says it involves practicing impulse control. “When something happens, our ’s automatic response is to be reactive. When our , the small part of our brain that regulates fight or flight is set off, we have to avoid taking the bait of our raw emotional reactions that make us want to overreact.”

“When we buy time, we then have access to the frontal of our brains, where we have access to reasoning, better problem solving and . We never have to take the bait of primitive emotions,” she explains.

If you find yourself raising your voice or saying something snappish when you’re under stress, you’ve come face-to-face with the challenges of emotion regulation. People who struggle to regulate their emotions react to relatively mild negative events in an emotionally exaggerated manner; they often shout, scream, accuse, or blame those around them, or engage in passive-aggressive behaviours that can disrupt relationships at home or at work.

To control or regulate your emotions in any environment, you need to notice, monitor, recognise and adapt emotions optimally according to situations.

Naming your emotions tends to lessen the burden of being at your worst. It puts you in control. The physician and psychiatrist Dan Siegel refers to this practice as “name it to tame it.”

Noticing and naming emotions gives you the chance to take a step back and make choices about what to do with them. By noticing, you will be able to manage whatever is going on inside you more gracefully.

And David Rock, one of the thought leaders in the human-performance coaching field, argues that when you are experiencing significant internal tension and anxiety, you can reduce stress by up to 50 percent by noticing and naming your state. In his book, “Your Brain at Work”, David says, “Without this ability to stand outside your experience, without self-awareness, you would have little ability to moderate and direct your behaviour moment to moment.”

Once you get better at naming and taming your emotions, rehearse desired reactions according to your unique stressors and triggers. Emotions play an important role in adaptation. When you get better at regulating your emotions, you can relate better with your loved ones, colleagues at work, and friends. We all have different thresholds for coping, but you can continually and your capacity for reacting productively and positively in any environment.

https://medium.com/personal-growth/the-ability-to-regulate-your-emotions-is-quickly-becoming-the-premier-skill-of-the-21st-century-1f37889f9574