Helen Huston Therapy

02/02/2022

This says it all!

When professionals use words like "connection", the word seems to take on a deeper meaning and people seem to be confused. The word is thrown around as if it is a universal term of parenting that should be understood. The truth is connection is really quite simple, it is that feeling that you have with those special people in your life where you feel you are safe to be you and they love you not matter what. Connection is made up of those moments when you laugh so hard together that it feels like nobody else is around. When you can be upset and know that you won't be rejected. It is when you feel heard, understood and valued. No wonder it is so important.

More information on my blog:
https://www.thetherapistparent.com/post/what-is-connection-and-why-is-it-important

Link in bio

01/12/2021

30/11/2021

Brilliant advice

Studies show that when a child’s is being affected by or any strong emotion, the area of their brain responsible for logical thought and cognition (as well as memory!) is compromised as a result.

This is why we ‘can’t think straight’ when we’re upset, worried or under pressure. The frontal cortex or ‘higher thinking brain’ quite literally isn’t as accessible as it would be if your child was emotionally regulated.

If you want your child to start a nerve-wracking situation with their best foot forward, you need to be intentional in helping your child feel emotionally grounded. The process of helping your child work through their big emotions is not as overwhelming as it may sound. There are a few basic things you can do:

🎈 Stay connected— Having a safe landing place (not just physically but emotionally!) is crucial for your child to feel supported and confident in school. Finding at least a small amount of time each day to set down your phone to be present with your child will help to meet their need for love and attunement.

🎈Establish a ritual— Creating rituals to help ease separation anxiety is another wonderful way to keep the parent-child bond strong and provide a relational buffer for your child’s back to emotions. Some ideas for rituals that establish connection and bonding:
• Special handshake to use right before and after reconnecting
• Your child gets to pick a special meal for the night before the event
• Giving your child something of yours they can bring with them and use as a physical comfort (ie scarf, bracelet, hair tye etc)
• Create a mantra your child can repeat to give them confidence
• Go on a shopping date to prepare together
• Leave lunchbox notes for them to help them feel loved at lunch.

🎈 Give them a safe place to talk— As parents, we all fall into that the trap of talking way more than we listen when it comes to interacting with our child. Being listened to and feeling understood is deeply therapeutic for your child and plants essential seeds for raising an emotionally intelligent child.

🎈 Being intentional with preparation— Kids are concrete thinkers and need a little help when it comes to grasping complex subjects like scefules and timelines. There are lots of ways to make preparing fun and more concrete:
• Making a countdown calendar or paper chain
• Bring your child to get clothing, lunch groceries, supplies etc
• Role-playing scenarios such as lunchtime for younger kiddos
• Visiting the place, such as a classroom, ahead of time
• Reading books about the event to your child
and making a list of questions your child has about it
• Write a story with your child about the day.

🎈 Allow your child some control— A very powerful component of managing stress for humans is feeling some degree of agency or control over your life. Allowing your child to help with simple decisions such as outfits, backpack designs or what they want for lunch will go far to help them feel more secure in an overwhelming situation.

🎈 Be an encourager— Listen to your child’s concerns but seize opportunities to breathe confidence and excitement into conversations. Find out what their favorite parts of their day is and tell them the strengths you see developing in them as time passes.

The secret to an awesome time in independent situations starts with you. With a foundation of emotional intelligence and a strong parent-child relationship, you’ll be setting up your child for an excellent experience.

https://cstu.io/9270a5

28/11/2021

25/10/2021

“When pregnant, the cells of the baby migrate into the mothers bloodstream and then circle back into the baby, it’s called “fetal-maternal microchimerism”.⁠

For 41 weeks, the cells circulate and merge backwards and forwards, and after the baby is born, many of these cells stay in the mother’s body, leaving a permanent imprint in the mothers tissues, bones, brain, and skin, and often stay there for decades. Every single child a mother has afterwards will leave a similar imprint on her body, too.

Even if a pregnancy doesn't go to full term or if you have an abortion, these cells still migrate into your bloodstream.

Research has shown that if a mother's heart is injured, fetal cells will rush to the site of the injury and change into different types of cells that specialize in mending the heart.

The baby helps repair the mother, while the mother builds the baby.

How cool is that?

This is often why certain illnesses vanish while pregnant.

It’s incredible how mothers bodies protect the baby at all costs, and the baby protects & rebuilds the mother back - so that the baby can develop safely and survive.

Think about crazy cravings for a moment. What was the mother deficient in that the baby made them crave?

Studies have also shown cells from a fetus in a mothers brain 18 years after she gave birth. How amazing is that?”

If you’re a mom you know how you can intuitively feel your child even when they are not there….Well, now there is scientific proof that moms carry them for years and years even after they have given birth to them.

I find this to be so very beautiful.

01/10/2021

Out today is my first book inspired by my work with children. Published by Olympia UK and available at bookdepository.com
Big shout out to the amazing Stu Mclellan, illustrator for this book and Sam Forde for giving the book a title!

https://olympiapublishers.com/authors/helen-huston/

https://www.bookdepository.com/Mr-Worry-Tackles-Rugby-Helen-Huston/9781839341908?ref=grid-view&qid=1633048592642&sr=1-1

Helen Huston Therapy provides consultation for parents and counselling for children and teenagers to facilitate healthy emotional development and to help remedy difficult, problematic behaviours.

19/09/2018

27/07/2018

Wonderful tips.

Some good and easy tips....