University Park Counseling & Testing Center, PLLC

11/13/2025

11/11/2025

Today, we pause to honor and thank all who have served our country with courage and dedication.

We are especially proud of our own team member, Ayla Jenson Naughton, who serves as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Your commitment to caring for others, both in uniform and in our community, is deeply inspiring.

To all veterans: thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your strength.

11/04/2025

We are excited to share that our own Dr. Balch recently authored a chapter in another book! This updated resource was written to help therapists better understand and work with children. We are so proud of Dr. Balch for contributing to a book that reflects the care and dedication she brings to her work every day!

10/29/2025

Most of us have our go-to coffee order… but have you ever wondered what it says about how you handle stress, recharge, or face the day? Our latest blog takes a lighthearted (but insightful!) look at how your cup of coffee connects to your coping style.

Coffee is more than just a caffeine fix. It is a ritual, a comfort, and, believe it or not, a small reflection of your personality. Whether you’re a latte lover or an espresso enthusiast, your go-to coffee might reveal something about how you cope with life’s challenges.

10/28/2025

It’s that time of year again, Halloween. The holiday season brings fun parties, yummy candy, cool costumes, creative home decorations, […]

10/27/2025

We can learn how to do this at any time in our lives. Lisa defines it as emotional intelligence! ✨ or the capacity to BE with.

But be with what?…

The capacity to be with our sensations, our feelings, and our thoughts that arise in any given moment. What we're describing is our capacity to regulate. Our ability to connect or to regulate in the midst of whatever experience we’re having.

It’s not about being calm. It’s not about having a particular experience in our feelings, thoughts, or body.

It is about being able to be with any and all experiences that arise in any given moment.

It’s our capacity to stay connected to ourselves in frustration, joy, sorrow, anxiety, confusion, overwhelm, anger….the list goes on.

And it’s one of the most important and hardest things to develop in ourselves.

Take a moment and think about an emotion that is typically challenging for you to experience. When this emotion arises in you- are you able to connect to yourself in the midst of it? Or do you want to run away from it, ignore it, push the feeling down, or pretend you aren’t having the feeling? What do you do?…

Whatever you do is not right or wrong; it’s simply information to help you get curious about your areas for growth as you’re developing your own capacity, expanding your windows of tolerance, and developing greater and greater levels for your own emotional intelligence.

Because when we learn how to connect to ourselves rather than expecting ourselves to calm down (which is a hard thing in and of itself), we learn some key things…

…We learn that we’re okay in the midst of our experiences. We don’t have to run away. Or that even when things feel challenging, we can still move toward that intensity. It allows us to expand our window of tolerance and engage in life at a deeper level because we get to experience a wider range of the fullness of emotional activity – to feel more alive, more connected with life itself, more connected with our own body, and our own being.

This is also what we’re up to with kids – it’s not about calming them or ourselves. Instead we’re supporting children in learning how to be with any and all experiences that arise. And it’s this ability to connect to themselves that is the ultimate gift we give to the children we work with.

10/24/2025

In a world that’s always asking us to do more, mindfulness invites us to simply be. Even a few mindful moments each day can reduce stress, increase focus, and bring more peace into your routine. At UPC, we often encourage clients to use mindfulness as a tool for emotional balance and self-compassion.

10/23/2025

Positive Morning Affirmations for Kids 💛✨

10/22/2025

Training opportunity for mental health professionals!

Want new ways to help your clients strengthen executive functioning, social, and communication skills? Join us for this hands-on training full of practical strategies you can use right away.

Build skills. Boost confidence. Empower growth.

🔗 Register: https://www.universityparkcounseling.com/training

10/21/2025

Discipline isn’t about making your child obey it’s about helping them feel safe enough to choose what’s right.
When correction comes with connection, children don’t just listen… they grow.
Because love, not fear, is what truly shapes behaviour.

10/18/2025

We loved celebrating our 10 year anniversary with other professionals in the area! We only got a few pictures but we appreciate everyone who was able to join us!