Spero Group Counseling

03/12/2026

We are excited to share that we will be offering Play Therapy trainings this summer! 🎉

There is something truly special about learning, growing, and connecting, and we can’t wait to host clinicians who are passionate about supporting children through the power of play. These trainings will provide meaningful discussion and practical tools you can bring directly into your work with children and families.

In person at Spero Group LLC and web options available.

03/12/2026

Here's a reminder that your mental health and well-being deserves consistent care, not just when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

03/05/2026

When it comes to taking care of your mental health and well-being, it's important to remember that it's okay to not be okay.

03/01/2026

March 1 is Self-Injury Awareness Day.

Self-harm is often a coping mechanism for deep emotional distress — not a “phase,” not attention-seeking, and not something to dismiss.

Recovery isn’t linear. It takes patience, understanding, and support.

Today, let’s:
• Listen without judgment
• Speak openly about mental health
• Encourage seeking professional help
• Remind people that scars don’t define them

Awareness saves lives. Compassion changes them. 💜

02/27/2026

This month's book features Mallory Wetzel, a local author and colleague with play therapy training. These are Mallory's real experiences, retold with "imagination and a playful twist."

Bibliotherapy uses literature to help children process emotions, cope with challenges, and build empathy in a safe, indirect way. By identifying with characters facing similar struggles, kids feel less isolated, gain coping strategies for anxiety or trauma, and improve emotional regulation. It also strengthens parent-child bonds and acts as a gentle communication starter.

Key benefits of bibliotherapy with children include:

Validation and Reduced Isolation: Stories featuring characters with similar struggles (e.g., divorce, loss, anxiety) help children realize they are not alone and normalize their feelings.

Emotional Expression and Regulation: Books help children identify, name, and manage big emotions.

Development of Coping Skills: Children can learn, model, and practice problem-solving strategies through a character's journey.
Improved Communication: It provides a "safe distance" to talk about sensitive or difficult subjects.

Increased Empathy and Perspective: Reading exposes children to different viewpoints, fostering understanding of others' experiences.

Enhanced Bonding: Reading together allows parents/caregivers to connect, support, and understand their child's inner world.

Bibliotherapy is used to address issues like grief, trauma, social-emotional development, and daily stressors.
--

02/07/2026

This month’s staff spotlight is happening during International Play Therapy Week! Dr. Jessica Cosby is a licensed professional counselor and a registered play therapist-supervisor. She has provided clinical counseling services in Clarion County for over twenty years. Jessica pursued an interest in play therapy early in her career, bringing developmentally and culturally sensitive care to children in the community. Later, she completed the training, supervision, and experience necessary to earn credentials as a play therapist supervisor.

In 2021, Jessica co-led a training program to expand play therapy services in Clarion County, supported by System of Care federal grant funding. She has been a Pennsylvania Association for Play Therapy (PA APT) board member for 10 years and received the PA APT Guerney Award for promoting play therapy in Western PA. More recently, Jessica joined Spero Group, LLC, with her play therapy colleagues to support Spero’s school-based clinical mental health therapy program and will continue to provide clinical care to the community. Spero Group will be offering play therapy training to community providers as early as June 2026. This week, Jessica presented a live webinar co-sponsored by Carlow University on Eventbrite titled Social Justice in Play Therapy.

01/30/2026

Your compassion can change a day - or a life. 💜 Reach out. Listen. Show up. Be the reason someone feels loved today. And if you need someone to talk to, you can call, text, or chat 988 anytime.

01/22/2026

Comfort is expensive. It costs you progress. When things feel easy, nothing is being built. You’re just repeating what you already know works. That repetition might feel productive, but it locks your capacity in place. Every meaningful step in my career forced me into environments where I didn’t...

01/14/2026

⭐️Staff Spotlight⭐️

As a Licensed Professional Counselor with a background as a Physical Therapist Assistant for sixteen years, Amy brings a unique, integrative perspective to mental health care. Her clinical approach is grounded in a strong belief in the mind–body connection, recognizing how emotional experiences are held and expressed through the body. She is trained in EMDR and specializes in somatic-based mental health therapy, helping clients process trauma, reduce distress, and build resilience by working with both physiological and psychological responses. This holistic framework allows her to support healing that is not only cognitive, but deeply embodied and sustainable. Each client is viewed as a whole person rather than focusing on symptoms alone, recognizing how factors such as stress, sleep, nutrition, movement, relationships, and life experiences influence emotional well-being. By integrating evidence-based counseling techniques with awareness of physical health and lifestyle patterns, balance, resilience, and self-awareness can be parts of long term wellness.

12/05/2025

Did you know that box breathing can help to regulate your nervous system?!
The structured rhythm indicates safety to the brain and increases our ability to tolerate stress.

How does box breathing help our mental health...
1. Reduce stress and anxiety
2. Improves emotional regulation
3. Grounds you in the present moment
4. Improves focus and clarity
5. Helps with sleep
6. Builds resilience over time

Box breathing helps regulate your autonomic nervous system. The structured rhythm signals safety to the brain, slows physiological arousal, and increases your ability to tolerate stress or anxiety. 🔸It shifts the body from a stress response (fight-or-flight) into a relaxation response (rest-and-d...

11/20/2025

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mental-health-smiles_burnout-isnt-caused-by-working-too-much-activity-7394993677170999296-REDE?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=android_app&rcm=ACoAABTvjN8Brm0LVJTWoNVnlJMOqdyF7zEWSQY&utm_campaign=copy_link

Burnout isn't caused by working too much. It's caused by neglecting yourself while working. Most people don’t burn out because of the workload. They burn out because they forget to care for themselves while they work. Here’s the truth: Your brain needs fuel, space, and kindness — just like you...

11/01/2025

Monthly Staff Book Recommendation!
This months book is recommended by Angie Shirey, LCSW

Written by marriage and family therapist Dr. ROBERT Glover, A Nice Guy is a man who believes he is not okay just the way he is. The nice guy is convinced he needs to become what he thinks others want him to be so his needs get met. Dr. Glover shared that common Nice Guy patterns may include difficulty setting boundaries, being dishonest, codependency, people please, avoiding conflict, being passive-aggressive and having unsatisfied relationships.
Through this book, Dr. Glover has helped many men process from nice guy syndrome. Through reading the book reading this book individuals will learn how to release toxic shame, soothe anxiety, face their fears, connect with others and experience success withing their work and career.