Katherine Casey Voltz, LMFT

03/08/2023

Because its only Wednesday.

💜

12/13/2022

✨💫4 Tips for a Drama-Free Relationship💫✨
✨Try to manage any negative or damaging thoughts about your partner. Don’t repeatedly tell yourself that they are “lazy”, “irresponsible”, “holding you back”, etc.
✨Do random acts of kindness
✨Watch out for problematic alcohol or drug use. Excessive substance use can lead to you both saying things you may regret later.
✨Lead with empathy for calm, constructive conversations.

12/06/2022

✨💫for anyone that needs a reminder…even a bad day is just 24 hours.💫✨

11/29/2022

✨having a hard time navigating the world of online dating? Here’s some helpful tips to get you started✨

07/04/2022

05/24/2022

When tragic and difficult events happen in the news, it can be understandable hard for us to comprehend. While we may think our children have no sense or indication of the events being displayed on TV screens or discussed in the other room, the truth is they are more aware than we may like to think. So what do we do? How do we process the challenging events taking place in the world while still being there for our children? Here’s some tips…

In times of crisis, children want to know, "Who will take care of me?" Here are some tips to help reassure children during scary times.

05/16/2022

It happens. Maybe you’re in the middle of conversation, trying to solve a problem at work, and you feel it. That wave, that flash, that heat that is your body letting you know that you are pi**ed. But what do you do?
🤬Take Five: take a break! Take deep breaths, go for a walk, do what you need to do to calm your nervous system!
🤬Name Your Emotions: Describe your internal state without rationalizing or explaining your feelings.
🤬Recognize Your Triggers: understand that the intensity or degree of your anger may be exacerbated by your past. By being able to recognize and understand your triggers helps to become more aware in the future.

05/13/2022

Sometimes it’s obvious when we, or the people around us, are stressed out. Some signs are pretty obvious to us- we may have trouble sleeping or maybe we are losing our s**t over literally anything and everything. While these are pretty obvious signs, here are the not so obvious signs that we may be time to reevaluate our self-care…
🫠You’re forgetful.
🫠You’re finding it harder to concentrate.
🫠You’re neglecting your previous healthy habits, such as exercise routine or healthy eating/cooking because “there isn’t time” and instead opting for junk food.
🫠You’re putting off tasks that, in reality, take under 5 mins because it feels so overwhelming/more complicated than it actually is.
🫠Even fun activities feel like a hassle.
🫠You feel easily slighted and misunderstood.
🫠You are self-critical.
🫠Even when other people try to help you or try to support you, it feels like they don’t understand and they never get it right.

05/09/2022

❔✨Why? What? How?✨❔

❔”Why did my child act this way?”
When we keep in mind that our children are tiny humans with brains that are not fully developed, we can understand that often our children will “misbehave”, act out”, whatever you want to call it because they were hungry, tired, impulsive, angry, or didn’t have the proper means/skills to communicate their feelings.

❔”What lesson do I want to teach in this moment?”
Remember- the goal of discipline is to teach. What lesson is needed? Manners? Impulse control? Importance of sharing? The list goes on?

❔”How can I best teach this lesson?”
Consider your child’s age and development. Did natural consequences already teach the lesson for you? Is there a loving way you can approach the lesson? Ideally we’re looking to avoid a harsh, one size fits all consequence.

05/07/2022

05/02/2022

✨a child’s behavior, or misbehavior, is a signal to parents that a need is not being met. Next time your child does something that gets you thinking “Seriously?!” Try asking yourself, “What could they be needing right now? What is it that they are trying to tell me?”✨

04/28/2022

✨Without going into a long lesson on Child Development (which I can easily do) Autonomy and Independence are extremely important for children and their development of confidence of themselves and their self-esteem. So how can YOU help your child or children develop into the creative, independent, free-thinking individual(s) you want them to be?

✨Model Problem-Solving
When you are faced with a problem (that is of course appropriate for your child) think aloud. Let them hear how you work it out. Model how you would solve the problem and work through the stages with them listening.

✨Ask them what they think
(Again, this depends on the appropriateness of the problem) Ask your child what they think you should do. This gives them the chance to practice problem-solving skills, as well as help them feel valued.

✨Don’t give them the answers
As tempting as it might be to just tell them what they need to do, try to let them work out their problems on their own. You can guide them and offer suggestions, but as much as possible try and get them to think of what to do.

✨Let them experience Natural Consequences
When appropriate and not dangerous, let your child make their decision and experience the consequence. Such as not wearing a jacket when it’s a little chilly out. Later, if they mention that they were cold, you can talk about what they would like to do next time.

Problem-solving doesn’t just happen by chance. It is a skill that is developed and learnt through experience. By “fixing” things for our children, either to take away their discomfort or ease our own, we are inadvertently robbing them of the experience they need to build these skills. Remember, we are here to help them become independent, confident, and creative problem-solvers.