You can’t even put the past two years into words. You made it through the holidays. The disappointments, the stress, the grief. While you may or may not be looking forward to the New Year, you may be wondering if it’s time to address your anxiety. Perhaps you’ve been riding the waves up and down for a while.

You can feel the nervous energy all a buzz. It’s on the freeway, in the parking lots, and those lines at the store. You can’t avoid it online either. Anxiety around the holidays is real. As a therapist, I know that for some people, the holidays just feel overwhelming.

The therapist you choose, whether in traditional talk therapy or in art therapy, is a big factor in what therapy sessions will be like. That is because the basis for any mental health treatment begins with a therapeutic relationship. Additionally, a therapist’s training, experiences, and theoretical orientation will also impact what a session is like.

The thought of making friends with any kind of anxiety can feel a bit like making friends with the neighborhood bully when you were a kid. Anxiety says untrue things to you and can threaten all kinds of harm. If you struggle with anxiety and you suspect it may be impacting how you parent, you may be right.

Anxiety is a normal human experience. Perhaps that is why many people search daily for effective ways to cope with anxiety for themselves and their children.

Perhaps, you have been searching for ways to cope with your anxiety for years.

It’s common for new moms to struggle with their emotions when they bring their babies home, including struggles with anxiety. I am excited to feature Encinitas therapist, Becky Stuempfig in my blog. Becky is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, with advanced training in postpartum health, who loves working with new moms who feel overwhelmed with their new role and struggling with the fears that often accompany parenting an infant.

While the end of school is not here yet, I know if you're a parent you’re beginning to think about summer, and so is your child. There are so many things to do in Encinitas, and so much beauty to enjoy. However, the logistics of summer can really cause some uneasiness as you survey the calendar.

Many therapists use more expressive methods in therapy, including Art Therapists. People of all ages benefit greatly from these methods. For children, with less developed cognitive abilities, expressive therapies can compensate for any limitations of “talk therapy”. For anyone, especially parents who are seeking to understand more about Art Therapy I wanted to share three common misconceptions.

This past year can be described in many ways, but one thing that stands out is the undeniable losses. Many different types of losses. Loss of normalcy, loss of physical contact, loss of income and jobs, loss of large, gathered celebrations for weddings, anniversaries, and graduations. The loss of hopes and dreams, and the loss of many lives.

When I think of children who are quieter, I think about clients in the past and how art therapy helped them. While I cannot tell you their confidential stories, or share pictures of their artwork, their images created in art therapy still come to my memory. Powerful images.

For several years, I worked as a Marriage & Family Therapist and a Registered Art Therapist in San Diego with an organization that provides emergency safe housing for people escaping intimate partner violence. Most are women with children. I want to share a few things that I learned from those brave families that may help you as you are dealing with a stay-at-home order or “sheltering in place” with your children.

You may be caught up in worry. Your kids may feel isolated. We all have less contact with the world. Seeing people in a zoom call is flat, and you can’t hug them. Masked people can’t see one another’s smile. With a mask, I can’t smell the lemons or the bakery items at the store. It all makes it more difficult to be grounded and present in this moment.

As an Art Therapist in San Diego, I sometimes get asked if Art Therapy is the same as attending art classes. There are several differences, but the main distinction is when you meet with an Art Therapist, you are meeting with a licensed mental health professional. When you attend an art class, you are going to meet with a teacher. The teacher, who may hold a degree in art or education, typically is not a psychotherapist or counselor.

Right now there is so much our children don’t understand about what is going on, but as parents, we can make a difference in how our children remember this time in history. So, while we are being told to cover our faces for the common good, here are my three tips, offered with an abundance of care.