Harford Counseling

As the kiddos in our lives return to school, here are a few reminders to help manage emotions (ours and theirs)!

May is Mental Health Awareness month… let’s come together and fight the stigma!

The Harford Counseling team would like to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

As we embark on this holiday season, remember to take time for yourself and prioritize your mental health.

Today as we recognize World Mental Health Day…let’s take a few minutes to pause and prioritize our own mental health and the mental health of those around us.

Our therapists have some openings for in person and virtual sessions. If you’re interested, give us a call: 410.836.7332

On Monday, August 8th, we will be recording a special podcast episode on Mental Health. This will be a roundtable discussion with Mental Health Providers, Experts, and people that have experienced or are going through mental health issues.

Please do so below if you would like to submit a question or topic for us to answer or cover. If you don't want your name used, submit through messenger or email [email protected].

www.rageagainstaddiction.org

Register today for this invaluable training, visit: https://www.harfordcountymd.gov/formcenter/community-services-7/qpr-gatekeeper-training-for-su***de-prev-390

Thank you to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. You are not forgotten.

Some tips for talking to the children in your life after the devastating tragedy in Texas yesterday.

Keep it simple

Remind them that there are caring, supportive adults in their lives so they know they are not alone

Emphasize the positive connections they have with others

Reaffirm safety

Stick to routines

Make time to talk

If you are having a hard time and need additional support, we are hear to listen and provide direction. Give us a call at 1.800.NEXT.STEP or stop in any day 9 a-9 p. We’re here for you at the Klein Family Harford Crisis Center.

Happy Social Worker (and Counselor) Month to all the social workers and counselors who are making a difference in the lives of those you serve! Harford Counseling is grateful for the social workers and counselors on our clinical team and appreciate all you do for our clients and the community! You are true heroes!

10 Ways Childhood Trauma Manifests in Adult Relationships Our formative years pave the way for interactions in our later relationships.

Instead of… Try this!

Life is made up of good, bad, wonderful and even terrible moments. All of this makes our complex realities magical and transformative. Do your best to embrace the ebb and flow.

It’s okay to….

The Success Project will be holding a toiletry giveaway on Wednesday, June 16th in front of their Admin Office. The address is 101 Stansbury Court in Havre de Grace. Please share with those who may be in need.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. The effects of difficult childhood experiences, including child abuse, can absolutely linger into adulthood causing a variety of adverse physical and mental health repercussions. But there is hope--and there is help. If you or someone you know is living with the traumatic fallout of child abuse, the Klein Family Harford Crisis Center can help. Call 800-NEXT-STEP or visit harfordcrisiscenter.org.

What is "trauma"?

Trauma can be caused by any event(s) that was too fast... that happened too soon... or that was too much for someone's nervous system to process.😩

Trauma has very little to do with the actual event.
Two persons going through the same event can be impacted totally differently: one can be traumatised, the other not.😯

As Peter Levine (creator of Somatic Experiencing therapy) writes: trauma is NOT in the event itself, it's in our physiology, in our nervous system.
❤

When something goes too fast, is too soon or too much, the nervous system doesn't have the time to process the survival energies (fight, flight, freeze or fawn) mobilised in the moment, which creates a disregulation in the nervous system.

Our brain and body stays on alert, long after the event has finished.😣

⚡️ Our physiology can stay "on" in the fight or flight response: we're constantly "on the move", scanning our environment for danger, easily startled, quick to anger, unable to stay still, feeling anxious, etc.
👣 For children, it looks like they're hyperactive, aggressive, unable to sit down and focus on a task or at school, running away from situations, "fighting" us, etc.

⚡️ Or our physiology can stay "on" in the freeze response: we're "immobilised", feeling always tired, lacking motivation, simple daily tasks feel too hard, we're feeling depressed, etc.
👣 For children, it looks like they're "spaced out" or shut down, not stepping up for themselves, bored or not interested in anything, depressed, etc.

⚡️ Or our physiology can stay "on" in the fawn response: we try to appease all conflicts, we're over-nice, having a hard time standing up for ourselves or setting healthy boundaries.
👣 For children, it looks like they become silly or clown-is to make us laugh or they become "the perfect child", the good helper or the good girl.

⚡️ We can also go from one to the other: from being over-nice, to going in the fight response (yelling, angry) to shutting down in freeze (often in shame/guilt), during the day.


We don't choose this.
It's not "in your head".
You're not crazy.
It happened automatically in our nervous system.
❤


We often think of trauma as something big and scary, yet a disregulation in the nervous system can be caused by things or events that aren't that big or scary as well.

Trauma can be caused by an event that happened once, like an accident or a medical intervention: we call this "shock trauma".

And it can also be something that is seemingly small, but on-going, like growing up with parents who are stressed, scary or simply emotionally unavailable.
We call this "developmental trauma".

"Trauma is a fact of life, but it doesn't need to be a life sentence." (quote by Peter Levine).

Which means that while we all go through some kind of trauma in our life, it's important to remember that our bodies are made to heal.
We can support our nervous system towards better regulation and find more ease and flow in our daily life and our relationships.
💕

Drug overdoses an unintended consequence of COVID stimulus payments, experts say Substance abuse has surged across the U.S. as a result of coronavirus-induced isolation, but there is also a correlation between stimulus payments and overdoses, experts say.

If you are a mother or caregiver of a child with mental or behavioral health issues, join us for this 10-session Women's Circle program designed to help you create, restore and sustain healthy relationships. This FREE program begins Tuesday, March 9. To register, contact Augustine Cook at [email protected] or 443-504-4509.

We would love to share information for an upcoming webinar series with Kevin Hines. The events are a part of a wellness and su***de prevention initiative in partnership with BHA. The event is something that all jurisdictions are encouraged to participate and promote locally. The intent with this is to have an impact across Maryland!

Also, we are working on setting up panelists for the six additional sessions. Panelists will join with Kevin Hines for a live Q&A following the film screening. We are hopeful to be able to represent one or two individuals in each session that would be able to support sharing their experience and/or answering panel questions.

Future Sessions:
3/25: Youth/Adolescents
4/8: Aging Demographic
4/22: General Community
5/13: Impacted Families of Su***de and Mental Illness
5/27: People working from home
6/10: Men/The Male Perspective

Teen Dating Violence | Overview The Teen Dating Violence Special Feature provides access to federal and federally-funded publications and online resources related to teen dating violence.

This is a MUST read.

My cousin is a foster parent with five children. She and her husband recently adopted four out of the five siblings! It has been a joy to watch her in this journey - just like it was a joy watching her grow up.

I love how she ‘ keeps it real’ when it comes to living the life of fostering and adoption. She shared this on her personal page and I reached out to her to share it here because it is just that good and so very relevant:

Tonight, after 2.5 years of living here, my oldest son sat down at the table with this. He was about to chow down when I stopped him and asked what in the world he was doing.

He said, “I made myself dinner.”

“But it isn’t cooked. I can cook that you know,” she responded.

“Well, I wanted to eat something I used to eat a lot with my old family.”

So we sat down and I asked him to tell me about it. He said that they wouldn’t feed him due to being passed out (you can guess why) and he would have to make dinner for himself and his brothers (2 and 4 months when they came to us). He said that all the money they had would be spent on ci******es and other “fun things” and so he would find change in their van and would buy Ramen packets at the store down the street.

At SIX years old.

He said he didn’t know how to boil water, so he would eat it like this. And, he actually grew to like it. He would break it up for his sibling, and would try to make bottles for the baby. Again, y’all. Six years old.

So, I asked him to make me some. And, I sat there beside him and crunched it down with lots of water because it’s not great...and he just started talking about how the first time I made them Ramen, he wouldn’t eat it and I told him I remembered. He said it’s because it reminded him of his Ramen packets and he didn’t trust me. I couldn’t help but be astounded. These were big thoughts for a 9 year old kid.

He said he isn’t sad he’s not with his “old family” (his words) anymore, but that sometimes HE LIKES TO REMEMBER HOW STRONG HE HAD TO BE.

I write this so everyone knows, trauma isn’t healed quickly (sometimes never), an adoption doesn’t erase the past or the memories. Kids can change, they will change with love. Never give up on a kid because “they are hard”.

And then, I walked away in shock, in sadness, and so so so proud of how strong my baby is. He’s so wonderful. And, we love him so much."

Friends, THIS is the life experience of kids who come from hard places. THIS is living a trauma-informed life. We can't imagine what kids from hard places have lived through. It is not just about one act of abuse or neglect, it is about living in survival mode and doing it day in and day out. It is about making sure younger siblings are also surviving, even at the expense of childhood.

Trauma infuses itself into every pore. Kids just don't forget it. Their brains and bodies won't let them. Those of us privileged enough (yes, I said privileged) to enter into the lives of children with hard life experiences must be willing to sit down, eat uncooked Ramen noodles and listen. We must not give up.

Our kids didn't.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

By Caroline Bailey
Shared with permission

Mental health is just as important as physical health. (credit: )

Join us on October 13 at 5:00 p.m. for a very important Parent Academy event raising awareness about mental health supports in our community. Mental health experts will share information for parents about how to access resources to help themselves and their children during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. Additionally, information about a showing of the movie, "Angst", will be shared. Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, please submit your mental health questions by October 10 at 4:00 p.m. to [email protected]. Registration is required to participate in the event: https://survey.hcps.org/rws5.pl?FORM=ParentAcademyRealTalkMentalHealthSupport.

You're stronger than you think 💪
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