Created by Anxiety BC (a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the public’s awareness and access to resources on anxiety disorders) and BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services, this app can be your child’s personal and portable coach to help them face challenging daily situations and to help them regain control of their life.
MindShift is a multi-facited app for smart phones, which is designed to help teens and young adults cope with varying levels of anxiety.
Have you noticed that sometimes after looking at social media, you feel worse? Young people have shared with us that it happens to them too.
Some people feel worse when they:
Continue reading Social media: reflecting back with your child
So you’ve misplaced the manual that came with your child when they were born.
Continue reading Foolproof strategies for getting kids to talk
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” -Leo Buscaglia
The Power of Touch
Hugs and cuddling have a lasting impact on your psyche more than you may have previously thought.
Between friends, lovers, or parents/family, physical affection helps the brain, the heart and other bodily systems. Oxytocin, a hormone released by the brain, is the core culprit for our response to love and affection. Oxytocin makes us feel good when we’re near to the people we are close with. It also lowers the levels of stress hormones in the body, reduces blood pressure, improves mood and increases your pain tolerance. Recent studies have also shown that it can speed up how fast our wounds (cuts, bruises, scrapes) heal.
A member of the SOVA team recently had the great opportunity to meet and interview Alyssa Cypher. Alyssa is the founder of ‘Inside Our Minds,’ which was previously featured on SOVA. During this interview Alyssa talked about everything from her own interviewing style to what motivated her to start this project.
What motivated you to start ‘Inside Our Minds?’
Alyssa shared that her own personal experience with mental illness was a major influence on her desire to start this project. She first began by getting involved in advocacy work and dealing with her own personal mental health struggles. One day Alyssa made the decision to write her own personal confessional on Facebook addressing her struggles with mental health. After posting her confessional online, Alyssa felt not only a sense of release from sharing her story, but in return she received a huge amount of positive feedback. This experience lead her to create ‘Inside Our Minds’ so she could help others share their own personal stories in their own words. The first interview posted on ‘Inside Our Minds’ on March 30, 2016.
Do you sometimes get frustrated about seeing things you don’t want to see on your social media feeds?
Maybe you are not someone who likes pictures of food. But you have a contact or friend who posts what they eat for every meal?! You might enjoy spending time with them, but you just can’t see one more picture of their Starbucks drink or what they ate for dinner last night. What do you do?
Recently we did a feature on Section 504. However, a Section 504 Plan and an IEP, or Individualized Education Program, are mentioned together. But what is an IEP? Is it different from Section 504?
First let’s discuss what an IEP is …
What is an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?
The Individualized Education Program is a written document that is created to meet the learning needs of any public school student requiring special education.
Is an IEP enforced under a law?
Yes, an IEP falls under our nation’s federal law called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA. The IDEA is intended to focus on the student and provide rights and protections to children with disabilities and to their parents.
Sometimes it can be hard to tell children how you feel.
When your child is going through adolescence and young adulthood, it’s normal for them to try things on their own and to have some of their own privacy. However, being a teenager is also a difficult time so it is natural for parents to worry about them and wonder whether they are being safe. It might also seem more complicated to effectively communicate with adolescents.
Doctor Taunya Marie Tinsley is a Licensed Professional Counselor, DMin, PhD, NCC, LPC. She is the owner of Transitions Counseling Service LLC and Life Skills Program, where she provides individual, marriage, family and group counseling and consultative services. Additionally, Dr. Tinsley is the Clinical Director of the Mount Ararat Baptist Church Counseling Center. According to her website “Dr. Tinsley’s interdisciplinary areas of counseling, research, and publications include multicultural issues in counseling, multicultural training and organizational development, spiritual and Christian interventions in counseling, sports counseling, and youth, adolescent, and adult development through sports.”
The SOVA Project recently had the amazing and fortunate opportunity to sit down with Dr. Tinsley. During our sit down we had the chance to speak to Dr. Tinsley about her work as a counselor. Here’s what she had to say:
Do you ever feel like your child is struggling at school?
Do you ever feel like maybe their depression or anxiety gets in the way of their learning? Maybe Section 504 can help.
