Family & Relationships

Talking to Your Child About Domestic Violence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. At Nexus Family Healing, we serve youth and families who have often either been victims of and/or witnessed domestic violence. Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, is a particular kind of terror where your home, your safe space, is no longer …

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A Responder’s Perspective on Suicide Prevention

As a family responder, working with youth who struggle with suicidality (deliberately hurting oneself with an intent to die) is a routine part of my job. I rely on my education, trainings, and past experiences to help families navigate through these situations. Parents are often not provided with …

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Guilt During the Holidays

When To Go and When To Not? While the holidays may mean quality time for many people, for others, family time may be something that fills them with dread and anxiety. Dysfunctional family dynamics, from snarky comments to outright fighting, can cause someone to not want to join in the family …

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The Season of Giving

This holiday season is often called the “season of giving” where we focus on sharing physical gifts, our time, and the spirit of care and compassion. While the act of giving is exciting for many people, and actually boasts physical and mental benefits, it can also be a huge source of stress. How do …

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Coping With Holiday Stress

Certain song lyrics like “I’ll be home for Christmas” or “It’ll be a blue, blue Christmas” can for some people be heart-wrenching songs of agony instead of sweet nostalgia. Unfortunately for many in today’s fast-paced world, the holidays are not story-book perfect. Long distances, poor health, and …

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Helping Your Anxious Child

I have a soft spot in my heart for kids who are dealing with significant anxiety. Anxiety can be the most overwhelming and scary feeling—it causes us to imagine the different things that could happen if what we fear comes true. This feeling leads to avoidance of the very thing we need …

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Domestic Violence: Impact on Families, Children, and Communities

The month of October recognizes Domestic Violence Awareness. As someone with both lived and professional experience, I wanted to take some time to spotlight the impact of domestic violence on families as well as our communities. First, how do we define domestic violence? From my experience, …

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End of Summer – Slump or Frenzy?

Summer is slowly coming to an end. Many families are experiencing a mixture of feelings, both positive and negative. Some of the positives are excitement for a new school year, a desire for normalcy, and being ready for routine. Some of the negatives are getting kids back into a routine, pressure to …

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Creating Healthy Relationships

As teenagers and young adults grow up, they may begin to explore romantic relationships. While these are normal milestones for a young adult, it’s important to talk with youth about boundaries and consent, and how they are important in any relationship, platonic or romantic. Consent and …

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Making Friends as an Adult Can Be Tough: Here Are Some Tips to Help

Last Spring, my husband and I bought our first house after living in a small town for five years. We were eager to move to the big city – I was ready to be around people again! Though I had a few friends living in the area, this was new territory to me. I didn’t know the best places to hang, where …

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Making Time for Family Fun

Life is busy – especially for a parent or caretaker who can have many stressors thrown their way. From running children to school activities, planning meals, helping them with homework and daily tasks, caregivers have a daily to-do list that never seems to end. Often, the fun activities in life get …

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Nurturing Your Child in Today’s Busy World

With so many things competing for our attention these days, it is more important than ever to be intentional about nurturing your child’s wellbeing. Wellbeing consists of healthy physical, mental, cognitive, and social-emotional health and there are many ways to support it. 1. Limit …

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