Nexus Family Healing
Restoring Hope. Reshaping Futures.
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Let’s talk about self-care for foster parents, shall we? When each day is unpredictable, especially as many of our children deal with night terrors and other nighttime disturbances, how do we find the time and mental, physical, and emotional space to take care of ourselves?
The month of October recognizes Domestic Violence Awareness. The one thing that is always true is domestic violence spans across family systems and impacts not only the survivor and their families but for communities, too. No matter the definition, domestic violence is much more than two words.
There usually is not one clear reason for why someone may feel suicidal or that suicide is the only answer to their problems. Suicide is preventable and knowing the warning signs allows us to help those around us who may be feeling hopeless.
Suicide can be a very difficult topic to discuss. Teachers often feel helpless to prevent student suicide, but they probably underestimate the impact of their words on their students. Honest and caring conversations about suicide can save lives.
Summer is slowly coming to an end. Many families are experiencing a mixture of feelings, both positive and negative. No matter how you are feeling as summer draws to an end, remember, your most important job is to teach your children how to be successful adults.
Give your brain a break and find some inspiration with our "Works of Heart” coloring pages. Download, print, and share our four hope-filled designs.
What is the correlation between depression and suicide, and when should you be concerned?
We spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping. It may feel like a waste of time, but it may be helpful to think of sleep as an investment in your physical and emotional energy. Sleep gives your brain and body a chance to recover from the day and get ready for tomorrow.
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.
Seasonal depression isn’t just a winter experience—some people feel it in spring or summer, too. While the season can be enjoyable for many, others may experience low mood or melancholy. Understanding the difference between “summertime blues,” summer SAD, and other concerns is key.
While conversations around children’s mental health have entered the mainstream, often newborns to age six are left out due to misconceptions that they won’t remember the things happening at this point in their life. But science shows us differently – children’s mental health begins developing before they are even born.
The teen years can be a challenge for both teens and parents. The moodiness that often accompanies teens' hormone changes, power struggles, school, and peer stress and emerging independence can be difficult to navigate.
The Fourth of July is often celebrated with outdoor festivities and fireworks, but it can be overwhelming for some individuals. Loud noises and bright visuals may trigger distress for people with sensory processing challenges, including PTSD, autism, or sensory processing disorder.
Animals play an important role in human life, offering comfort, companionship, and support during difficult times. Some are also trained to provide therapy or assist with daily tasks, helping people navigate the world more safely and independently.
Luke Spiegelhoff, Clinical Director Specialist, shares information on the types of self-harm, warning signs, differences between self-harm and suicidal ideation, and how to help someone who struggles with self-harm.
When I became a foster parent, I had some grandiose mission statements about what I would do, how I would help, and the way in which I would serve vulnerable youth… but I look back now, seven years later, and see I had it all wrong. Well-intentioned, but wrong.
Families don’t choose foster care lightly—it often happens when it’s no longer safe or possible to parent at home. While it’s common to feel sympathy for foster youth, reframing how we view their experiences can help us better support both the child and their birth family.
It was Christmas Eve 2016 when a foster parent waited in a Social Services office during a snowstorm for their foster child’s birth mother to arrive. As the meeting was delayed, the child slept peacefully in their lap while they worried about the storm and getting home safely.
Here at Nexus Family Healing, our employees, therapists, and foster parents continuously work with youth who have experienced different types of trauma, which often include abuse or neglect. We’ve compiled a list of books that speak about child abuse and trauma that may be fitting for children of different ages.
A list of books to help caregivers/parents and their child learn more about child abuse, trauma, and trauma-informed practices together.
You may have heard phrases such as “childhood trauma” or “traumatic experience”. But what really is trauma? And how does it affect us? Unfortunately, childhood trauma is incredibly common as one in four children in our community will experience a traumatic event before the age of 16.
Exposure to continuous trauma causes the body’s alarm system to be easily triggered, releasing stress hormones that interfere with reasoning and activate that flight, fight, or freeze response. Children cannot learn or get along with friends or family members when living in a constant state of fight, flight or freeze.
Loneliness is on the rise, and rebuilding meaningful connections can feel harder than ever. As social habits shift and relationships take more effort to maintain, loneliness can become the norm for youth and adults. So how do we begin to recover? It starts with a simple idea: “do then feel.”
In case of an emergency, whether it’s tornado, house fire, or blizzard, it’s always important to have open and honest conversations with your children on how to prepare and what actions to take to keep everyone safe.
One action you can take is to prepare a family emergency bag with your children, to reassure your child of their safety and let your child know what you are doing to protect them.
Resources provided through our website are informational in nature and not meant to take the place of consulting your physician, mental health professional, or other qualified health providers regarding your well-being or the well-being of others.
