Katie Sammann Psychotherapy

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United States
Austin, TX
Katie Sammann Psychotherapy

I provide therapy to help adolescents and children in Texas and Connecticut grow into the best versions of themselves.

06/19/2021

Big news! I am offering in-person sessions and I've moved into a new office! ⁠
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I've been fully vaccinated and have decided this is the right time for me to move back into an office and see clients in person again. I will continue to offer telehealth because it's proved to be such an important option for many people in many situations. ⁠
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And at the beginning of this month I moved into a new office! It's located at the intersection of 2222 and Mopac. I'm so happy with the location and the office itself, I'll try to upload pictures once it's fully furnished. The full address is: ⁠
3305 Northland Drive⁠
Suite 509⁠
Austin, TX 78731⁠
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If telehealth was holding you back from starting up therapy, this might be the time! Contact me through my website if you'd like to learn more about how therapy can help your kiddo.⁠
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Looking forward to seeing y'all in person!

12/21/2020

This is a grounding skill, and a great way to manage overwhelming emotions. It’s good for fighting anxiety, panic attacks, anger, dissociation and more. This keeps your brain busy and focused on something other than the intense feelings and helps you feel calmer.

I want to note that these are for in-the-moment stabilization, and not for totally ignoring these emotions. Grounding gets you to a place where you can think rationally and explore what happened and reflect on what triggered your emotions - either on your own, with a loved one, or with your therapist.

This is another "repeat" so I did a bit more of a deep dive on my blog! To learn more about how to get the most out of this coping skill, go read it here: psychotherapistaustin.com/blog/grounding-listing

Some of my categories are places I've visited, types of cheese, and Spongebob episodes (seasons 1-4). What would be good categories for you? Let me know in the comments!

12/14/2020

I recently learned about this breathing activity through a yoga video from of Yoga With Adriene. The general idea is to control breath by gently blocking each nostril alternatively with a finger. It sounds like picking your nose but it's not. I think rather than attempt an in-depth description here, it's way better for you to watch Adriene's video: https://youtu.be/8VwufJrUhic

It's a really cool tool to help control your breathing which can help with bringing down intense emotions or helping connect with your yoga practice or whatever else you may want to connect to.

As always, if you're looking for more support for your anxious kid or teen, please feel free to reach out to me through my website to learn more about starting up therapy!

12/07/2020

Texting a friend when you're going through a hard time is one of those things that can be easier said than done. We know it's a good idea and that it will help us but sometimes we get stuck. We feel overwhelmed and can't come up with the words to start the conversation. Here are several option on how to reach out when you want some support from a friend.

Any good ones I missed? Let me know in the comments!

And if your teen is struggling asking for help, or friend support isn't enough, contact me through my website to talk about how therapy can help.

11/30/2020

This coping skill is a simple one that honestly you don't even need to practice. When you're feeling overwhelmed, grab an ice cub and hold it in your hand until it melts. The temperature change can help to regulate your nervous system. Some people take a cold shower for the same effect. Pretty cool, right? (sorry, couldn't help myself 🥶)

11/23/2020

Running can be really great for mental health, especially for teens! Check out my new blog post to learn more about each of these benefits.⁠
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Full disclaimer: I hate running. Proof that not all coping skills are for all people!⁠

psychotherapistaustin.com/blog/running

11/18/2020

Thanksgiving is next week, and some of y’all may be preparing to visit or be visited by family from out of town. Often, people greet these relatives with a hug or kiss. Obviously the pandemic has changed how we socialize and how we greet people, but even apart from virus concerns it’s important to be mindful of how we handle these hello hugs. ⁠

When your child turns down a hug, how you respond can teach them a lot about body autonomy. If you’re expecting to visit with family during the holiday season, check out my blog post from last Thanksgiving on how to teach your kids that they are the boss of their own body.

psychotherapistaustin.com/blog/body-autonomy
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11/16/2020

The Zentangle Method is a process of drawing that can be really anxiety-relieving and quite fun. Even if you don’t see yourself as a creative person or an artist, you can still get a lot out of this method. The picture above is a Zentangle I made the other day!

The creators have laid out eight steps to create your Zentangle:

1️⃣ Gratitude - take a moment to note your appreciation for your tools and for the experience of creating
2️⃣ Corner Dots - Make small dots in the four corners of your paper to form a rough square (they use 3.5 inch squares of paper) - this helps take away some of the “blank page anxiety” and makes beginning your Zentangle less intimidating
3️⃣ Border - Connect the four dots to form a border. The lines can be straight or curved.
4️⃣ String - Make some lines (again, straight or curved) that divide the square up into sections. These are called “strings.” The sections don’t have to be any particular shape or size and do not need to be equal.
5️⃣ Tangle - Within each section, create some smaller strokes that repeat - called tangles. They stress the importance of trusting your intuition when making these tangles.
6️⃣ Shade - Use a pencil to shade in parts of your Zentangle, this adds more dimension.
7️⃣ Sign - Sign your Zentangle - they also recommend writing down the date and some observations on the back of the paper.
8️⃣ Appreciate - Take a moment to look over your creation and appreciate your work.

If you're interested in learning more, check out the creators' website: Zentangle.com

11/09/2020

Rainbow grounding is a fun, effective, and easy-to-remember exercise to help manage big emotions. It’s especially good for younger kids, but really it can help people of all ages! Grounding exercises help you to focus on the present moment when you feel overwhelmed.

For rainbow grounding, you draw attention to your surroundings by identifying objects around you of each color of the rainbow. Take your time, when you pick an object of each color spend a little time considering what it is, what version of that color it is, its texture, its purpose, where it came from, etc. Then move on to the next color and repeat. Usually people go through ROYGBIV but sometimes kiddos like to add in other colors like pink, black, periwinkle, or whatever colors they love!

To learn more about it, check out my blog post: psychotherapistaustin.com/blog/rainbow-grounding

11/04/2020

Toxic positivity is when positive thinking becomes a rule rather than an option. It’s when blind positivity is seen as the only acceptable way to approach life and feeling any “negative” emotion is seen as wallowing. I put together this chart to simplify why toxic positivity is damaging and how you can replace some phrases that may have made their way into your vocabulary. These are not uncommon things to hear people say to others in crisis, and I do believe most people saying them truly do want to help. But if you’re saying these phrases, chances are you’re not helping in the way you think you are. Consider swapping them out for some more supportive phrases like the ones on the right! Check out my blog to learn more about toxic positivity and why it’s harmful.

psychotherapistaustin.com/blog/toxicpositivity

Address

13706 Research Boulevard Suite 114
Austin, TX
78750

Website

http://katiesammann.com/

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