Wendy Alm, MA, LMFT

07/15/2023

I am happy to share that in addition to private pay sessions through Alm Counseling, I am now offering telehealth therapy services through Changes Counseling & Wellness Center for those who would like to utilize their insurance.

I am in network with the following insurance plans:

▪️Blue Cross Blue Shield
▪️Health Partners
▪️PreferredOne
▪️Aetna
▪️Cigna
▪️UCare
▪️United Health Care/UMR
▪️Medica Health Plans
▪️MN Medical Assistance

Please check your benefits for coverage, as individual plans vary.

Changes Counseling and Wellness Center offers therapy services to children, teens, and adults. We know that change is not always easy, but together, change is possible.

02/19/2023

😂😂😂

05/16/2022

Monday reminder ❤️

❤️

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A meme that says, “it wasn’t the trauma that made you strong, kinder, and more compassionate. It’s how you handled it. That credit is yours.”]

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Via Healing the Sacred

05/11/2022

All of this 🙌

03/03/2022

I’ve never submitted a manuscript delivery checklist to a publisher with hearts and stars and ‘yays!’ scribbled at the top…

Until this week,
March 1, 2022.

That book deadline (and the excruciatingly long checklist) had been taunting me for quite some time.

Being able to mark those sixteen requirements off as ‘complete’ felt monumental.

Miraculously, everything was there:
title page, table of contents, introduction, all chapters, all citations, formatting, permissions…
along with some real emotions
some real relief
some real astonishment
some real satisfaction.

But there were no boxes to check for those things, so I drew them in the margins, in the shape of happy, celebratory objects.

I’ve always felt a sense of accomplishment when submitting the first draft of my past books, but this one felt most remarkable.

I mean, the last two years haven’t exactly been ideal conditions for focus, discipline, motivation, and mental stamina. Throw in a debilitating foot condition and a family crisis, and the thought of stringing 65k words together by March 1 was pretty daunting.

There were some days that I simply could not function, let alone write.

But as I was preparing to send off my completed ‘work of heart’ to my publisher, I realized something.

Never once did I say, “I can’t do this.”

What I said (a lot) was, “I can’t to this today.”

With one mere word, I avoided the dead end of self-sabotage
And rode the wave of self-compassion
until I reached home.

If you know me, then you know this posture of acceptance
This trust-the-process mindset
is a big deal for me.

I’m a real expert at saying harsh stuff to myself, like:
‘There is no time for tears! Pull yourself together.’
‘You have GOT to stay on schedule!’
‘If you don’t do this now, it will never get done.’

Lies.
All lies.

Because when it comes to doing the things you were born to do,
there is no timeline.
The energy flows when it’s supposed to flow.
The ideas appear when you’re open to receive.
The blocks get smaller when you allow yourself to breathe.

This book isn’t what I expected it to be.
It will likely mean something different to each person who reads it…
because there’s a lot of wiggle room for
growth &
grace &
goodness
that I didn’t plan for; they just came to be.

Kinda like the hearts and stars and hallelujahs that were never part of the process before

Until now…

And I’ll never go without them
for as long as I live.

© Rachel Macy Stafford 2022

Text in image: “Instead of, ‘I can’t do this.’ Try: ‘I can’t to this today.’ With one mere word, we can avoid the dead end of self-sabotage and ride the wave of self-compassion until we reach home.” -Rachel Macy Stafford

01/13/2022

01/04/2022

Kids who feel good about themselves have the confidence to try new things. They are not overly afraid of making mistakes. They are able to be proud of their effort as they don't hold their worth in their achievements. However because of this they are more likely to try their best. As a result, self-esteem helps kids do better at school, at home, and with friends.

I often use this activity to help child build their self-esteem.

Explain that self-esteem is like a bucket. Things that go into the bucket are things that make you feel better about who you are. Try and help them to think of more than just achievements. Ask what do their parents, friends etc like about them? What makes them happy?

But also things can happen that can cause holes and make the good feels leak out. These can be things that people say or things that we think.

We can't leave their buckets with holes. That would just make them feel hopeless. We need to find a way to fix the holes. Try and get them to think of ideas of what they can do or think that are specific to the hole

More information on my blog:

https://www.thetherapistparent.com/post/self-esteem-bucket

12/28/2021

Trauma literally changes how your brain communicates. Trauma remains in your limbic system, which causes the fight, flight, freeze responses. (Fawn needs to be researched)

12/22/2021

What boundaries are you giving out for Christmas?

12/22/2021

Be gentle with yourself and firm with your boundaries ❤️🤗

Around the holidays we are often in positions where we need to set boundaries with friends and family. These are great reminders of how to effectively set boundaries by .