Healthy Roots Counseling

10/30/2026

A little reminder heading into Halloween weekend: you’re allowed to keep it simple. 🎃

You don’t have to attend every event, create the perfect costume, or squeeze every possible memory into one weekend.

Choose what works for your family. Leave room for breaks. Change the plan if you need to.

Meaningful moments can be small, ordinary, and imperfect. Your needs still matter—even when the calendar is full of fun.

10/28/2026

🍂 There’s something about fall that invites us to slow down.

The changing leaves, cooler mornings, and quieter days remind us that change is a natural part of life.

Just like the trees, we move through seasons of growth, transition, and letting go.

And sometimes, those transitions are beautiful. Other times, they’re uncomfortable, uncertain, or even painful.

Both can be true.

As the seasons change, consider what this season of life is asking of you. Maybe it’s slowing down. Maybe it’s setting boundaries. Maybe it’s making room for something new.

🌿 You don’t have to be constantly growing to be making progress. Sometimes, rest is part of the process.

What does this season look like for you?

10/26/2026

Your child doesn't need you to be calm 100% of the time.🌿

There's a lot of parenting advice about staying calm, being patient, and regulating your own emotions so you can help your child regulate theirs.

And yes, those things matter.

But here's something we don't talk about enough:

You're human, too.

Sometimes you'll lose your patience.

Sometimes you'll raise your voice.

Sometimes you'll respond out of frustration instead of responding the way you wish you had.

What matters isn't pretending those moments never happen. It's what we do afterward.

In psychology, we often talk about rupture and repair.

A rupture happens when there's a moment of disconnection in a relationship. Repair is the process of acknowledging what happened, taking responsibility, and working to reconnect.

For a parent, repair might sound like:

🤍 “I'm sorry I yelled. You didn't deserve that.”

🤍 “I was frustrated, but it's my job to manage my feelings.”

🤍 “I should have handled that differently.”

🤍 “I love you, even when we're having a hard moment.”

When we repair with our children, we model accountability, emotional regulation, and how to navigate conflict in relationships.

We also teach them something incredibly important:

Relationships can experience hard moments and still be safe, loving, and connected.

Of course, repair doesn't replace the responsibility to work on our own emotional regulation. And an apology is most meaningful when it's followed by efforts to change the behavior.

But parenting was never meant to be about perfection.

It's about showing up, learning, taking responsibility, and continuing to build connection.

Your child doesn't need a perfect parent. They need a parent who is willing to grow.🌿

10/22/2026

10/21/2026

Postpartum rage is something we need to talk about. 🌿

We often talk about postpartum depression and anxiety, but what about the moms who aren't necessarily feeling sad?

What about the mom who feels angry?

The mom who snaps over something small.
The mom who feels overstimulated by noise, touch, and constant demands.
The mom who goes from feeling fine to intensely frustrated in seconds.
The mom who feels like she's carrying everything and has nothing left to give.
The mom who feels guilty or ashamed after losing her patience.

Sometimes postpartum mental health struggles show up as intense irritability, anger, or rage.

And for some mothers, that anger can feel frightening or completely unlike themselves.

Postpartum rage isn't a standalone clinical diagnosis, but it is a real experience that can be associated with postpartum depression, anxiety, trauma, sleep deprivation, and the overwhelming physical and emotional demands of caring for a baby.

Experiencing anger doesn't make you a bad mother.

But it is something worth paying attention to, especially when the anger feels intense, difficult to control, or begins affecting your relationships or daily life.

You deserve support, too.

That might mean getting more rest, sharing responsibilities, identifying triggers, working through underlying anxiety or trauma, or talking with a mental health professional who understands the perinatal period.

Motherhood can be beautiful and deeply challenging at the same time.

And mothers deserve space to talk about the difficult parts without fear of judgment. 🤍

You don't have to wait until you're at your breaking point to ask for help.

10/19/2026

Play is a child's language. Toys are their words. 🌿

Have you ever wondered what actually happens in play therapy?

For adults, therapy often involves sitting down and talking about our thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

But children don't always have the words to explain what they're feeling or what they've been through.

That's where play therapy comes in.

Through play, children can:

🌱 Express feelings they may not know how to put into words
🌱 Explore and process difficult experiences
🌱 Develop emotional regulation and coping skills
🌱 Build confidence and problem-solving abilities
🌱 Practice relationships, communication, and social skills
🌱 Make sense of the world around them

Play therapy isn't “just playing.”

It's a developmentally appropriate, evidence-based therapeutic approach that uses a child's natural way of communicating to support emotional and behavioral growth.

And while it may look like a child is simply playing with toys, a trained play therapist is intentionally using the therapeutic relationship and play to help children work through challenges.

At Healthy Roots Counseling, we believe children deserve a space where they feel safe, understood, and supported—without having to find the perfect words.

Because sometimes, the most meaningful conversations happen without words at all. 🤍

🌿 Healthy Roots Counseling offers play therapy and mental health support for children ages 3 and up. We are currently accepting new clients!

10/16/2026

A different kind of FAQ Friday. 🌿

Today, instead of answering a question, we’re offering a simple reminder: Go outside.

Spending time in nature can help reduce stress, support emotional regulation, and give our minds a much-needed break from the constant stimulation of everyday life.

Sometimes supporting your mental health doesn’t require adding another thing to your to-do list.

It might look like:
🌿 Taking a short walk outside.
☀️ Feeling the sunshine on your face.
🍂 Listening to the leaves rustle.
🌳 Taking a few moments to notice the world around you.

You don’t need a perfect hiking trail or an hour of free time. Even a few intentional minutes outdoors can be worthwhile.

Your nervous system deserves moments of calm, too.

10/14/2026

The invisible work of motherhood doesn't end when the kids go to bed.🌿

The house may finally be quiet, but for many moms, their minds are still going.

Did I sign that permission slip?
What appointments do we have this week?
Are we out of groceries?
Who needs new shoes?
Did I respond to that teacher's email?
How is everyone doing emotionally?
What needs to happen tomorrow?

This is often referred to as the mental load of motherhood—the constant planning, anticipating, organizing, remembering, and managing that happens behind the scenes.

And it's not just about completing tasks. It's about carrying the responsibility of making sure those tasks get done.

Over time, that invisible work can contribute to stress, exhaustion, resentment, and feeling like there's never an opportunity to truly rest.

Moms are often told to practice self-care, but sometimes what they really need isn't another thing added to their to-do list.

Sometimes they need the load to be shared.

Not just help completing tasks, but shared responsibility for noticing, planning, and remembering what needs to be done.

Because motherhood was never meant to mean carrying everything alone.

And just because the work is invisible doesn't mean it isn't exhausting. 🤍

10/12/2026

In this episode of Therapists Unplugged, hosts and therapists Katie Gerwel and Emily McCarty explore attachment and how it shapes the way we show up in our relationships. They discuss the different attachment styles and how our experiences with connection, comfort, and support can influence the way we respond to conflict, vulnerability, and uncertainty. Katie and Emily explore common misconceptions about attachment, why our patterns are not permanent labels, and how the fear of losing connection or depending on others can impact our relationships. Throughout the episode, they discuss practical ways to recognize our patterns, communicate our needs, and build healthier connections while balancing emotional closeness and independence.
The content of the Therapists Unplugged podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for mental health therapy or treatment.

10/12/2026

When should I consider therapy for my child?

Parents ask this question a lot—and there isn't always one obvious moment when you suddenly know it's time.

Kids don't always have the words to tell us they're struggling. Sometimes they show us through changes in their behavior, emotions, or body.

It may be worth considering some extra support if you're noticing:

🌿 Anxiety or worry that is interfering with everyday life
🌿 Frequent emotional outbursts or significant changes in behavior
🌿 Avoiding or refusing school
🌿 Changes in sleep
🌿 Frequent stomachaches, headaches, or other physical complaints without a clear medical explanation
🌿 Withdrawing from family, friends, or activities they usually enjoy
🌿 Difficulty adjusting to a major life change
🌿 Grief, loss, or a traumatic experience
🌿 Fears that are keeping them from doing things they want or need to do
🌿 Big emotions that seem difficult for them—or the whole family—to manage

Not every difficult behavior or hard season means a child needs therapy.

Kids have bad days. They go through developmental stages. They struggle with transitions. And sometimes they simply need time, connection, and support at home.

What we're often looking for is a pattern: Is it persistent? Is it becoming more intense? Is it interfering with school, friendships, family life, sleep, or things your child normally enjoys?

Therapy isn't about finding something “wrong” with your child.

For children, it can be another safe place to express what they're experiencing, build emotional skills, process difficult experiences, and learn new ways to cope.

And sometimes supporting the child means supporting the parents, too. 🤍