APH Counseling

06/02/2026

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In an era where childhood anxiety is rising and academic expectations are creeping into younger and younger age groups, we are facing a quiet crisis. The modern classroom often mirrors adult hustle culture: structured, performance-driven, and intensely metrics-focused.

06/01/2026

💤Is bedtime a battle at your house?

You're not the only one. Hard nights are far more common than anyone admits, and the good news is that small, research-backed changes can move things in the right direction. 🌙

Swipe for a preview of four of the eight pillars of healthy sleep.

This is just a peek. The full guide goes deeper. All eight pillars, the how behind each one, what's actually happening in the brain at night, age-by-age strategies for children and teens, and support for neurodivergent sleep. Something you can keep and come back to whenever you need it.

This is the work I love. I gather the leading research and the tools experts recommend, then turn it into practical guides real people actually want to use, and can lean on. 💛

With Care,

Alyssa

www.aphcounseling.org

605 600 1733

Follow for more

05/23/2026

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HVIapMVK8hA&si=dFzKASDhGxhWBhbW

In this episode, Dr. Shefali speaks with two parents who feel disconnected with their kids and are struggling to truly connect with them. They want their kid...

05/23/2026

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05/23/2026

Please do yourself a favor and check this documentary out! 📽️

05/21/2026

Hi, I'm Alyssa 🌱

👐Welcome to APH Counseling

I'm a Licensed Mental Health Therapist, and I created APH because I value being able to show up as my full, authentic self, and I want the people I work with to feel that same freedom. When I couldn't find a space that fit me, I decided to build one.

I do this work because I believe every person deserves a psychologically safe environment where they feel seen, heard, valued, and understood. It's the kind of space where real healing and growth happen, and where we build the skills to navigate whatever life brings. South Dakota is my home, and my goal is to be a steady resource for the people who live here, whether you're in Sioux Falls or somewhere quieter on the map.

My style is passionate, straightforward, and client centered.

🤍 Therapy
For kids, individuals, couples, and families, including caregivers, educators, and professionals navigating the weight of their roles. An integrative approach shaped around who you are and what you need. Trauma, grief, anxiety, relationships, parenting, big life transitions, whatever you're carrying, it's real, it makes sense, and you don't have to carry it alone.

✨ Personal & Professional Growth Coaching
A separate service from therapy, offered at a cash rate, for clients seeking support with goals and mindset, separate from mental health treatment. Reach out for details.

📍 Based in Sioux Falls, SD | Telehealth available across South Dakota

📞605 600 1733 (text available)

✉️ [email protected]

🔗 www.aphcounseling.org

05/16/2026

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05/15/2026

May is just December's chaotic cousin that never learned to pace themselves 😅

Field trips, end-of-year performances, graduations, weddings, & summer camp deposits. All at once. Every. Single. Year.

There's actually a name for this: Maycember. And if you're running on fumes right now, you aren't alone.

Research on anticipatory stress published in PMC and supported by the American Heart Association shows your brain treats upcoming stress almost the same as actual stress. So just looking at your May calendar counts!

This week I snuck in kayaking right in the middle of a national athletic competition. Not because I had it "together". Because I needed it. Nobody is exempt from that, including the people talking about self care.

Many of us spend all of May trying to get to summer. And then we get there and it's hard to even recall the blur. The moments we're rushing through often take up the entire month.

To kick off the weekend I am sharing small realistic ways to recharge in the middle of it all. Not after.

📵 Put your phone face down for longer periods of time and soak in more human interaction or nature. We all need to touch more grass. 🌱

🎵 Drive home with one song and actually listen to it. No podcast, no news, no mental to-do list. Just the song.

🌿 Step outside before you start the next thing. The porch counts. Five minutes counts.

🚶 Walk to the mailbox SLOWLY. On purpose. Take longer than necessary to make your coffee, fold the laundry, walk to the car. Do one ordinary thing today at half speed and notice what happens.

🫶Ask a loved one or friend what the funniest thing that happened today was instead of "how was your day?" You'll actually get an answer. You'll probably laugh. Research shows small moments of joy accumulate and build your ability to handle stress over time.

🌬️ Breathe out longer than you breathe in. Four counts in, six out. According to the American Heart Association and Stanford researchers a longer exhale activates your vagus nerve, your body's built in calm down switch. Not a spa day. Not a kayak trip(I wish). Just your breath.

Small things add up 🌿

05/02/2026

🚨It Starts With Us

As a therapist and a mom of four, I see it at work, in the community, and at home. And the research is clear: kids learn social behavior through observation first, instruction second.

*People may forget things we have said. But rarely forget how we made them feel.*

🚸Are we living that out loud where kids we influence can actually see it?

⚠️How you talk about people when they're not in the room. How you handle conflict. Whether you apologize genuinely. Whether you hold the line on how everyone is accountable for treating each other with care, kindness, and respect at home and out in the world.

🧠Right now it matters more than ever. The CDC reports that 1 in 5 children experience a mental health disorder in any given year and most never receive treatment. The kid sitting next to yours may be silently carrying something no one knows about. Teaching our kids to lead with kindness isn't just good values it could be a lifeline for someone who's struggling. And we have to stay just as watchful at home, because that struggling kid could also be ours.

📖There will always be a lesson and opportunities where we can grow into a better version of ourselves.

🛠️You don't have to be a perfect human to raise a kind one. You just have to make treating people with dignity a standard and be willing to model it. If we mess up (because we all do) and they see/hear it... We own it and model what repair and accountability can look like.

💬 What's one thing you're going to do differently after reading this?

💬 When did you last talk to your kids about how their words/actions can affect someone else — what did you notice?

04/25/2026

Spring isn’t just about us cleaning out the closets… it’s an invitation to come back to yourself. ⚠️🌱

Long days, sunlight, shifts in the energy around us. Our bodies and minds notice it before we can even put words to it. Research shows that seasonal changes can improve mood, increase motivation, and support emotional regulation. If we lean into that shift with intention, it can become a powerful reset!

🌄Movement. Fresh air. Opportunities to enjoy nature. Slowing down enough to check in with yourself.

🛠️This is about maintenance.
Here is the truth: You cannot sustainably show up for others if you are constantly running on E ⛽

Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish. It’s what allows your nervous system to settle.

If spring is offering you a little more energy, use it.⚡

If this season isn’t bringing you more energy, more clarity, or that fresh start” feeling you’re not doing anything wrong. I am here to walk through it with you.

Research shows that our nervous systems don’t all respond to change the same way. Transitions (even positive ones) can feel overwhelming, draining, or dysregulating.

Instead of asking yourself to match the season… what would it look like to meet yourself where you are?

Maybe growth right now looks like:

* Resting without guilt
*Moving your body gently instead of pushing things to the maximum
*Getting through the day, not setting unrealistic expectations to function at an elite level

Because taking care of yourself isn’t about doing "the most" it’s about responding to what your body actually needs. Listen up🎧

Take small steps. Stay consistent. Let it be IMPERFECT.
Growth doesn’t have to be dramatic to be meaningful.

🌿 Taking care of you sets it up to take better care of others.

In your corner,

-Alyssa
APH Counseling, LLC