#brisbanepsychology

4 days ago
2 min

Playtime for Preschoolers

Play is an incredibly important part of a child’s development, including their emotional development. Through play children are given the opportunity to experience and learn how to regulate a range of emotions, happiness, sadness, frustration and anger. Play also provides an opportunity for them to develop their resiliency in trying again if faced with perceived failures, and in connecting with their peers to forming meaningful relationships. At around 3 to 4 years of age, a

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Managing Parenting and Family in Times of Stress

Sarah Dunstone

6 days ago
2 min

Managing Parenting and Family in Times of Stress

Raising a family can be rewarding but also a very stressful time, and mounting pressures from family and work can leave parents susceptible to high-levels of stress. Children model their parents behaviours, including those related to health and stress management. While some people love to eat their emotions during times of stress others may get irritable, while others may withdraw into their own ruminations. When, however, parents deal with stress in unhealthy ways they risk

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Sarah Dunstone

Aug 3
2 min

Imaginary Friends

Children from around 3 to 8 years of age often create their own imaginary friends. This is a natural developmental phase for children which is grown out of a healthy and active imagination. While children are engrossed in a wonderful world of play and fantasy – dreaming of animal friends having picnics on your roof at night or flying dragons and toys coming alive when no one else is around – a child’s imaginary friends is able to help them express their feelings, practise soc

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Sarah Dunstone

Jul 28
2 min

Helping Children with Grief and Loss

Whether it has been on tv or story books, young children have an understanding of death. It is however, the permanence of this that may become more difficult for them to understand. It is then the confusion and pain which ensues that parent’s are unable to take away, but they are able to help teach their children to cope with in healthy ways. Children and adults will experience the loss of a loved one and respond to this in very different ways. While an adult may experience l

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Sarah Dunstone

Jun 15
2 min

Lets Talk About Parenting Guilt

It is real and it is really powerful. So where does this come from and what can we do to manage it? Instincts and biology tell us that all feelings are important and have something very important to tell us, including anxiety and guilt. Feelings of guilt are natural, and come from a sense that we have done something wrong by a loved one, or by our own standards. When feelings of anxiety or guilt become too powerful and intrusive this can lead parents to feel inadequate and le

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Sarah Dunstone

Jun 8
2 min

A Little Me Time

The calendar has just ticked over to the month of June which means that we are half way though the year; there are no more long weekends for a while, and the weather is cooling down again. Making this the perfect time for some renewed inspiration in strengthening our mental wellbeing. Even the smallest of self-care moments can make a big difference, but at times it can be hard to know where to begin. While some people love to meditate, others prefer to go out to a movie or ca

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Sarah Dunstone

May 14
2 min

The Benefits of Play

“To think things through, children need to play things through” – Jean Piaget When engaging in play, children are able to explore and experience the developing world around them. Across gender and cultures children engage in play and it is during these times that our inhibitions can come down, laughter increased, and a sense of freedom discovered. As young children become older children (and even into adulthood), play (or relaxation time) is crucial to our wellbeing and relat

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Sarah Dunstone

Apr 20
1 min

Family Time Means Connection Time

It’s that time of the year again when the Easter Bunny is about to visit. The weather is perfect and this makes for the ideal time for some quality connection time with the family. This may also be a time to start creating your own family rituals, easter egg hunts, favourite holiday destinations, day trips, favourite meals. Spending time together helps families in establishing warm, stable and responsive relationships, this is also fundamental to a child’s ongoing development

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A Child's Relationship with their Parents

Sarah Dunstone

Apr 6
2 min

A Child's Relationship with their Parents

While parental and family support may start to look very different as a child grows into a pre-teen and teen, the need for family and parental support is as much needed as when they were a younger child. During the early years the role of a parent was very much to nurture and protect, but as your child matures into their teenage years, the relationship begins to morph into one of more being equals within the family. As a parent you still have the role of caring, emotional sup

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Sarah Dunstone

Mar 23
1 min

Creating a Parenting Plan

Let’s talk about co-parenting and parenting plans. Creating a parenting plan is a useful way to formalise the details of your new relationship and a place for you and your former partner to clearly discuss your rights and responsibilities in regards to your child / children. This is also the place to work out disputes. Each family situation has it’s own differences, but one important consideration is the way in which you and your former partner to understand an accept differe

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Sarah Dunstone

Mar 16
2 min

Practising Parental Self-Care

If there is one thing that parents can all agree on, is that raising children is one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs that a person can do. The remarkably challenging role of parenting can be made a little easier if you try to look after yourself as well. It is of-course easy to forget, or simply run out of time, in between nappy changes, school drop-offs and loads of laundry. Although as a parent, if you are able to look after yourself physically, mentally and emotiona

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Managing Emotions Following a Natural Disaster

Curtis Cavanagh

Mar 9
2 min

Managing Emotions Following a Natural Disaster

As a community we have all experienced the significant weather event over the past weekend, and for some this has become a natural disaster. The experience of and response to a natural disaster will affect people in different ways. Each member of a family may react very differently to the same situation. Young children can easily become distressed to what is happening in their immediate environment, and this may make a baby or young person feel unsafe and unsettled and will d

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Curtis Cavanagh

Mar 2
2 min

Parental Self-Care

If there is one thing that parents can all agree on, is that raising children is one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs that a person can do. It is of-course easy to forget, or simply run out of time, in between nappy changes, school drop-offs and loads of laundry. Although as a parent, if you are able to look after yourself physically, mentally and emotionally you’ll be able to recharge and have more resources to be able to give your children what they need to grow and f

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Promoting Organisation For Children with ADHD

Curtis Cavanagh

Feb 23
2 min

Promoting Organisation For Children with ADHD

It’s probably every parents new (school) year’s resolution to get organized, but particularly the parent of a child diagnosed with ADHD. With the school year finally beginning, let’s look at a few different ways to help organise the family get the kids to school on time and with everything they need. Life is so busy making it difficult for all families to get organised each week, but for children with ADHD neurological processes that help them to organize information and prio

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Grace McMurtrie

Feb 2
2 min

Commencing the School Year

As we know, face to face learning is set to resume from Monday 7th February, after what has been a mammoth Christmas holiday period. Although most children will embrace this return with a mixture of apprehension and excitement, some will have difficulty transitioning back into formal learning. For our littlies, starting or returning to school is a big deal and can be a daunting experience, let alone in the current climate. The biggest thing parents can do to ease their childr

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Curtis Cavanagh

Jan 19
2 min

Understanding ADHD in Children

It is often a question that swirls through a parents mind, is my child just being a child or do they have ADHD. ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is a developmental impairment of the brains self-management system / executive functions, and is one of the more common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood with the diagnosis rate continuing to rise each year. The great news is that with some guidance and support, parents and children alike can th

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Curtis Cavanagh

Dec 8, 2021
2 min

Coping With the End of Another Year

The end of the year can be a tricky time for our little people. Often they are faced with the excitement of Christmas and being on holidays; on top of apprehension about leaving their current teachers and moving in to older grades. For our anxious or rigid-thinking kids these transitions can be particularly troublesome as they leave the structure and predictability of school for the often more relaxed holidays. How can we help our little people through this phase so that t

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Curtis Cavanagh

Nov 17, 2021
2 min

Anxiety in Young People

Last week we spoke about chronic low mood in kids, and where this comes from. This week I’d like to look more closely at anxiety and how this presents in our young people. As adults, we know that anxiety presents as excessive worry; rumination; irritability; feeling overwhelmed; and physical symptoms; as well as a myriad of other symptoms. However, as adults we are better placed to articulate what is going on for us (that is, we tend to know when we are worrying about some

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Grace McMurtrie

Nov 10, 2021
2 min

Chronic Low Mood in Children

There is no doubt that our kids can go through some tough times. Whether it is a family separation; friendship issues; or bombing out on an assessment; periods of low mood can be a normal response to stressful events. However, what about chronic, or long-standing low mood in our young people? When it comes to adults, persistent low mood may meet the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder, however in children this isn’t usually the case. When it comes to children,

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A Child's Life Following an Educational Assessment

Curtis Cavanagh

Oct 27, 2021
2 min

A Child's Life Following an Educational Assessment

Previously I have written about the process of assessments for our children, and how we can navigate the concept of “labelling” them. Now I want to talk about what happens afterwards, once we have all the information (which is usually a LOT of information). Usually one of two things will happen following an assessment. Sometimes, families will come in with an idea in their mind about what is going on for their child. Whether there is a strong family history of Autism Spec

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