Happy Holidays to you and yours from everyone at the Summit Center. We are grateful for your support and commitment to raising healthy and engaged children.
Parent Footprint with Dr. Dan:
New Episodes with Susan Verde, Lynne Reeves Griffin, and Maya Shanbhag Lang
Dr. Dan interviewed three new guests in the past month on Parent Footprint with Dr. Dan, part of the Exactly Right podcast network. They spoke about the value of self-awareness, the impact of addiction, and mother-daughter dynamics.
I Am Courage with Susan Verde
Dr. Dan talks to yogi, mindfulness guru, and New York Times bestselling author Susan Verde about her book I Am Courage: A Book of Resilience, on perseverance, and bouncing back from our setbacks with bravery and optimism. Her books help readers cultivate empathy and compassion towards themselves and others. Dr. Dan and Susan talk about self-regulation and self-care as well as mindfulness, kids yoga, resilience, and the importance of loving yourself in order to care for others.
Dr. Dan and Susan’s conversation today will empower kids and their parents and remind us all that we can conquer anything.
The Dangers of an Ordinary Night: Sober Curious and the Impact of Addiction on Marriage and Parenting with Lynne Reeves Griffin
In this episode, Dr. Dan welcomes author, expert, and family/school counselor Lynne Reeves Griffin RN, MEd to discuss addiction, sober curious, and mental health.
Lynne is a nationally recognized expert on relationships and family life. As a result of working with families for decades, Lynne has witnessed the ripple effects of addiction on partners and children. She explores this devastating reality through a fictional lens in her book The Dangers of an Ordinary Night in hopes that the characters’ struggles will resonate with readers who may be going through similar experiences in their own lives.
This episode sensitively discusses some of the many challenges related to addictive behaviors including the impact of addiction on romantic partners and children. Dr. Dan and Lynne also explore women and addiction including the mom culture that encourages using alcohol to ease the stress of daily living.
Daughterhood and Motherhood with Maya Shanbhag Lang
Dr. Dan welcomes Maya Shanbhag Lang to the podcast to discuss the beauty and complexity of motherhood and daughterhood. Maya’s memoir What We Carry is inspired by caring for her aging mother while raising her own young daughter. Dr. Dan and Maya explore the mother-daughter dynamic, family secrets, motherhood, confronting the past, aging parents, illness, abuse, and much more.
Maya Shanbhag Lang is Vice President of Strategy & Editorial at Zibby Books. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and others.
What People are Saying About "Bright Complex Kids" Co-Authored by Dr. Dan Peters with Jean Sunde Peterson
“Peterson and Peters have written a practical guide exploring the topics that are most important in learning about, and understanding, bright children. I always know a resource book is valuable when reading it makes me think about students I know and how it would help them make better sense of themselves.”
—Terry Bradley, M.A., gifted education consultant and past president, Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented
Take Our Survey About Upcoming Group Therapy Topics, Timing
We are working to build a robust group therapy program at Summit Center for children and teens. Therapy groups are a supportive alternative to individual therapy focused on specific topics such as anxiety or executive functioning skills. If you are interested in enrolling your child in a group (6 weeks in duration) for our Spring 2022 session (beginning the week of February 28, 2022), please indicate your interest and availability using this form.
We will announce groups by early January via email. If you have any questions or would like more information about groups, please email info@summitcenter.us.
New Book: When I Am Calm, by Amy Parlin Feldman, M.Ed., LEP
Do you parent or work with a child who has trouble regulating their emotions? When I Am Calm is a new book by Summit Center licensed educational psychologist Amy Parlin Feldman, M.Ed., LEP, to help support children as they develop emotional self-regulation skills. This playful, educational read-aloud illustrates the cues our bodies give us when our feelings are starting to get out of control and provides specific strategies we can use to return to calm. Most importantly, When I Am Calm demystifies what calm really looks and feels like, using specific, concrete sensations that a child can easily identify. The book includes several activities and checklists for therapists, parents, and educators to use it as an active teaching tool. Now available for pre-order from Gifted Unlimited LLC or Amazon.
From Romper: Don't Stress About Holiday Travel with Family
Summit Center's Dr. Dan Peters is quoted in "How to Keep Your Kid from (Understandably) Losing It During Holiday Travel" on Romper, a website about parenting and motherhood. One of Dr. Peters' tips is to first manage your own stress. “This sounds simple, but it is the single most effective way to help kids feel calmer. When parents are stressed and anxious, kids are generally stressed and anxious, as they look to their parents to set the emotional tone, as well as pick up on their parents’ emotions,” Peters says.
"I have an awareness of when I am projecting my own stuff onto [my children]… My catastrophizing is what I am dumping onto them. When in fact, I could say something completely different, that didn’t feel so judgmental. I can say, you know what? This isn’t about you, this is about me. Keep doing what you’re doing. I’m going to go take a breath right now."
— Susan Verde on Parent Footprint with Dr. Dan
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