Feeling Together Blog
EMOTIONAL WELLNESS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
An Exploration of Good-Enough Parenting
D. W. Winnicott coined the term “good enough mother” in 1953. The British pediatrician and psychoanalyst suggested that mothers need not be concerned with perfection, but rather with being good enough. In honor of Mother’s Day, I’d like to explore a bit about what...
Journaling: A Metaphor for Holding & Accepting
One of the first things I did last week when I arrived early for a yoga retreat was open my laptop and log in to a prose poetry class. I didn't want to miss the prompts and subsequent delight in something new as it appeared on the page before me. I don't always like...
Setting up a Budget-Friendly Playroom
Becoming a Registered Play Therapist through the Association for Play Therapy requires a financial investment in education as well as supervision through three phases of development (outlined here on page four). A play therapy training budget needs to consider...
The Importance of Nurturing Talent in Supervision
Every once in a while my husband returns from a trip or online seminar with new books in our audiobook file. They generally have to do with management and leadership, which is a refreshing change from all of the science fiction he downloads. Over the weekend, I...
Paper Art: Unfolding within the Folds
As I prepare for an upcoming play therapy workshop on working with paper, I realize that paper arts fit with another theme of my writing over the past week: the balance of nurture and structure. Rather than rehash what I wrote, here is a brief description followed by...
Dear Parents, Take Advantage of Rituals
Dear Parents, As our children are headed into the school year, whatever that looks like for you, I'd like to share a few observations: I had more hope at the end of last school year than I do at the beginning of this one. I don't think I'm alone because a couple of...
NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP)
I am really happy to announce that Dr. Emily Keller, LLC, is now approved by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP). We had already been an approved provider of continuing education by the Association for...
Confirmations, Signs, and Moving Forward
I've been writing and processing about life, meaning, and moving forward at https://storygarden.substack.com. It's my attempt to inspire authentic living. I hope you will check it out. That writing collided with me personally and professionally in a beautiful way....
Create Moments of Playful Connection
I thought about making a list: "Ten ways to create moments of playful connection with your children." "Playfully connect with your child to fortify their emotional regulation during COVID-19.” “Five ways children are reaching out to us to meet their needs without...
Video Intro: Using Sand Tray to Process Grief in Play Therapy
Here's a short video introduction to the February 12 workshop: Using Sand Tray to Process Grief in Play Therapy To read some of my recent writings about grief and the importance of "holding" ... visit: With Holding, the Hollow Becomes Hallowed. I hope to connect with...
Processing 2020
My mind is a sieve. Words slip by like shadows without my grasping them. And, yet, true to a form I hope foreshadows 2021, I am sitting and writing through the clouds that are my mind. Cloudiness is normal. I pause, for just a moment, not sure what to write next. I...
Play Therapy: Paper Chain Mood Rings
When my husband deployed to Afghanistan a couple of years ago, we had a rough idea of how long he would be gone. I made a chain of 220 paper rings. At the end of each day, my four boys and I broke one of the paper rings off. This helped my younger children visualize...