What is the Vestibular System & why is it important? Empowering yourself with tools to precisely assess and treat these systems In your children and your own body can make a big difference. Click on the link to check out our next workshop https://www.facebook.com/events/260635261513977/?ti=icl

The Most Important Thing to Teach your Child By Dr. Tom Pender Clinical Psychologist, Synergy Therapy and Education .......................................................... I know it’s probably a cliché, but as a Psychologist, I love to talk about emotions. But the more I talk, the more I realise that a lot of folks don’t have a language to effectively share how they and their loved one’s feel. I’ve also discovered that there are quite a lot of people who are so afraid of talking about emotions incorrectly, especially with their kids, that they avoid the subject altogether. And I suppose it makes sense - a relatively small amount of time is invested during our early years to teach us about our emotional systems. But I reckon this absence is one of the biggest causes underlying the emergence of mental health problems in teenagers and young adults. If we don’t understand these confusing and sometimes overwhelming feelings that we constantly experience how can we even begin to think of ways to cope with them? The ability to regulate and control our emotions is a skill – a skill that has to be learned over time. And the first step in learning this skill is to understand and accept our emotions as we feel them. So I want to talk about the importance of starting a conversation with your children about emotions. I reckon emotions are one of the most misunderstood concepts in Psychology. We have somehow managed to divide them into either “positive” or “negative” experiences, branding sadness, guilt, anger, anxiety and all those other painful emotional experiences as “negative” while placing happiness and love into the “positive” category. This very basic division does no justice to what emotions are all about. So let me start by explaining that emotions are neither positive nor negative or good nor bad; but rather every single emotion we have serves a very useful and specific purpose that has evolved over millennia. For example, when we think about it, how could it possibly be “negative” to feel guilt when you hurt or offend someone else? Does this guilt not push us to apologise and commit to not making the same transgression again? Or how is it negative to feel so much fear that we avoid a dangerous or threatening encounter? Personally, I think it’s more useful to think of emotions as either painful or pleasurable. Of course no one wants to experience pain and surely some of our emotions can cause great distress and pain for us at times. But just as physical pain signals us to take our burning hand off the hot cooker, so too do our emotions signal us to steer clear of threat and move toward happier, healthier choices. When we open ourselves up to our emotional experiences and stop trying to run from them or get rid of the “negative”, we are more open to the full breath and wonder of being human. Equally, when we, as parents, start to open to our full emotional repertoire, we show our children that such experiences are not frightening but are actually tolerable and really useful. But the big question still remains - how can you, as a parent, teach your child about emotions? The first step is much easier than you would expect. By simply observing what your child and other people are feeling, and commenting on it in a non-judgmental way, you can teach your children to identify emotions in themselves and others. So as you go through your day, keep an eye out for opportunities to label and validate your child's feelings: "You look scared” “You're jumping up and down! Are you excited?” “You really don't like your vegetables! I hear you.” “I know you’re hurt by what happened” “I guess that was really embarrassing”. Don’t be afraid to model labelling your own emotion. Parents often ask me will they “damage” or “traumatise” their children if they show “negative” emotion in front of them. I always take the view that emotions are just part of being human and of course we want to show this side of ourselves to our kids. So don’t be afraid to show what you are feeling … but remember, make sure to model how adults can feel their emotions and remain in control. For example, there’s huge learning in showing our children how we can be angry and speak calmly at the same time. Sharing our emotions in an out of control way is just scary for kids (e.g., shouting when angry, crying uncontrollably when sad, etc.). Finally, try and let go of the need to problem solve immediately. We are often so quick to jump in with solutions. But when we think about our own relationships as adults, there’s nothing more irritating than the friend or partner that jumps in with solutions before truly listening to the problem (e.g., “just calm down” or “you just need to do X, Y, and Z”). We tend to feel misunderstood and hurt and view the other person as condescending and as over-simplifying the situation. So in the words of Daniel Siegel, a famous author who writes extensively on parenting young children, just “Name it to Tame it”. This concept taps into the fact that the very act of naming your child’s emotional state tends to reduce the intensity of their emotion. ....... For more information and discussion join us at our next event on Tuesday the 26th of March at 7pm. Please see the event link on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/786534475041044/?ti=cl or contact us for more details. Best wishes. From the Synergy Therapy & Education Team.

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Developmental Coordination Disorder Workshops - for Teenagers with DCD ***A two part course aimed at children aged 13 - 15 years and ***A two part course aimed at children aged 16 - 18 years. This series of workshops will be delivered by the Synergy Therapy & Education team, based in Waterford City. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Tom Pender and Chartered Physiotherapists Dr. Ryan Foley and Miley Joyce will be talking to teenagers with DCD in these workshops. Offering practical advice and strategies to optimise physical and mental well being. Please see the pictures below for further details on these workshops. Additional details on each workshop can be found in the events section on this page. For further information please click the send email button on this page to contact us.

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Developmental Coordination Disorder Workshops - Secondary School: This series of workshops will be delivered by the Synergy Therapy & Education team, based in Waterford City. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Tom Pender and Chartered Physiotherapists Dr. Ryan Foley and Miley Joyce will be talking to parents and teachers of secondary school aged children in these workshops. Offering practical advice and strategies to optimise physical and mental well being. Please see the pictures below for further details on these workshops. Additional details on each workshop can be found in the events section on this page. For further information please click the send email button on this page to contact us.

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Developmental Coordination Disorder Workshops - Primary School: This series of workshops will be delivered by the Synergy Therapy & Education team, based in Waterford City. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Tom Pender and Chartered Physiotherapists Dr. Ryan Foley and Miley Joyce will be talking to parents and teachers of primary school aged children in these workshops. Offering practical advice and strategies to optimise physical and mental well being. Please see the pictures below for further details on these workshops. Additional details on each workshop can be found in the events section on this page. For further information please click the send email button on this page to contact us.

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Synergy Therapy & Education