Raise your hand if you have ever asked your child to do something (e.g., finish their math homework, put away their laundry, or pick up toys in the backyard), only to be frustrated when the final result isn’t what you expected? As a momma to two little ones, this can be so irritating to me! It can be discouraging when we have an expectation and it isn’t met. The truth is, we often develop our expectations from a “future picture” in our mind. And when it doesn’t work out the way we planned, we are disappointed. Have you ever…

• Been on a tropical vacation, expecting it to be sunny, and then had stormy weather instead?
• Started on a loop-trail hike, and realized that the trail was much longer than you expected, but you have to keep going in order to get to the end?
• Baked two dozen cookie monster cupcakes, only to have them turn out like this?!?!

If you have ever been disappointed because the outcome didn’t match your expectation, or thrilled because it was even better than you i...

Helping others improve their quality of life and discover the best version of themselves is what I (Ty) live for. I'm not 100% sure when this passion started for me, but my mom often tells a story of me as a first grader that may explain it…

Growing up, my mom was a special education teacher in the Milwaukee Public School District, so it made the most sense for me to attend the school that she worked at. For those of you not familiar with Milwaukee, the majority of the public schools in the district were pretty rough and the kids, even rougher. As a 7-year-old though, I didn't think anything of it and I was stoked to make some new friends at my new school. Being the social and friendly little dude that I was, I quickly made friends with the coolest kids in the class. At first quarter conferences, my teacher breezed through my academic progress stating how proud she was of the progress I was making in reading and math and then came a “BUT”. She went on to express her concern with the "...

We want you to take some time to celebrate your accomplishments over this past year! Be proud of the goals you met and all the amazing experiences you had. We also want to reflect a little on areas for improvement in the new year. As you think back on the year, did you find it difficult to have positive interactions with your child on a day to day basis? Were you feeling overwhelmed by your child’s behavior or emotions and unsure of how to help? If so, now is a perfect time to sit down, get out a pencil and paper, and start making some parenting goals for the new year. We know you might be planning resolutions right now, so on the blog we are sharing 7 tips for making goals you can crush in 2020!

We love providing you with inspirational quotes and parenting tips, but we also realize that this information may not actually result in change without a clear plan. For instance, when we do therapy with families, we work with both parents and children to create clear goals and actionable ...

When I was still in practice as a child psychologist, it was a disheartening reality that, by the time most children were walking through my door for a diagnostic evaluation, their struggles were longstanding. Often, it had gotten to the point of failing grades (or having to repeat a grade!), ineffective school interventions, or a tumultuous home situation with parents at their wits’ end (we have more free resources if school or homework is a struggle). In any of these situations, as you can imagine, the child themselves is just as frustrated as the adults who are trying to help them.

During diagnostic testing, there is a lot of one-on-one time with the child, engaging them in conversation and tasks. These tasks, by design, push children to their limits. It is in these moments that I really got a glimpse into their (usually) internal dialogue... and it was, more often than not, not very kind.

“I’m stupid.”

“I’m not good at math so I can’t do this problem.”

“This is too hard.”

“I’l...