Blog
Spring into Action: 5 Ways to Reconnect with Your Child Over Spring Break
Spring is just around the corner, and there’s something about sunny, 75-degree weather that instantly lifts our mood. While kids are busy counting down the days until Spring Break, parents are often wondering how to fill an entire week without school. Beyond just...
3 Resources for Navigating the Loss of a Pet
Losing a pet is a profound and deeply personal experience. Whether they were with you for years or just a short time, pets hold a special place in our hearts, offering unconditional love, companionship, and a sense of stability. When a pet passes, the grief can feel...
What To Expect When Seeing a Therapist Who Uses Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
I think this moment often occurs when someone is looking for a new therapist: You are reading a therapist’s bio (maybe the fifth one today), and you inevitably arrive at that list of self-identified “therapeutic approaches” or “modalities.” Unless you are particularly...
Whatcha Listening To: Podcasts for Parents Recommended by AFC Therapists
Something about me is that I love filling my commutes to work with a good podcast- learning on the go as I like to say! There is quite a variety of content with podcasts and, as a therapist, it’s important that we stay up to date on the literature so we can best...
How to Build Intimacy with Your Partner(s) All Year Long
Valentine's day is typically a day to celebrate love, romance, relationships, and connection. However, V-day is not the only day you should be celebrating you and your partners. To sustain a healthy, loving relationship with another person (or persons), we need to...
Finding Compassion Through Caregiving
“Compassion is not a luxury; it is a necessity for our well-being. It is essential for our ability to care for ourselves and others.” — Dr. Gabor Maté (When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection, 2003). Many of us will, at some point in our lives,...
How to Make Your New Year’s Resolutions SMART
The start of a new year often feels like a blank slate—a chance to reset, refocus, and work toward the person you want to be. It’s a symbolic time for change, brimming with potential. But let’s be real: turning that excitement into action can feel daunting. We set...
How to Prepare Your Child for the Path, Instead of Preparing the Path for Your Child
Growing up, I often envied my classmates whose parents stayed up all night helping them finish procrastinated projects or giving them a free pass when they were afraid to try something. At the time, it seemed unfair. But I later realized that those moments of facing a...
Mental Health and Parenting during a Pandemic: An Interview with Lora Ferguson, MA, LPC-S, AFC Founder & Co-Director
Tell us a little about yourself I founded Austin Family Counseling as a way to help more families find peace and joy. I truly hope that you will find AFC to be a caring and hopeful place for you to work through the pain, sadness, loss, or struggle that brought you to...
Raising Strong-Willed Kids: Fostering Independence Without the Power Struggles
Hey, we’ve all seen it—parenting can be tough, especially when you’re raising an autonomy warrior* (you know, those strong-willed kids who are always pushing boundaries!). But here’s the thing: what feels like resistance is often just a child’s deep need for...
(You are) Do(ing) Your Best!
This blog post is going to be a little different. That’s because I’m going to challenge you, dear reader, to do something with me. Included below is less of a blog post and more of an activity regarding motivation. You can participate as much or as little as you want...