Helping Children During Traumatic Events

In the wake of the recent school tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, how do we help children cope during such a traumatic event?

Our children need reassurance, comfort, and emotional support. Here are some resources to help children deal with fear, anxiety, grief, and other feelings following such a traumatic event:

Advice_from_PEP_School_Shootings

We here at PerceptA Therapeutic & Training Center, LLC, send out our deepest thoughts and prayers for all those affected by this tragic event.

~Chioma Anah

Staving off the Isolation of Private Practice

After spending a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family and friends, I found that I was dreading coming back to my fairly new, and relatively isolated private practice. I knew that I had to find a way to tap into my resources, and add richness and value to this awesome field and career choice I had worked so hard to achieve. In addition, I wanted to find opportunities to grow my business. So, today, I made a list of things that I needed to do. Here they are:

  1. Create or join a support group for mental health professionals who are in private practice. Specifically, start a meet-up group of mental health professionals in private practice, for support and resources.
  2. Get in touch with former classmates, professors, and mentors, who provided such valuable support to me in the past, and who could certainly provide a source of strength and empowerment, during these beginning stages of private practice and the inevitable uncertainty that goes along with such a time.
  3. Keep attending continuing education courses, but also look to network with other mental health professionals during those times, and talk about the services I offer, and discuss any opportunities for collaborations in any area.
  4. Be more actively involved in my professional associations. Contribute to professional journals, offer own expertise and professional experiences through presenting at seminars and trainings.
  5. Start preparing for the opportunity to present at one or more of the annual professional conferences. All to help stimulate my intellect, contribute to the field of mental health, and provide exposure to my business.
  6. Exposure, Exposure, Exposure! Use every opportunity to tell the community about what my business is about, including offering free trainings at local churches and community centers.

Wow! I have lots to do! I hope this list is helpful to others in private practice. If you are in the Baltimore area and would like to join a meet-up group for mental health counselors in private practice, please contact me @ 443-992-1796. Also, if anyone has any other ideas, let me know. Thanks.

~Chioma Anah

First Blog Post

Welcome!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the PerceptA Blog. The mission of this blog, is to provide a resource for mental health professionals to receive information regarding important topics in the field, and invite a community of professional peers to join me in sharing their thoughts, feelings, and experiences regarding a broad spectrum of presenting issues across various clinical populations. Topics discussed will include: mental health disorders and effective evidence-based treatment approaches; art therapy; clinical supervision and training of supervisees; professional development; clinical consultation and examination preparation tips; and topics related to social justices, advocacy and multicultural issues as it relates to different sections in the field of counseling, art therapy, and psychology. I look forward to our collaborative efforts as we embark on this journey of collective professional growth and development, awareness and creativity, and ongoing learning and self-evaluation

~Chioma Anah