How To Build a Sensory Bin
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Everyone gets stressed and overwhelmed. One way to regulate big feelings is to use sensory interventions to help calm your body and mind and process your thoughts. If you use sensory approaches to help control your emotions, you can make a sensory bin whenever you feel anxious. Keeping all of your favorite sensory toys in one spot makes it easier to deal with emotions when you're feeling overwhelmed. Here are four steps to get your sensory bin started: 1. Identify your primary sense Everyone has senses that are more sensitive than others. Think about which of your senses are most perceptive to [...]
Sensory Tools and Toys
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Using sensory interventions can help regulate your body when you're in a stressful or overwhelming situation. By utilizing one of your senses, your mind and body can focus on a specific stimulus, which will ground you and calm your thoughts. Sensory tools and toys can help with this. How do sensory interventions work? The first step to successful sensory intervention is to assess which of your senses is most perceptive to stimulation. Once you choose between touch, taste, sound, sight, and smell, you can focus on that sense as a grounding exercise. Stimulate the primary sense you've chosen any [...]
The Village Family Service Center Discontinues Two Programs to Focus on Increased Behavioral Health Need
NORTH DAKOTA – The Village Family Service Center has announced that it will gradually discontinue its Adoption and Pregnancy Programs, as well as its Financial Resource Center. The organization plans to focus its resources on counseling to better address the growing behavioral health needs of the community.
Summer Activities & Busy Schedules
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Summer always seems busier than any other time of year. Between community events, kids' activities, and trying to fit everything in before it gets cold again, there's just so much to do. Here are some tips for dealing with busy schedules in the summer. Planning summer activities Make a summer calendar Take note of everyone's activities and hang a calendar in a central location. Make sure to write down the whole family's activities so nothing gets missed. Invite kids to the discussion Ask the kids what activities they would like to participate in. Each member of the family has something [...]
The Village Family Service Center in Grand Forks moves to new location
GRAND FORKS – The Village Family Service Center’s Grand Forks office is moving to a larger location, allowing more space for therapy sessions. The new building will be at 4324 University Ave, Suite B, Grand Forks.
The Village is a nonprofit organization that strengthens individuals and families across North Dakota and Minnesota through behavioral health services. The Grand Forks office specializes in mental health counseling for all ages.
Sensory Interventions
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Everyone gets stressed out. Kids and adults alike can have trouble regulating their emotions when they are in an overwhelming environment. This is called dysregulation, which happens when the body's threat response is triggered. Sensory interventions can help! Sensory Interventions When you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed, your body goes into a threat response mode, where you feel like you can't control your emotions or process your thoughts. This is where sensory interventions come in. A sensory intervention is something you can use to distract yourself from a stressor. It could be [...]
FM Area Foundation Awards BBBS Grant To Further Support Mentoring Youth
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FARGO – Big Brothers Big Sisters of The Village Family Service Center was awarded a grant from the FM Area Foundation.
Trauma-Sensitive Meditation
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Many people are affected by trauma at some point in their life. Symptoms of trauma can include anxiety, confusion, agitation, dissociation, and more. Luckily, there are treatments for issues caused by trauma. There are also many ways to alleviate symptoms. Yoga and trauma-sensitive meditation can help calm and ease anxieties that result from traumatic experiences. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Trauma-sensitive yoga is a great way to help manage and decrease symptoms that arise from trauma. This type of yoga focuses on getting out of your body's stress response and entering into a relaxation response [...]
Trauma-Sensitive Yoga
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Just about everyone experiences trauma. Trauma can be anything that brings large amounts of distress emotionally and/or physically that can last long after the traumatic experience. Something that is traumatic to one person may not seem traumatic to another, so people might minimize their own traumatic experiences, but all trauma and all experiences are valid. No matter what kind of trauma someone has gone through, there are a variety of treatments and therapy models that can help. These might include EMDR or Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). Trauma-sensitive yoga can be [...]