Active & Connected Families

Active & Connected Families podcast is a smart, conversational guide to help you and your family feel more active and connected in your daily lives. Your host, Amanda Sovik-Johnston, will tackle the small problems that sometimes get in our way (fighting about laundry… again?) as well as the bigger, more complicated mental health challenges facing our teenagers today. Amanda is a child psychologist, mom of three boys, entrepreneur, national champion swimmer, wife, and an expert at creating fun with a dash of perspective and plenty of wisdom. You will laugh and sometimes cry with Amanda and her expert guests. Subscribe to Active & Connected Families and you'll always learn something unique and useful about how you can become a better person, as well as a better parent! Connect with Amanda on Instagram (@activeconnectedfamilytherapy) or learn more about our family therapy options over at www.virginiafamilytherapy.com

Counting Kindness Helps Your Child’s Mental Health 12/19/2023

Spreading Holiday Cheer for All of Your Community to Hear 12/12/2023

Spreading Holiday Cheer for All of Your Community to Hear The holiday season is in full swing and for many of us, it all just looks and feels different than when we were kids. Over 40 million Americans have stopped going to church in the last 25 years, meaning that communal Sundays and structured lessons in forgiveness and giving aren’t as consistent anymore for us and our children. Although many Americans have found other communal organizations to replace church, a lot also haven’t. The longing for community and organized religion that so many of us feel right now shows us the sense of tradition, love, and belonging that we’re looking for which is essential to our mental health. And it’s completely related to the huge loneliness pandemic that is going on right now. As I always tell my kids: Loneliness is the new smoking. Let’s listen to the absence of communities that we feel most now around the Holidays and do something different this year for our own and our kid’s mental health. In this episode on community around the Holidays, we discuss: The ways we connect with people are changing and affecting our mental health; How the Holidays and our traditions around them look very different now from the ones we grew up with and how this affects us; Where’s the longing for belonging and community coming from that we feel even more around the Holidays?; Our society promotes individualism over community; Simple ideas on how to teach our kids to give to others this Holiday season; And more! We always love hearing from you, so don’t be shy, come over to our or and let us know what you thought about today’s episode! Ps. Do you love listening to our podcast? It would mean the absolute world to us if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This will help our show so we can help more parents and families feel more active and connected in their lives. You can , scrolling to the bottom, tapping to leave a star rating and then write your review. Thanks so much! And if you haven’t done so yet, make sure to so you don’t miss any of our future episodes! More info? You can find the full show notes, links and resources over at: /episode/index/show/podcasttherapists/id/29016698

Gaining Clarity in a Confusing World With Damon Eddy 09/28/2023

Homework Issues Make Relationship Issues: Strategies to Help With Homework With Lara Dawn 09/21/2023

Start the School Year With Presence With Dr. Leah Katz 08/24/2023

[REWIND] Emotional Support Through College Applications With Margaret Baudinet 08/10/2023

Improving Your Kid’s Mental Health: Easy Family Therapy Hacks 06/29/2023

Allowing Our Kids to Pursue Their Dreams & More Parenting Advice From Waki Wynn 06/15/2023

Darn Good Parenting Advice From Waki Wynn - Part 1 06/08/2023

How Our Pets Promote Social and Emotional Growth With Christine Bowers, LMFT 06/01/2023

How Our Pets Promote Social and Emotional Growth With Christine Bowers, LMFT We all know that animals can have a profound impact on people’s lives. But did you know pets can even promote social and emotional growth in our kids? Children use being with their pets as a very consistent coping skill and as a way to manage their emotions. As a parent, I started to wonder how and why this happens and how I can maximize the opportunities our pets bring into our homes. Today, we have Christine Bowers on the show who is an expert when it comes to animal-assisted therapy. We’ll be talking about how to promote social and emotional development through our pets. Have a listen to learn how to be proactive with the pets in our families in order to help our kids grow and get the most out of the animals in our lives. In this episode on how our pets promote social and emotional growth, we discuss: The health benefits of being in the company of animals; What the research shows on the effects pets and animals have on us; How our kids use their pets to regulate their emotions; Developing identity and building confidence with the help of our pets; Why it’s important to involve our kids in the caretaking of our pets; How our kids can reap the benefits of their pet even when it’s not always around; And so much more! We always love hearing from you, so don’t be shy, come over to our or and let us know what you thought about today’s episode! Ps. Do you love listening to our podcast? It would mean the absolute world to us if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This will help our show so we can help more parents and families feel more active and connected in their lives. You can , scrolling to the bottom, tapping to leave a star rating and then write your review. Thanks so much! And if you haven’t done so yet, make sure to so you don’t miss any of our future episodes! More info? You can find the full show notes, links and resources over at: /episode/index/show/podcasttherapists/id/27002472

Getting the Most Out of Summer League Swimming for Your Family 05/25/2023

Therapy Greatest Hits #4: How Do We Listen to Our Kids’ Feelings? 05/11/2023

[REWIND] Disordered Eating - Part 1: The Toxic Culture Around Body Image 05/04/2023

[REWIND] Disordered Eating - Part 1: The Toxic Culture Around Body Image It’s May and that means it’s almost swim-team season! With that, I notice the conversation around swimsuits, bodies, and body image coming up in my sessions more and more too. That's why we're-releasing an old episode on the toxic culture we live in around body image. In this episode, Caroline Megargel and I talk with Sarah Lewis from The Lewis Practice about the power we ourselves and our kids have when we start noticing the toxic messages we get around food and bodies. If you want to be more empowered about your own food and body image journey and if you want to give your sons and daughters the opportunity to empower themselves as they walk around this world, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy this episode! [And if you want to dive deeper into the topic, scroll back to our episodes from January 2022. This is just the first episode of a 6-episode series on disordered eating!] In this episode on the toxic culture around body image, we cover: How we see the culture negatively impacting adults and teens; The image (social) media paints about how we should look, act, and feel; The role of Social Media’s algorithm in the images we see; How the way we talk about our bodies impacts our kids' body image; What we as parents can do and say about this; And more! We always love hearing from you, so don’t be shy, come over to our or and let us know what you thought about today’s episode! Ps. Do you love listening to our podcast? It would mean the absolute world to us if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This will help our show so we can help more parents and families feel more active and connected in their lives. You can , scrolling to the bottom, tapping to leave a star rating and then write your review. Thanks so much! And if you haven’t done so yet, make sure to so you don’t miss any of our future episodes! More info? You can find the full show notes, links and resources over at: /episode/index/show/podcasttherapists/id/26742129

Therapy Greatest Hits #3: An Easy Formula for Talking About Our Feelings for Ourselves and Our Kids! 04/27/2023

Therapy Greatest Hits #2: Screen Time Basics 04/20/2023

How Did We Start Active & Connected Family Therapy? With Caroline Megargel, MSW, LCSW 04/13/2023

Therapy Greatest Hits #1: The First Thing I Tell Every Parent to Do – Easy Strategies to Enhance Quality Time 04/06/2023

Therapy Greatest Hits #1: The First Thing I Tell Every Parent to Do – Easy Strategies to Enhance Quality Time Today, we’re starting our mini-series on the greatest therapy hits with the #1 thing I talk to parents about, no matter what their reason for coming into my office. Whether it’s because their kid is having meltdowns, is feeling depressed, worries a lot, has difficulty following directions, … The very first thing I talk to the parents about is increasing the quality and frequency of the time we spend with our kids, i.e. strategies to enhance quality time. How do we as busy parents, with lots of demands and frequently raising multiple kids get the most bang for our buck when we’re with them? The idea is to find something you can do EVERY DAY to truly connect with your children in a way that makes them feel seen and works for your family. Let's walk this through! In this episode on enhancing quality time with our kids, we cover: How to increase the quality and frequency of the time you spend with your kids; The 3 things to focus on during your special time with your kids; Leaning into your child’s ‘love language’; How I implement these strategies with each of my children, specific to their own needs; And much more around enhancing quality time with your kids! We always love hearing from you, so don’t be shy, come over to our or and let us know what you thought about today’s episode! Ps. Do you love listening to our podcast? It would mean the absolute world to us if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This will help our show so we can help more parents and families feel more active and connected in their lives. You can , scrolling to the bottom, tapping to leave a star rating and then write your review. Thanks so much! And if you haven’t done so yet, make sure to so you don’t miss any of our future episodes! More info? You can find the full show notes, links and resources over at: /episode/index/show/podcasttherapists/id/26463825

[REWIND] Parents Have Feelings, Too With Caroline Megargel & Sarah Lewis 03/30/2023

[REWIND] Parents Have Feelings, Too With Caroline Megargel & Sarah Lewis Today we’re starting a series on our greatest hits and the tips and strategies we as therapists talk to parents the most about. We say the same things over and over again because so many of us struggle with the same things and I'm going to share them with you during the upcoming weeks! In this rewind episode, Sarah Lewis from The Lewis Practice, Caroline and I talk about how and why parents should be talking to their kids about their OWN feelings. This is probably contrary to what you see on Instagram or have heard before, which is that we should hold it together to take care of our kids’ feelings. And that’s true. But it’s equally true that we should be talking about our own feelings. Doing this will not only increase empathy and problem-solving for our kids, but we as adults will also feel closer to our kids and so much better in general. In this episode on sharing your feelings with your kids, we cover: Why it’s important to talk to your kids about your own feelings; What happens when we don’t talk about our feelings; How to discuss your own feelings with your kids: what wording to use, the best timing, etc.; Tips on what not to do; And so much more! We always love hearing from you, so don’t be shy, come over to our or and let us know what you thought about today’s episode! Ps. Do you love listening to our podcast? It would mean the absolute world to us if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This will help our show so we can help more parents and families feel more active and connected in their lives. You can , scrolling to the bottom, tapping to leave a star rating and then write your review. Thanks so much! And if you haven’t done so yet, make sure to so you don’t miss any of our future episodes! More info? You can find the full show notes, links and resources over at: /episode/index/show/podcasttherapists/id/26352681

From People Pleasing to Setting Boundaries for Us 45-Year-Olds With Meg Allan Cole 03/23/2023

How Trying New Things in My 40S Changes My Life - With Cville Ten Miler Race Director, Karen Murray 03/16/2023

Parental Burnout: What Parents Can Learn From Athletes About Managing Stress With Erik Korem, PhD 03/09/2023

Raising Boys #5: Raising Boys as a Feminist With Erin Spahr, LCPC 03/02/2023

Raising Boys #4: Helping Boys Talk About Feelings With Matt Browning, LPC 02/23/2023

Raising Boys #3: Why Is It So Hard for Boys to Talk About Their Feelings? With Matt Browning, LPC 02/16/2023

Raising Boys #2: What Do I Need to Know About Men’s Mental Health? With Jason Frishman, Psy.D. 02/09/2023

Raising Boys #1: [REWIND] Fatherhood as Social Activism With Jason Frishman, Psy.D. 02/02/2023

Raising Boys #1: [REWIND] Fatherhood as Social Activism With Jason Frishman, Psy.D. You all know I’ve devoted my life to understanding how teenage girls develop. Today though, I’m shifting my focus to the topic of raising boys. Men are put in a very difficult place in our society these days and if we want more for our boys and families and life, we have to teach young boys how to do better and offer more flexibility in who they become. The upcoming few episodes will all be around the topic of raising boys. We’re starting this mini-series off today with a rewind episode of my interview with Jason Frishman, Psy.D., about fatherhood as social activism. I believe that what he has to say about fatherhood can ground us in this conversation about raising boys because fathers are many times the role models in our boys’ lives. In this episode on fatherhood as social activism, we discuss: How the stories we grew up with shaped our view on fatherhood and masculinity; Redefining what it means to be a father; Why it’s harder for men/fathers to find a community in which they can discuss these topics; The similarities and differences between motherhood and fatherhood from a cultural point of view; The importance of the small things for you and your family; How and why this all falls under social activism; And so much more! We always love hearing from you, so don’t be shy, come over to our or and let us know what you thought about today’s episode! Ps. Do you love listening to our podcast? It would mean the absolute world to us if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This will help our show so we can help more parents and families feel more active and connected in their lives. You can , scrolling to the bottom, tapping to leave a star rating and then write your review. Thanks so much! And if you haven’t done so yet, make sure to so you don’t miss any of our future episodes! More info? You can find the full show notes, links and resources over at: /episode/index/show/podcasttherapists/id/25805643

What Does the Mental Health Crisis Tell Me About Parenting? 01/26/2023

What Does Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Look Like In Kids? With Jesse Dice, LCSW 01/19/2023

Actively Working Towards Who I Want to Be In 2023 01/12/2023

How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Kids (and Stop Fixing your Kids' Feelings) with Hilary Mandzik, Psy.D. 01/05/2023

How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Kids (and Stop Fixing your Kids' Feelings) with Hilary Mandzik, Psy.D. If you’re anything like me, when your kid starts showing anger, sadness, fear, or any other emotion in big form, you want to either fix the problem for them or send them away to deal with it on their own. But to raise emotionally healthy kids, we need to take a different approach. Today's expert guest is Hilary Mandzik, Psy.D. We discuss all the ins and outs of how and why we as parents need to stop fixing our kids' feelings and start sitting with them when they’re experiencing all the feels. Hilary helps us understand why this is what’s going to lead to happier and emotionally healthier kids in the long run. In this episode on raising emotionally healthy kids, we discuss: How we can teach our kids to regulate their feelings, so they aren’t expressed with violence, unkind words or improper behavior; How generational trauma influences how we deal with our kids’ feelings; Acknowledging and dealing with our children's feelings while regulating our own; How to de-shame a moment with your child; Creating a safe space where kids can come to you with their problems; The influence of our education system on how kids deal with their emotions; Staying curious about your kid’s feelings; How tools and talking about feelings can set up a better foundation for regulating them; And much more! We always love hearing from you, so don’t be shy, come over to our or and let us know what you thought about today’s episode! Ps. Do you love listening to our podcast? It would mean the absolute world to us if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This will help our show so we can help more parents and families feel more active and connected in their lives. You can , scrolling to the bottom, tapping to leave a star rating and then write your review. Thanks so much! And if you haven’t done so yet, make sure to so you don’t miss any of our future episodes! More info? You can find the full show notes, links and resources over at: /episode/index/show/podcasttherapists/id/25511466

Active & Connected Families

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