ask dr. earley: unstructured child-directed play

In this new monthly feature, clinical psychologist (and imeetswe Board Secretary) Dr. Brighton Earley, Psy. D., answers questions related to our Neurodiverse Topic Of The Month. This month, Dr. Earley responds to questions related to our featured topic Unstructured Child-Directed Play Q: As a parent, isn’t it my role to teach important life skills? Shouldn’t … Read more

Unstructured Child-Directed Play

Children need lots of free play, and free-play time with a parent is often one of the highlights of a child’s day. With our busy work schedules, we might forget to create reliable windows of time that are devoted solely to unplanned, unstructured connection–time directed by our child’s attention and supported by our undivided participation. … Read more

Why did I bring my daughter to music class if I had such negative experiences with music as a kid?

by Dr. Brighton Earley, Psy.D. As a psychologist who works with children, I have acquired these bits and bobs of knowledge that I can apply (experiment with) to my own child. In Therapy School we learn that music is one thing that helps us humans with regulation, so we should recommend it to our patients … Read more

co-regulation in infancy and early childhood

Co-regulation refers to the dynamic interaction between two people–between their bodies, minds, or nervous systems–through which they help each other move toward a state of balance or calm. This process can happen automatically, beneath our awareness, or it can be a conscious, mindful practice. Co-regulation is one of the most important foundations of early parenting … Read more

why we do what we do: my mother’s crone ceremony

It’s been very emotional for me to reemerge from the darkness of lockdown to return to building community through music-making. In my conversations with folks, it becomes clear that a younger generation of families don’t know about some of the ways we connected before, and don’t necessarily remember many of the ways things were different … Read more

mind/body/oxygen

RAG: I work in spaces where people are exploring creative activity in motion, such as singing, dancing, and playing instruments. I notice a subset of people who will experience frequent yawning, muscle contractions in various parts of the body, and the desire to stretch. What am i describing, and how can i contextualize this so … Read more