Understanding yourself and your relationships — so you can respond with calm, clarity, and connection.
When Relationships Feel Hard
Parenting and relationships can bring out both the best in us, and also test our patience, balance, and sense of calm.
You care deeply—but some days it feels like you’re running on empty, reacting before you mean to, or struggling to stay patient and present.
Maybe you find yourself snapping at your kids, feeling disconnected from your partner, or shutting down when emotions get too big. You want to respond calmly, but your body seems to move faster than your brain.
Some days you hold it together; other days it feels like everything unravels at once. You love deeply, but the constant push and pull leaves you depleted. It’s not about being a “bad parent” or “too emotional.” It’s about how stress
and old patterns shape the way your nervous system reacts—and how learning to regulate it can change everything.
At Valley Art Therapy, we help adults understand their patterns, regulate their nervous systems, and strengthen the relationships that matter most.
Why People Reach Out
When we care deeply about our relationships, it’s easy to slip into old habits of reacting, fixing, or overdoing—especially when stress is high. Over time, those patterns can leave us feeling disconnected, guilty, or unsure how to change things.
Many parents and adults come to therapy when they notice:
At home:
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Constant power struggles or emotional outbursts
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Guilt after yelling or shutting down
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Feeling overstimulated or touched-out
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Worrying about passing old patterns to their kids
In relationships:
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Repeating the same arguments with a partner or loved one
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Feeling unseen, unheard, or over-responsible
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Struggling to set boundaries or communicate needs
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Drifting into disconnection or resentment
You might recognize how easily you go into fight, flight, or freeze when stress hits. Therapy helps you understand what’s happening beneath those reactions—and learn how to regulate, reconnect, and respond differently, so that you can feel calmer, more present, and more confident in how you show up each day.
How We Approach Therapy
We start with safety, curiosity, and compassion—because real healing in relationships begins when we feel safe within ourselves.
Our therapists integrate polyvagal, trauma-informed, and attachment-based approaches to help you understand how your nervous system shapes your reactions and relationships.
Therapy may include:
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Learning how your stress responses—fight, flight, freeze, or fawn—show up in parenting or partnership
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Practicing regulation tools that bring you back to calm after conflict
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Exploring boundaries and communication patterns with curiosity, not shame
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Understanding your triggers and building awareness before reactivity
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Supporting parents in co-regulation, repair, and self-compassion
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Reconnecting with your own needs and values—so you can show up from a place of groundedness and care
Therapy helps you move from reactivity to regulation, from disconnection to understanding, and from guilt to genuine connection.
What Therapy Can Look Like
Therapy at Valley Art Therapy is more than talking about problems — it’s about understanding what’s happening inside you so you can feel more grounded, present, and connected in the moments that matter most.
Each session is collaborative and intentional. We slow things down, tune in to what your body and emotions are telling you, and build tools that help you show up differently—with your kids, your partner, and yourself.
You might find yourself:
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Taking a breath and noticing what’s happening in your body before reacting
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Talking through a moment that didn’t go how you hoped—and understanding what it was really about
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Practicing repair or reconnection after conflict
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Exploring how to set or hold boundaries with more clarity and confidence
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Learning gentle ways to calm your nervous system when things feel too big
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Finding words that help you communicate your needs with honesty and care
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Noticing small shifts that bring more peace, balance, and connection in daily life
You don’t have to perform or hold it all together here.
Therapy is a space to understand yourself deeply, strengthen your boundaries, and create change that feels real and sustainable.
Who We Work With
We support:
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Parents and caregivers who want to respond with more calm and connection instead of reactivity or guilt
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Adults who are ready to understand their patterns in relationships and communicate with greater ease
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People navigating transitions, family stress, or burnout who long to feel more balanced and grounded
Many of the people we work with are trying to do it all—caring for others, managing responsibilities, and holding things together—often while feeling overwhelmed or emotionally exhausted.
In therapy, we help you slow down, understand what’s happening beneath the surface, and build new ways of relating that feel authentic, compassionate, and sustainable—for you and the people you love.
What to Expect
You don’t have to prepare or have the right words—we’ll begin exactly where you are.
In our first sessions, we’ll talk about what’s been feeling hard, what you want more of in your life or relationships, and what tends to get in the way.
Together, we’ll make sense of what’s happening beneath the surface and build tools that support safety, communication, and connection.
As therapy unfolds, you’ll begin to notice patterns sooner, recover from conflict faster, and trust yourself more in moments of stress.
You’ll learn how to pause before reacting, express what you truly need, and relate from a more grounded, compassionate place—rather than exhaustion or overwhelm.
Therapy isn’t about doing it perfectly. It’s about learning to stay connected, even when life feels messy.
Meet Our Therapists
You want someone who really gets kids - and knows how to support them.
We’re passionate about this work, and our team is made up of therapists who care deeply about helping children, teens, and families feel safe, supported, and understood.
We bring together a wide range of expertise, including:
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Art Therapy
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Play & Expressive Arts Therapy
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Safe & Sound Protocol
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EMDR for children and teens
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Somatic Experiencing
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Trauma-Informed Care
We’re not just knowledgeable and experienced - we genuinely love working with kids and teens.
Our team brings creativity, compassion, and deep respect into every session, creating spaces where young people feel seen, heard, and safe to grow.
Because therapy isn’t just about techniques.
It’s about relationships. Safety. And helping kids feel better, heal deeply, and move forward with more connection and resilience.
Alecia Weinheimer
Counsellor
Cassidy Entz
Counsellor
Dana Corr
Trauma Therapist
Jillian Henry-Wilkinson
Counsellor
Robyn Nerbas
Art Therapist
Shannon Fullerton
Counsellor
Terri Lynne Lawrence
Counsellor
Ready to Get Started?
You don’t have to keep doing this alone—or keep reacting in ways that don’t feel like you.
Whether you’re navigating parenting stress, relationship struggles, or the weight of old patterns, we’re here to help you reconnect—with yourself and the people who matter most.
Reach out today to book a free consultation, and let’s explore how therapy can support calm, connection, and closeness—in your parenting, your relationships, and yourself.
Our Care Coordinator is here to help!
📞 204-842-3869 | ✉️ care@valleyarttherapy.com
Starting therapy for parenting or relationships can bring up a lot of questions—especially when you’re already carrying so much. Below are a few common questions parents and adults ask before getting started. Our goal is to help you feel informed, supported, and confident in taking the next step toward calmer, more connected relationships.