June 27, 2025 • 25 mins
Licensed professional counselor Bryna Talamantez shares how her practice uses play therapy, grief counseling, and child-focused methods to help families process emotions and build emotional resilience.
🌟 Perfect For:
Parents of young children, families coping with grief or trauma, caregivers seeking therapeutic support, local residents interested in mental health services.
🎟 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- How play therapy helps children express emotions in a healthy way
- What grief therapy looks like for kids and families
- The role of trust, safety, and connection in child counseling
- Why parents should consider therapy even if a child “seems fine”
- How therapy supports emotional regulation and resilience
đź’¬ Memorable Quotes:
"Play is the language of children — it’s how they express what they can’t always say."
"Grief therapy isn’t about fixing sadness; it’s about walking through it with support."
"Therapy creates a safe place for kids to show up just as they are, without judgment."
đź“Ť About Talamantez Therapy:
Helping children and families heal and thrive through compassionate, evidence-based therapy
Website: talamanteztherapy.com
Instagram: @talamanteztherapy
Facebook: @BrynaTLMFT
Phone: (972) 559-4943
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(Upbeat Music)
(00:03):
Hello, this is Angie Burns, the owner and
publisher of Allen City Lifestyle, and
welcome to the Allen
City Lifestyle Podcast.
On our podcast, we celebrate the
positive, supportive, and inclusive
contributions of local businesses,
organizations, and individuals making an
impact on our community.
We like to celebrate all of the amazing
things that are going on in Allen,
(00:24):
Fairview, Lucas, and Parker, and share
them with our listeners so that you know
the best in class businesses, the
organizations making a difference in our
community, and the individuals who are
making an impact on our
residents here in our area.
Hello, and welcome to City
Lifestyle with Angie Burns.
(00:44):
We are here today with Brenna Talamentes
with Talamentes Therapy, and she's gonna
talk to us today about her practice and
play therapy and grief therapy and all of
the amazing things that she does.
And I also wanna do a shout out and say
thank you to Brenna for being our student
of the month sponsor for
Plano City Lifestyle Magazine.
(01:05):
So we're gonna start
with that if you don't mind.
So yeah, so for City Lifestyle, each
month, we have eight different of the
month categories that can be
sponsored by a local business.
When you sponsor in the magazine, you get
to highlight an amazing
person in the community.
So she is the student
(01:25):
of the month sponsor.
And so every month, there is a different
student highlighted and we talk about all
of their accolades, what they've
accomplished, and then we actually give
them a $250 scholarship that is part of
the sponsorship from Brenna.
So thank you so much for allowing us to
give back in the Plano area.
So we do an annual community recognition
(01:47):
dinner where we award all of the
scholarships to the students and they get
recognized with the city leaders and our
business partners and
the community members.
So we're looking forward to that one
coming up for Plano.
But tell us a little
bit about you first off.
You've been on our show before, so we
don't need all of the background, but we
(02:08):
do need a little bit of information about
who you are and why do you choose to be
our student of the month sponsor?
Yeah, so hello, thanks for having me.
And I am Brenna and I'm a licensed
marriage and family therapist.
And I specialize in seeing kiddos, two
and up teenagers and families and adults
who are navigating grief,
(02:28):
ADHD, anxiety, and just life.
But not the marriage part of
marriage and family therapy.
I don't see couples.
I have lots of great referrals for that.
(Laughing)
But I mostly hang out with a lot of kids
and teenagers all day.
And that's why we love sponsoring the
student of the month part
of Plano City Lifestyles.
(02:49):
Because I love kids.
I love being with them,
hanging out with them.
And a lot of people helped me as a
student and especially going to college
and providing those opportunities.
And just every little
bit and scholarship helps.
Every little thing just helps, especially
(03:10):
for those navigating a
lot of different things.
And grief was a major
part of my childhood.
And one of those things, I grew up with a
single mom and that every single little
scholarship helped me be able to go to
college at a great university and just
helped be able to provide all of the
(03:31):
things and get a great education.
And so that's why I
enjoy being able to help.
And I love that y'all do that.
And student of the
month's really awesome.
Well, we love that you are part of our
family here at City Lifestyle and that
you help allow us to be able
to give back to the community.
If anybody has somebody they would like
to nominate for student of the month,
then please visit our social media pages,
(03:55):
shout us, shoot us an email or any of the
ways you can get a hold of us on our
website, citylifestyle.com.
You can do backslash Plano, backslash
Allen TX, backslash Rockwall.
It's all going to our team.
Or you can email me directly at angie,
A-N-G-I, no E, dot
burns at citylifestyle.com.
(04:15):
We will send you over the nomination form
to be able to nominate somebody to be
featured as student of the month in
Brenna's sponsored article.
So easy form.
It is a very easy form.
Don't be intimidated by a form.
It is a very easy form, but it does allow
us to have the information.
We don't want to have everybody in
(04:35):
student of the month.
It's just, oh, my kid is awesome.
Everybody thinks their kid's awesome.
As they are.
They are fantastic.
My son is precious, but I don't think
he's actually done anything to award
himself with student of the month, other
than be a giant hot mess express.
But he will.
He's very entertaining out of him.
He love having him there.
Yes, yes.
He will break dance and rap
(04:57):
and karaoke with all of us.
But we want students who really do excel
and who really go above and beyond.
So whether that's academically,
athletically, with their volunteerism, we
have a lot of kids who have invented
things or are founded non-profits.
So if you have a student that has really
gone above and beyond, not just my kid is
awesome because they're your kid, but
(05:19):
really those kids who go above and beyond
is who we want to feature in that student
of the month editorial.
We have more fantastic
information coming your way.
So stay with us because City Lifestyle
with Angie Burns will be right back.
At City Lifestyle, we only partner with
best in class businesses.
And a lot of times people will ask me,
well, what does that mean?
(05:39):
We do a very rigorous vetting process for
anyone who is allowed to
advertise in our publications.
We only partner with people who are four
and five star businesses and who have
great reviews with Better Business
Bureau, have all of their licenses and
certifications up to date.
We want to make sure that our readers and
listeners are only being recommended
(05:59):
businesses who are going
to go above and beyond.
So you know you are
getting a best in class business.
So tell us a little bit more about what's
going on with you and your practice.
And we've got some growth and development
happening that we're very excited about.
So tell us a little bit more about that.
Yeah, so starting on this past June 1st,
(06:21):
Talamantas Therapy expanded.
And we actually added my husband to the
office, which is very exciting.
So the OG Talamantas as
we keep talking about.
That's so funny.
We have added now
educational services to our office.
So really being able
to help the whole kiddo.
(06:42):
Because your husband is an educator.
Yeah.
So he's been a teacher.
He's been a teacher.
So he taught in public education for 10
years and he is working on
finishing his master's up at SMU.
And he's working on his Calc.
He will be a learning therapist here in
the next year or so.
And so our educational services, he can
(07:03):
provide dyslexia services and he has a
program that's very similar to Take
Flight that's offered in most of the
public education schools.
It is a very similar program for those
kids who are not
receiving those services.
So whether your kid goes to a public
school or homeschooled or charter school,
or maybe missed the opportunity to do the
Take Flight program at the public school,
(07:26):
we can provide those services.
Or if they took the Take Flight program
and just need a refresher,
we can help you out with that.
And so he's trained in a similar program
that can help you out with that.
And so that's one part of our educational
services that he is offering reading
support for any elementary school kiddo
who's just struggling with reading.
(07:47):
Because sometimes kids
just read at a slower pace.
Sometimes it's just a little harder to
pick that up and that that's okay.
And so he is so passionate
about teaching kids how to read.
He, for the last eight years, was a
kindergarten teacher.
He loves teaching kids how to read.
And just going back to teaching kids like
phonics and really just the science of
(08:09):
teaching them how to read.
He loves it.
And so he can offer that for any kiddo
that just needs some
extra support with reading.
And then for the summer, we are offering
reading comprehension groups.
And so TBD, if that's going to continue
through the school year, but for at least
the summer, we have those available.
And it's a great curriculum that's been
(08:30):
developed by two PhDs that we're using.
So it's really awesome.
So for elementary school kids as well.
So it's been really
exciting to have him at the office.
So is your husband as fun as you are?
Because I know that's kind of your claim
to fame is she's the fun therapist.
So you go in and it's bright, it's
(08:51):
colorful, it's beautiful.
Like I want to go and just
play in your office all day.
I do too.
So her office is, it's located in Plano,
in West Plano, right across the street
from Children's Hospital.
Yes, we go park our car in their garage.
Yeah, hail storms, it's Texas y'all.
But when you go in, there's games,
there's things to do.
(09:11):
It's fun.
So does he fit the vibe?
He does fit the vibe.
And right now he's actually currently
seeing a couple of my kids.
Okay.
And I had one of them.
Do they like him more?
Well, I don't know if they like him more.
And this isn't a hate on him.
I've just seen them for a very long time.
But one of my teenagers looked at me and
(09:34):
he goes, he has to pass a vibe check.
You know this, right?
Because she was doing
an assessment with him.
I said, oh, I'm aware.
He has to pass a vibe check with you.
And so I looked at her after she did her
assessment and I was like, did he pass?
She goes, yeah, he's okay.
So they've really enjoyed--
So it's a state of approval.
Yes, they've really enjoyed their time.
And we've brought some of
(09:55):
the things from his classroom.
So we've got extra books that they read
to take breaks and some of his magnetiles
that he had and his other,
you know, bring break things.
They're always grabbing sand from my
office to take it with him.
So it's a go shopping in Brenna's office
to take it to his office kind of
situation that's going on right now.
(10:16):
So he is awesome and great with the kids.
And I know I'm biased, but I'm also
trying to do some market research with
the kids, but they're
really having a good time.
You may be biased, but it's
very difficult to work with your spouse.
And the fact that you trust him to come
into your practice that you've had for
years now, and to say, I trust you with
(10:39):
my kids, because, you
know, I was a teacher too.
So I know once you're in my classroom,
you're always my kid.
And exactly, and we become very
possessive of them and very protective.
And so obviously he's your
husband, so you trust him.
But to say, you know, I
want to partner with you.
Like I've tried to hire my husband or
have my husband on our team
(10:59):
many times, not the best idea.
It doesn't work for everyone.
Thankfully, you know-- How does that
synergy relationship
work in the office setting?
So thankfully this is not the first time
we have worked together.
We actually met working
together at a summer camp.
So we worked together
for 10 years doing that.
And so we know, and we were the couple
(11:22):
during COVID, that when he had to go back
to school, I was like,
please don't leave me.
Like, one-- Oh my gosh.
I was like, get out of the house, go.
We were in a one-bedroom apartment.
Like it was very close quarters.
I was like, why did,
if you've seen my big fat Greek wedding,
you're like, why do you want to leave me?
Like that was me.
I was like, why are you,
you're the virtual teacher.
Why do you have to be there?
(11:43):
I need you here.
So thankfully like our
vibe works very well.
And for the dyslexia program, the kids
are there like three to four times a week
doing those lessons with him.
And the fact that the kids are still
excited, especially by Thursday and
Friday, to still come to the office to
learn during the summer,
(12:04):
like-- That speaks volumes.
It speaks volumes.
Absolutely.
We have adjusted like on days like the
kids are coming from camp and then coming
and like, all right, we need to adjust
the schedule a little bit, but I don't
think that says anything to him.
That's just like,
we've been at camp all day.
But the fact that on Friday mornings,
like last Friday morning, the kids were
still excited to come.
(12:25):
And these are like kids that I've had
that are now seeing him as well, that are
excited to be there.
I think that that speaks volumes.
So he does make learning really fun.
And these are kids that struggle with
reading and learning to read.
And attention.
And attention because these in particular
all have ADHD as well, because ADHD and
(12:46):
dyslexia sometimes-- My son has both.
Yeah, and they tend to go,
I feel like hand in hand.
And so the fact that he's engaging with
them, he's letting them take breaks when
they need to, he's adjusting their
curriculum based on the
kid that's in front of him.
So he really is paying a lot of attention
to the kids that are in our office.
(13:08):
And so it's really exciting to watch him
work and to take this new avenue.
And I'm really excited to see where our
office goes from here and like telling me
it's just therapy 2.0.
And so it's been really fun and I'm just
really excited to see where we go.
I'm excited to watch how
your practice grows from here.
(13:28):
Because I've been a
Brenna fan for a long time.
Like I'm telling you, there are so many
momgarts that ask for support from,
do you have a therapist?
My child's going through this, my child,
and I'm like, that's Brenna specialty.
Like she's an expert
because you really are.
You've not only lived it, but you know
how to teach the coping mechanisms and
(13:50):
you know how to speak the language of
these teenagers and these young kids and
young adults to where it doesn't feel
like therapy's a bad word.
Like it has such a negative stigma for so
long and everybody's like,
oh, I've got to go to therapy.
My parents are making me go to therapy.
And people are like, you see middle
schoolers and high schoolers, they're
like, how hard is that?
I'm like, why are you making it hard?
(14:13):
And they're like,
what do you do with them?
I'm like, I get on the floor with them.
We have snacks, we turn off the lights.
We hang out and then
they open up and they share.
And then you can teach them, all the
skills that they need to be, to conquer
what they're going through.
Like I'm on the floor with, the fact that
I'm in a dress today, you can tell I
(14:33):
didn't see a lot of kids today.
Like I had one and then an adult, but you
know, I'm on the floor with them.
I'm covered in paint.
Like we're in the sand.
It's a good, like you can tell I didn't
have kids that day if
there's no sand on the floor.
That was an adult day.
Like, you know, we're just,
I'm there to get on their level.
Do you bring the adults, and like the
(14:55):
parents in with the kids at times?
You know, I'm, I tell parents when they
call for a parent consult of, I'm here,
like I can't tell you exactly what I'm
going to do for you and your kid because
I don't, it changes week to week.
Like I never come in really set with the
plan because I don't know what kind of
week it's been like.
Yeah, you don't know
(15:15):
where their head's at.
Right.
And so once I get to know the kids, like
I have kids that come in and I know if
you're regulated, if you come in and want
to play a game with me, but you're
dysregulated if you go
straight to the sand.
And I can tell, I can start to tell like,
you have this tick when you're anxious.
You have this when this is going on.
And there are sometimes I'm texting mom
(15:37):
in the waiting room going,
they're doing this today.
What happened this week?
Like, I, like this behavior
has not come up in months.
What is going on?
Like if I know that the kid's not going
to be able to verbally tell me what's
going on, I'm getting information from
mom because I'm now seeing this so that I
can either lead us there or I know I can
(16:00):
then like try to regulate the kid in some
way so that they can calm down enough to
them like continue work at home because
then the parent has the tools at home
because I'm meeting with the parents to
go, hey, this is how we use this kind of
emotional language at home.
And so each family is different.
(16:20):
And so, you know, that's what treatment
plans are for of like, hey, sometimes I'm
meeting with parents.
Sometimes it's via email because parents
are busy and I understand that I'm like,
all right, this is what
I'm seeing with your kiddos.
This is what language we can use.
Sometimes it's over the phone.
Sometimes we can come in, but I wanna
meet parents and families
and kiddos where they're at.
(16:41):
And then that way we can go from there
because I'm with your team.
Right, because I'm with
your kid 45 minutes at a time.
There's only so much
we can do in 45 minutes.
And my goal at the end of that 45 minutes
is to send you home
with a regulated child.
And so, you know, we're gonna try to work
for like 20, 30 minutes of that time, but
(17:04):
I'm spending 10 minutes regulating your
kid at the end if we have talked about
things so that you can have a peaceful
rest of your night because like I don't
want all of you dysregulated.
Stay tuned.
We will be right back with City Lifestyle
with Angie Burns after
these short announcements.
(17:24):
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(18:09):
Burns at citylifestyle.com to book your
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What are some of the signs that a parent
can look for as to when they should send
their child to therapy?
Sure.
The biggest one, especially with grief,
is something big has happened.
(18:31):
So either a death of someone,
loved one, someone
around you, big changes.
So like changing in school.
Divorce.
Divorce, moving.
It's just like big
changes happening around them.
If you're seeing changes in behavior,
(18:52):
any kind of behavior,
they used to regularly do X.
And now they're not doing that so much.
They used to regularly be able to stick
to their schedule and routine.
And I'm not seeing them get
out of bed and eat regularly.
I'm seeing some of these things.
And it doesn't have to
be signs of depression.
Just different change in their
personality, change in their routine that
(19:14):
maybe just kind of came out of nowhere.
And it could come from the type of people
they're hanging out with or the types of
shows or video games that they're
becoming addicted to.
And we don't know
what kind of like, yeah.
And sometimes we don't know what messages
they're receiving at school.
We don't know if they're getting bullied
at school and they're afraid to tell us,
(19:35):
they're ashamed to tell us.
We don't know what's
happening at every point of their day.
And so any sort of change that you're
seeing, even if it's small and even just
asking them about it, but don't ask them
about it like aggressively.
We're asking them about it in the car
when we're side by side or like, they're
in the back seat, you're in the front.
(19:56):
We're asking them on a walk.
We're asking them while we're cooking,
like we're asking them in side by side
situations and not like-- Like
authoritative positions.
Yeah, we're not like--
Not a power position.
Cross from each other at the kitchen
table where we're like staring down.
Yeah, just like, hey, I've
noticed, like we're in the car.
Hey, I've noticed you aren't doing this
(20:16):
as much as you were like last month.
I'm just wondering what's going on.
I used the phrase like I'm wondering or
tell me more about often.
I really try not to use the word why
because it's very like,
why are you doing this?
Even if we don't, it's just like, hey,
why is that happening?
It seems like, why is that happening?
It seems very aggressive, even when we
(20:39):
don't mean it to be.
And so I really try to use like, hey, I
wonder what's going on.
Is it with my kids?
Is there a solution to like,
my son comes home from school.
He's about to start middle school.
So I've had two go through middle school
already, high school already.
So I know that it's
gonna be a tough time.
And boys are different.
Very different breed.
(20:59):
But what'd you do today?
Nothing, I don't know.
I don't know.
You don't know what you did
for eight hours of your day.
What language? What's the language?
What age you learned today in school?
Nothing.
Do you know how much your
parents are paying for school?
Right.
Right.
So what is the verbiage or the language
that we should use to get something back?
Okay.
What did you talk about at lunch today?
(21:20):
Ooh, I like that one.
Especially in middle school.
Yes.
Especially, that's how I like, especially
my middle school girls, but
do you talk about lunch today?
What was the gossip today?
Tell me the tea.
Tell me the tea.
Tell me the tea.
Tell me the tea at lunch.
You wanna know how I
deal with middle schoolers?
Tell me the tea from lunch today.
Okay.
And then you get all of it coming.
(21:41):
It's my favorite.
I literally, especially when I have
popcorn, it's in my office.
I was gonna say, do you have popcorn?
Because that's, yeah.
Start.
When people say therapists aren't here
for the tea, I'm sorry, that's a lie.
I am here for the tea.
But then you're here to teach them how to
deal with it and how to
decipher fact from fiction.
And sometimes I look at them, I'm like,
(22:02):
how do you think that, like how do you
think what you said landed?
Do you think that was
really a nice thing to say?
Like I will call them out sometimes,
especially if they were
the one that was not nice.
I'm like, would you wanna have something?
Not a good choice.
What if they had said that to you?
Right.
And I will call them out and they're
sometimes like, oh, okay.
(22:23):
And they'll like recalibrate.
Like even one of my five-year-olds one
day, one of my five-year-olds punched a
kid on the playground
because the kid said they weren't strong.
Listen,
you were trying to prove you were strong.
I logically understand
what you were trying to do.
And that happened at recess.
(22:44):
And by the time you got to me at 4.30 or
five, whenever it was that afternoon,
you looked at me and said, as a
five-year-old, that
wasn't my best choice.
I agree.
Yes.
So our discussion was, how else could you
have shown them you were strong?
Yes, yes.
And so at five, they were still able to
(23:05):
like, come up with ideas.
Very proud of you.
Yes.
Good job.
I love that.
We're not gonna punch people in the sink.
We're not doing that anymore.
No more punching.
A problem really hurts. Right, absolutely.
Tell us a little bit.
I know we're running short on time now.
We've actually gone over our normal time.
I just, see, Brenda gets you to talk.
(23:26):
She just gets you to start talking.
That's what you're talking about.
So tell us how people
can get ahold of you.
If they have a child that is going
through grief, or if they have a family
that's having some struggles,
how do they get ahold of you?
What is the best way
to get a consultation?
So I will say I'm a very typical
millennial, and I very much struggle to
pick up my phone, because I
have all the phone anxieties.
So the best way to get ahold of us, you
(23:46):
can go to our email, no, to our website
at www.talamantistherapy.com, or you can
email me at
brinnaattalamantistherapy.com.
And you can email me
for me or for Michael.
I can forward emails to Michael, but
Michael's email is Michael at
(24:08):
talamantistherapy.com.
You made it very difficult.
I made it so difficult.
So if you're wanting therapy
services, you can email me.
If you're wanting more of the educational
services, you can email him.
But everything is on our website for both
of us, including our Google form for our
summer reading comprehension groups.
(24:29):
Well, I am so glad to see you growing and
thriving and doing amazing things.
And thank you so much for coming in and
joining me again today.
And thank you all for listening or
watching our YouTube.
And please reach out to Brenna if you
have any needs with your child, because I
promise you she is a miracle worker.
And I think she has some sort of magic
potion in the sand in her office, because
she does great, great
(24:50):
things with these kids.
So thank you for tuning in,
and we will see you next time.
If you are looking for the best place to
market your business to our local
community, please consider
City Lifestyle Publications.
I personally own the Allen and Plano
territories, but we have over a dozen
luxury publications in our area.
We are a nationwide brand, so we have
over 200 publications across the nation.
(25:12):
And we really do value high editorial
integrity, beautiful photography, and
making sure that your story is told in a
respectable and beautiful way.
So if you would like to learn more about
how to become an advertising partner of
City Lifestyle Publications, feel free to
reach out to us, because we are your
ticket in the door to get you face to
face with your next client.
(25:34):
(Upbeat Music)
(Upbeat Music)
(00:03):
Hello, this is Angie Burns, the owner and
publisher of Allen City Lifestyle, and
welcome to the Allen
City Lifestyle Podcast.
On our podcast, we celebrate the
positive, supportive, and inclusive
contributions of local businesses,
organizations, and individuals making an
impact on our community.
We like to celebrate all of the amazing
things that are going on in Allen,
(00:24):
Fairview, Lucas, and Parker, and share
them with our listeners so that you know
the best in class businesses, the
organizations making a difference in our
community, and the individuals who are
making an impact on our
residents here in our area.
Hello, and welcome to City
Lifestyle with Angie Burns.
(00:44):
We are here today with Brenna Talamentes
with Talamentes Therapy, and she's gonna
talk to us today about her practice and
play therapy and grief therapy and all of
the amazing things that she does.
And I also wanna do a shout out and say
thank you to Brenna for being our student
of the month sponsor for
Plano City Lifestyle Magazine.
(01:05):
So we're gonna start
with that if you don't mind.
So yeah, so for City Lifestyle, each
month, we have eight different of the
month categories that can be
sponsored by a local business.
When you sponsor in the magazine, you get
to highlight an amazing
person in the community.
So she is the student
(01:25):
of the month sponsor.
And so every month, there is a different
student highlighted and we talk about all
of their accolades, what they've
accomplished, and then we actually give
them a $250 scholarship that is part of
the sponsorship from Brenna.
So thank you so much for allowing us to
give back in the Plano area.
So we do an annual community recognition
(01:47):
dinner where we award all of the
scholarships to the students and they get
recognized with the city leaders and our
business partners and
the community members.
So we're looking forward to that one
coming up for Plano.
But tell us a little
bit about you first off.
You've been on our show before, so we
don't need all of the background, but we
(02:08):
do need a little bit of information about
who you are and why do you choose to be
our student of the month sponsor?
Yeah, so hello, thanks for having me.
And I am Brenna and I'm a licensed
marriage and family therapist.
And I specialize in seeing kiddos, two
and up teenagers and families and adults
who are navigating grief,
(02:28):
ADHD, anxiety, and just life.
But not the marriage part of
marriage and family therapy.
I don't see couples.
I have lots of great referrals for that.
(Laughing)
But I mostly hang out with a lot of kids
and teenagers all day.
And that's why we love sponsoring the
student of the month part
of Plano City Lifestyles.
(02:49):
Because I love kids.
I love being with them,
hanging out with them.
And a lot of people helped me as a
student and especially going to college
and providing those opportunities.
And just every little
bit and scholarship helps.
Every little thing just helps, especially
(03:10):
for those navigating a
lot of different things.
And grief was a major
part of my childhood.
And one of those things, I grew up with a
single mom and that every single little
scholarship helped me be able to go to
college at a great university and just
helped be able to provide all of the
(03:31):
things and get a great education.
And so that's why I
enjoy being able to help.
And I love that y'all do that.
And student of the
month's really awesome.
Well, we love that you are part of our
family here at City Lifestyle and that
you help allow us to be able
to give back to the community.
If anybody has somebody they would like
to nominate for student of the month,
then please visit our social media pages,
(03:55):
shout us, shoot us an email or any of the
ways you can get a hold of us on our
website, citylifestyle.com.
You can do backslash Plano, backslash
Allen TX, backslash Rockwall.
It's all going to our team.
Or you can email me directly at angie,
A-N-G-I, no E, dot
burns at citylifestyle.com.
(04:15):
We will send you over the nomination form
to be able to nominate somebody to be
featured as student of the month in
Brenna's sponsored article.
So easy form.
It is a very easy form.
Don't be intimidated by a form.
It is a very easy form, but it does allow
us to have the information.
We don't want to have everybody in
(04:35):
student of the month.
It's just, oh, my kid is awesome.
Everybody thinks their kid's awesome.
As they are.
They are fantastic.
My son is precious, but I don't think
he's actually done anything to award
himself with student of the month, other
than be a giant hot mess express.
But he will.
He's very entertaining out of him.
He love having him there.
Yes, yes.
He will break dance and rap
(04:57):
and karaoke with all of us.
But we want students who really do excel
and who really go above and beyond.
So whether that's academically,
athletically, with their volunteerism, we
have a lot of kids who have invented
things or are founded non-profits.
So if you have a student that has really
gone above and beyond, not just my kid is
awesome because they're your kid, but
(05:19):
really those kids who go above and beyond
is who we want to feature in that student
of the month editorial.
We have more fantastic
information coming your way.
So stay with us because City Lifestyle
with Angie Burns will be right back.
At City Lifestyle, we only partner with
best in class businesses.
And a lot of times people will ask me,
well, what does that mean?
(05:39):
We do a very rigorous vetting process for
anyone who is allowed to
advertise in our publications.
We only partner with people who are four
and five star businesses and who have
great reviews with Better Business
Bureau, have all of their licenses and
certifications up to date.
We want to make sure that our readers and
listeners are only being recommended
(05:59):
businesses who are going
to go above and beyond.
So you know you are
getting a best in class business.
So tell us a little bit more about what's
going on with you and your practice.
And we've got some growth and development
happening that we're very excited about.
So tell us a little bit more about that.
Yeah, so starting on this past June 1st,
(06:21):
Talamantas Therapy expanded.
And we actually added my husband to the
office, which is very exciting.
So the OG Talamantas as
we keep talking about.
That's so funny.
We have added now
educational services to our office.
So really being able
to help the whole kiddo.
(06:42):
Because your husband is an educator.
Yeah.
So he's been a teacher.
He's been a teacher.
So he taught in public education for 10
years and he is working on
finishing his master's up at SMU.
And he's working on his Calc.
He will be a learning therapist here in
the next year or so.
And so our educational services, he can
(07:03):
provide dyslexia services and he has a
program that's very similar to Take
Flight that's offered in most of the
public education schools.
It is a very similar program for those
kids who are not
receiving those services.
So whether your kid goes to a public
school or homeschooled or charter school,
or maybe missed the opportunity to do the
Take Flight program at the public school,
(07:26):
we can provide those services.
Or if they took the Take Flight program
and just need a refresher,
we can help you out with that.
And so he's trained in a similar program
that can help you out with that.
And so that's one part of our educational
services that he is offering reading
support for any elementary school kiddo
who's just struggling with reading.
(07:47):
Because sometimes kids
just read at a slower pace.
Sometimes it's just a little harder to
pick that up and that that's okay.
And so he is so passionate
about teaching kids how to read.
He, for the last eight years, was a
kindergarten teacher.
He loves teaching kids how to read.
And just going back to teaching kids like
phonics and really just the science of
(08:09):
teaching them how to read.
He loves it.
And so he can offer that for any kiddo
that just needs some
extra support with reading.
And then for the summer, we are offering
reading comprehension groups.
And so TBD, if that's going to continue
through the school year, but for at least
the summer, we have those available.
And it's a great curriculum that's been
(08:30):
developed by two PhDs that we're using.
So it's really awesome.
So for elementary school kids as well.
So it's been really
exciting to have him at the office.
So is your husband as fun as you are?
Because I know that's kind of your claim
to fame is she's the fun therapist.
So you go in and it's bright, it's
(08:51):
colorful, it's beautiful.
Like I want to go and just
play in your office all day.
I do too.
So her office is, it's located in Plano,
in West Plano, right across the street
from Children's Hospital.
Yes, we go park our car in their garage.
Yeah, hail storms, it's Texas y'all.
But when you go in, there's games,
there's things to do.
(09:11):
It's fun.
So does he fit the vibe?
He does fit the vibe.
And right now he's actually currently
seeing a couple of my kids.
Okay.
And I had one of them.
Do they like him more?
Well, I don't know if they like him more.
And this isn't a hate on him.
I've just seen them for a very long time.
But one of my teenagers looked at me and
(09:34):
he goes, he has to pass a vibe check.
You know this, right?
Because she was doing
an assessment with him.
I said, oh, I'm aware.
He has to pass a vibe check with you.
And so I looked at her after she did her
assessment and I was like, did he pass?
She goes, yeah, he's okay.
So they've really enjoyed--
So it's a state of approval.
Yes, they've really enjoyed their time.
And we've brought some of
(09:55):
the things from his classroom.
So we've got extra books that they read
to take breaks and some of his magnetiles
that he had and his other,
you know, bring break things.
They're always grabbing sand from my
office to take it with him.
So it's a go shopping in Brenna's office
to take it to his office kind of
situation that's going on right now.
(10:16):
So he is awesome and great with the kids.
And I know I'm biased, but I'm also
trying to do some market research with
the kids, but they're
really having a good time.
You may be biased, but it's
very difficult to work with your spouse.
And the fact that you trust him to come
into your practice that you've had for
years now, and to say, I trust you with
(10:39):
my kids, because, you
know, I was a teacher too.
So I know once you're in my classroom,
you're always my kid.
And exactly, and we become very
possessive of them and very protective.
And so obviously he's your
husband, so you trust him.
But to say, you know, I
want to partner with you.
Like I've tried to hire my husband or
have my husband on our team
(10:59):
many times, not the best idea.
It doesn't work for everyone.
Thankfully, you know-- How does that
synergy relationship
work in the office setting?
So thankfully this is not the first time
we have worked together.
We actually met working
together at a summer camp.
So we worked together
for 10 years doing that.
And so we know, and we were the couple
(11:22):
during COVID, that when he had to go back
to school, I was like,
please don't leave me.
Like, one-- Oh my gosh.
I was like, get out of the house, go.
We were in a one-bedroom apartment.
Like it was very close quarters.
I was like, why did,
if you've seen my big fat Greek wedding,
you're like, why do you want to leave me?
Like that was me.
I was like, why are you,
you're the virtual teacher.
Why do you have to be there?
(11:43):
I need you here.
So thankfully like our
vibe works very well.
And for the dyslexia program, the kids
are there like three to four times a week
doing those lessons with him.
And the fact that the kids are still
excited, especially by Thursday and
Friday, to still come to the office to
learn during the summer,
(12:04):
like-- That speaks volumes.
It speaks volumes.
Absolutely.
We have adjusted like on days like the
kids are coming from camp and then coming
and like, all right, we need to adjust
the schedule a little bit, but I don't
think that says anything to him.
That's just like,
we've been at camp all day.
But the fact that on Friday mornings,
like last Friday morning, the kids were
still excited to come.
(12:25):
And these are like kids that I've had
that are now seeing him as well, that are
excited to be there.
I think that that speaks volumes.
So he does make learning really fun.
And these are kids that struggle with
reading and learning to read.
And attention.
And attention because these in particular
all have ADHD as well, because ADHD and
(12:46):
dyslexia sometimes-- My son has both.
Yeah, and they tend to go,
I feel like hand in hand.
And so the fact that he's engaging with
them, he's letting them take breaks when
they need to, he's adjusting their
curriculum based on the
kid that's in front of him.
So he really is paying a lot of attention
to the kids that are in our office.
(13:08):
And so it's really exciting to watch him
work and to take this new avenue.
And I'm really excited to see where our
office goes from here and like telling me
it's just therapy 2.0.
And so it's been really fun and I'm just
really excited to see where we go.
I'm excited to watch how
your practice grows from here.
(13:28):
Because I've been a
Brenna fan for a long time.
Like I'm telling you, there are so many
momgarts that ask for support from,
do you have a therapist?
My child's going through this, my child,
and I'm like, that's Brenna specialty.
Like she's an expert
because you really are.
You've not only lived it, but you know
how to teach the coping mechanisms and
(13:50):
you know how to speak the language of
these teenagers and these young kids and
young adults to where it doesn't feel
like therapy's a bad word.
Like it has such a negative stigma for so
long and everybody's like,
oh, I've got to go to therapy.
My parents are making me go to therapy.
And people are like, you see middle
schoolers and high schoolers, they're
like, how hard is that?
I'm like, why are you making it hard?
(14:13):
And they're like,
what do you do with them?
I'm like, I get on the floor with them.
We have snacks, we turn off the lights.
We hang out and then
they open up and they share.
And then you can teach them, all the
skills that they need to be, to conquer
what they're going through.
Like I'm on the floor with, the fact that
I'm in a dress today, you can tell I
(14:33):
didn't see a lot of kids today.
Like I had one and then an adult, but you
know, I'm on the floor with them.
I'm covered in paint.
Like we're in the sand.
It's a good, like you can tell I didn't
have kids that day if
there's no sand on the floor.
That was an adult day.
Like, you know, we're just,
I'm there to get on their level.
Do you bring the adults, and like the
(14:55):
parents in with the kids at times?
You know, I'm, I tell parents when they
call for a parent consult of, I'm here,
like I can't tell you exactly what I'm
going to do for you and your kid because
I don't, it changes week to week.
Like I never come in really set with the
plan because I don't know what kind of
week it's been like.
Yeah, you don't know
(15:15):
where their head's at.
Right.
And so once I get to know the kids, like
I have kids that come in and I know if
you're regulated, if you come in and want
to play a game with me, but you're
dysregulated if you go
straight to the sand.
And I can tell, I can start to tell like,
you have this tick when you're anxious.
You have this when this is going on.
And there are sometimes I'm texting mom
(15:37):
in the waiting room going,
they're doing this today.
What happened this week?
Like, I, like this behavior
has not come up in months.
What is going on?
Like if I know that the kid's not going
to be able to verbally tell me what's
going on, I'm getting information from
mom because I'm now seeing this so that I
can either lead us there or I know I can
(16:00):
then like try to regulate the kid in some
way so that they can calm down enough to
them like continue work at home because
then the parent has the tools at home
because I'm meeting with the parents to
go, hey, this is how we use this kind of
emotional language at home.
And so each family is different.
(16:20):
And so, you know, that's what treatment
plans are for of like, hey, sometimes I'm
meeting with parents.
Sometimes it's via email because parents
are busy and I understand that I'm like,
all right, this is what
I'm seeing with your kiddos.
This is what language we can use.
Sometimes it's over the phone.
Sometimes we can come in, but I wanna
meet parents and families
and kiddos where they're at.
(16:41):
And then that way we can go from there
because I'm with your team.
Right, because I'm with
your kid 45 minutes at a time.
There's only so much
we can do in 45 minutes.
And my goal at the end of that 45 minutes
is to send you home
with a regulated child.
And so, you know, we're gonna try to work
for like 20, 30 minutes of that time, but
(17:04):
I'm spending 10 minutes regulating your
kid at the end if we have talked about
things so that you can have a peaceful
rest of your night because like I don't
want all of you dysregulated.
Stay tuned.
We will be right back with City Lifestyle
with Angie Burns after
these short announcements.
(17:24):
Thank you for tuning into
City Lifestyle with Angie Burns.
We are committed to being involved in our
community and giving
back as much as we can.
If you would like us to come out and
throw a neighborhood block party for your
community, please contact us.
We bring out Founts houses, DJs, ice
cream trucks, and we would love to get
your feedback on our publication and
introduce you to our highly qualified and
(17:46):
vetted advertising sponsors.
We do not sell anything at the events.
We just come out, throw a party, and get
to know our neighbors so that we know how
to best serve our community.
So let us know if you would like us to
come out to your neighborhood.
We typically serve our neighborhood for
block parties during the months of May,
June, July, and
October for trunk or treats.
So reach out to us at angie, A-N-G-I dot
(18:09):
Burns at citylifestyle.com to book your
city lifestyle block party today.
What are some of the signs that a parent
can look for as to when they should send
their child to therapy?
Sure.
The biggest one, especially with grief,
is something big has happened.
(18:31):
So either a death of someone,
loved one, someone
around you, big changes.
So like changing in school.
Divorce.
Divorce, moving.
It's just like big
changes happening around them.
If you're seeing changes in behavior,
(18:52):
any kind of behavior,
they used to regularly do X.
And now they're not doing that so much.
They used to regularly be able to stick
to their schedule and routine.
And I'm not seeing them get
out of bed and eat regularly.
I'm seeing some of these things.
And it doesn't have to
be signs of depression.
Just different change in their
personality, change in their routine that
(19:14):
maybe just kind of came out of nowhere.
And it could come from the type of people
they're hanging out with or the types of
shows or video games that they're
becoming addicted to.
And we don't know
what kind of like, yeah.
And sometimes we don't know what messages
they're receiving at school.
We don't know if they're getting bullied
at school and they're afraid to tell us,
(19:35):
they're ashamed to tell us.
We don't know what's
happening at every point of their day.
And so any sort of change that you're
seeing, even if it's small and even just
asking them about it, but don't ask them
about it like aggressively.
We're asking them about it in the car
when we're side by side or like, they're
in the back seat, you're in the front.
(19:56):
We're asking them on a walk.
We're asking them while we're cooking,
like we're asking them in side by side
situations and not like-- Like
authoritative positions.
Yeah, we're not like--
Not a power position.
Cross from each other at the kitchen
table where we're like staring down.
Yeah, just like, hey, I've
noticed, like we're in the car.
Hey, I've noticed you aren't doing this
(20:16):
as much as you were like last month.
I'm just wondering what's going on.
I used the phrase like I'm wondering or
tell me more about often.
I really try not to use the word why
because it's very like,
why are you doing this?
Even if we don't, it's just like, hey,
why is that happening?
It seems like, why is that happening?
It seems very aggressive, even when we
(20:39):
don't mean it to be.
And so I really try to use like, hey, I
wonder what's going on.
Is it with my kids?
Is there a solution to like,
my son comes home from school.
He's about to start middle school.
So I've had two go through middle school
already, high school already.
So I know that it's
gonna be a tough time.
And boys are different.
Very different breed.
(20:59):
But what'd you do today?
Nothing, I don't know.
I don't know.
You don't know what you did
for eight hours of your day.
What language? What's the language?
What age you learned today in school?
Nothing.
Do you know how much your
parents are paying for school?
Right.
Right.
So what is the verbiage or the language
that we should use to get something back?
Okay.
What did you talk about at lunch today?
(21:20):
Ooh, I like that one.
Especially in middle school.
Yes.
Especially, that's how I like, especially
my middle school girls, but
do you talk about lunch today?
What was the gossip today?
Tell me the tea.
Tell me the tea.
Tell me the tea.
Tell me the tea at lunch.
You wanna know how I
deal with middle schoolers?
Tell me the tea from lunch today.
Okay.
And then you get all of it coming.
(21:41):
It's my favorite.
I literally, especially when I have
popcorn, it's in my office.
I was gonna say, do you have popcorn?
Because that's, yeah.
Start.
When people say therapists aren't here
for the tea, I'm sorry, that's a lie.
I am here for the tea.
But then you're here to teach them how to
deal with it and how to
decipher fact from fiction.
And sometimes I look at them, I'm like,
(22:02):
how do you think that, like how do you
think what you said landed?
Do you think that was
really a nice thing to say?
Like I will call them out sometimes,
especially if they were
the one that was not nice.
I'm like, would you wanna have something?
Not a good choice.
What if they had said that to you?
Right.
And I will call them out and they're
sometimes like, oh, okay.
(22:23):
And they'll like recalibrate.
Like even one of my five-year-olds one
day, one of my five-year-olds punched a
kid on the playground
because the kid said they weren't strong.
Listen,
you were trying to prove you were strong.
I logically understand
what you were trying to do.
And that happened at recess.
(22:44):
And by the time you got to me at 4.30 or
five, whenever it was that afternoon,
you looked at me and said, as a
five-year-old, that
wasn't my best choice.
I agree.
Yes.
So our discussion was, how else could you
have shown them you were strong?
Yes, yes.
And so at five, they were still able to
(23:05):
like, come up with ideas.
Very proud of you.
Yes.
Good job.
I love that.
We're not gonna punch people in the sink.
We're not doing that anymore.
No more punching.
A problem really hurts. Right, absolutely.
Tell us a little bit.
I know we're running short on time now.
We've actually gone over our normal time.
I just, see, Brenda gets you to talk.
(23:26):
She just gets you to start talking.
That's what you're talking about.
So tell us how people
can get ahold of you.
If they have a child that is going
through grief, or if they have a family
that's having some struggles,
how do they get ahold of you?
What is the best way
to get a consultation?
So I will say I'm a very typical
millennial, and I very much struggle to
pick up my phone, because I
have all the phone anxieties.
So the best way to get ahold of us, you
(23:46):
can go to our email, no, to our website
at www.talamantistherapy.com, or you can
email me at
brinnaattalamantistherapy.com.
And you can email me
for me or for Michael.
I can forward emails to Michael, but
Michael's email is Michael at
(24:08):
talamantistherapy.com.
You made it very difficult.
I made it so difficult.
So if you're wanting therapy
services, you can email me.
If you're wanting more of the educational
services, you can email him.
But everything is on our website for both
of us, including our Google form for our
summer reading comprehension groups.
(24:29):
Well, I am so glad to see you growing and
thriving and doing amazing things.
And thank you so much for coming in and
joining me again today.
And thank you all for listening or
watching our YouTube.
And please reach out to Brenna if you
have any needs with your child, because I
promise you she is a miracle worker.
And I think she has some sort of magic
potion in the sand in her office, because
she does great, great
(24:50):
things with these kids.
So thank you for tuning in,
and we will see you next time.
If you are looking for the best place to
market your business to our local
community, please consider
City Lifestyle Publications.
I personally own the Allen and Plano
territories, but we have over a dozen
luxury publications in our area.
We are a nationwide brand, so we have
over 200 publications across the nation.
(25:12):
And we really do value high editorial
integrity, beautiful photography, and
making sure that your story is told in a
respectable and beautiful way.
So if you would like to learn more about
how to become an advertising partner of
City Lifestyle Publications, feel free to
reach out to us, because we are your
ticket in the door to get you face to
face with your next client.
(25:34):
(Upbeat Music)
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