Therapist in Harrisonburg, VA points out the benefits to mental health that The Skeleton Festival provided to the community.
Skeleton Festival provided many community and mental health benefits to the people of Harrisonburg and the surrounding communities.
What a weekend of fun and community! Attending the annual Skeleton Festival organized by Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance offered multiple community and mental health benefits for children, teens, and families. This past weekend I represented The Growing Space LLC and Spiral Roots LLC at The Skeleton Festival. This was my first time attending this event. What I saw and experienced as a child and teen therapist in Harrisonburg, VA, made my heart sing.
Melissa Deaton Cook LPC, NCC, ACS, EXAT; is
a Harrisonburg therapist for Children and Teens
Call 540-416-1628
Spiral Roots LLC is a safe place
All are welcome in my office.
In a time where negativity, polarity, and judgment runs high there was a space for unity, creativity, fun, and connection. All the things that a trauma therapist knows help healing and growth. My appreciation for the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance team is heartfelt. They truly served the community this weekend.
Trick-or-Treating, Sip & Stroll, Duck Duck BOO! Scavenger Hunt, Costume Contests, Chalk Art, a Kids Zone, Food Trucks, Vendors and more. There was something for everyone in this highly diverse crowd. On this day it really felt like differences were put aside as families and friends gathered in costumes to stroll along Main Street. It felt like I was living in a good old-fashioned movie! I couldn’t stop smiling at the scene around me.
Melissa Deaton Cook LPC a bilingual child and teen counselor in Harrisonburg VA who uses nature and play when possible during therapy.
In a time where negativity, polarity, and judgment runs high there was a space for unity, creativity, fun, and connection.
My appreciation for the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance team is heartfelt.They truly served the community this weekend.
Melissa Deaton Cook LPC,NCC,ACS,EXAT Child and Teen Therapist in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Connect with Melissa Today
Through the eyes of a child, teen, and family therapist the Skeleton Festival was a wonderful event. I could see the time, effort, and engagement many families had used to create complex themed costume stories! Family members of all ages joined together with their children and teens in creativity. I saw parents and kids dressed up like chefs pushing a “Wiener dog” food cart. Real wiener dog’s in costume included! A father and son duo dressed as cowboy wrangler and cow! Superhero teenagers, spider webbed baby carriages, and vampire dogs! And then there was the banana group! So many cool themed groupings of art and creativity.
This event gave people an opportunity to think outside the box and create magnificent things.
There were many individual costumes that had been created from materials in the home. One person was a full-on rain cloud complete with sparkling rain drops. A young person had created a bathtub scene out of cardboard. Superheroes, villains, dragons, elves, teddy bears, and other ordinary things were parading around the streets smiling and laughing. As an expressive arts therapist In Harrisonburg, VA I understand and appreciate how splashing in the world of creativity with glitter, glue, paint, cardboard, and other found materials helps calm the nervous system, strengthens problem solving skills, and encourages a sense of self-worth and confidence.
Melissa Deaton Cook is a child and teen, expressive arts therapist in Harrisonburg, VA.
As an expressive arts therapist In Harrisonburg, VA I understand and appreciate how splashing in the world of creativity with glitter, glue, paint, cardboard, and other found materials helps calm the nervous system, strengthens problem solving skills, and encourages a sense of self-worth and confidence.
Connect with Melissa Today
And then, there is the power of being witnessed by others!
Having our efforts be seen and enjoyed by others is important. The knowledge that other people can see our hard work and accomplishment evokes a sense of pride. Children and teens, especially need to feel like their work matters. They need to feel that what they do and make has value, that it contributes to the world around them. Even our immune systems are boosted by this type of engagement with others.
Going through the processes of dreaming, creating, and then performing enhances skill sets. A process that teaches the importance of not giving up, embracing trial and error, and developing mastery. And, developing an understanding that mastery and acceptance does not need to equate perfection. All of this strengthens individual skill sets and calms the nervous system. And when this takes place as family and in community the benefits are even broader.
Harrisonburg counselor celebrates the vendors, artists, performers, and planners of The Skeleton Festival in Harrisonburg, VA. Thank you for your contributions and hard work.
The beauty of this event was that people were engaged with family and each other as community. Therapists in Harrisonburg, VA understand community engagement supports and strengthens mental health.
There was space for anyone and everyone to participate to whatever degree that felt safe and made them happy. The costumes and fun connected people of all ages, abilities, beliefs, orientations, and nationalities unlike any other festival I have attended in years.
There were chalk artists, skateboarders, musicians, bakers, and artisans of all ages who were able to shine. Librarians, teachers, law enforcement, the fire department, and many other prominent organizations and people in the community were able to come out and serve in a way that was safe, supportive, and fun.
As a trauma counselor in Harrisonburg, VA I know that the value of the experiences of children, teens, families, and individuals who attended the Skeleton Festival in Harrisonburg, VA will go far beyond their pictures and memories.
The unity and shared experiences of the diversity that is Harrisonburg, the creativity that was inspired and expressed, the nervous systems that were calmed and re-set, and the social and developmental lessons that were gained by children and teens are priceless.
These things and many more were a benefit to the whole community. Thank you to the Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance team.
As a trauma counselor in Harrisonburg, VA I know that the value of the experiences of children, teens, families, and individuals who attended the Skeleton Festival in Harrisonburg, VA will go far beyond their pictures and memories.
Now as we wrap up Halloween and Day of the Dead activities, we find ourselves fully entering into the holiday season of 2026. As a child and teen therapist in Harrisonburg VA, I encourage you to take time dreaming, creating, and enjoying life with family and friends.
Although Halloween in the United States is seen as a time of dress up and fun, creativity in community can occur all year round. Intentional time spent in creativity as family and community can greatly help reduce and manage stress. It can strengthen strained relationships between caregivers and teens, help children, teens, and individuals feel that they matter, encourage a sense of self-worth and confidence, strengthen problem solving and life skills, help calm the nervous system, boost the immune system, and much, much more! Keep dreaming, creating, and connecting together!
Melissa Deaton Cook LPC, NCC, ACS, EXAT has specialized in working
with children, teens, and families since the 1990s. Call her today at 540-416-1628.
Melissa Deaton Cook LPC works with ages 5-18 in Harrisonburg VA and the Shenandoah Valley
Melissa Deaton Cook LPC ~
child and teen psychotherapist
Melissa is a bilingual licensed professional counselor in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Melissa helps kids feel safe, supported, & empowered to be their best unique selves! She helps struggling children and teens to know that they are seen, they are heard, and that they matter with the help of trauma informed expressive art, sand tray, play therapy, nature based, and cognitive therapy.
“Melissa is like a child and teen first responder” Jennie -First Responder.
Melissa helps dis-regulated children and teens struggling with trauma, depression, anxiety, mental health issues, behavior issues, family separations and more to regulate and learn to function in their community. All are welcome! Melissa’s focus is to help kids learn to regulate, communicate, and strengthen their relationships in the home and community so they can develop the capacity to grow and become their best selves. Melissa may be contracted for child, teen, and family therapy, dynamic trauma trainings, expressive arts workshops, and team building events. Melissa also provides expressive arts workshops and drum circles through The Growing Space, in Dayton VA.Learn more about Melissa’s background, approach, and services here at spiralroots.org