An interview with Natalie Samuels, Mental Health Professional & Co‑Owner of Calmura Counseling and Wellness
In the wake of the devastating LA Fires, communities have been left grappling with profound loss, disruption, and uncertainty. Among the many concerns that surface after disaster, the wellbeing of children rises to the forefront. As the most vulnerable in times of crisis, children depend on the stability, protection, and emotional presence of the adults around them—yet those very supports are often stretched thin in the aftermath of catastrophe. While young people are frequently viewed as fragile following such events, the reality is more complex: with the right support, children can recover and adapt, even amid devastation. Ensuring that support, however, can be an overwhelming challenge for families navigating their own survival and healing.
In the aftermath of the fires, mental health professional Natalie Samuels has seen how deeply disaster disrupts family systems — and how critical the right tools can be in supporting children’s recovery.
"Typically after disaster, people often assume children are the most impacted." Natalie says. "But kids are extremely resilient if supported with consistent support, routines, and opportunities to maintain a sense of normalcy. So, outcomes vary, but a child’s recovery is closely tied to the stability and wellbeing of the adults around them."
Supporting that sense of normalcy, however, can be incredibly difficult for parents in crisis. Natalie observes that after disaster, “normalcy is so disrupted,” and while children need consistency and connection, “a parent’s normalcy is disrupted as well by everything they’re facing relating to the crisis, so that it’s hard for them to manage that much needed normalcy for their kid following disaster.”
Natalie has found A Pack of Tiny Adventures to be particularly supportive for families in the wake of the LA Fires. “The Tiny Adventures resource really takes the thinking out of providing that much needed normalcy for parents,” she explains — an important consideration when caregivers are overwhelmed.
What stands out to her most is the way the resource helps restore everyday connection. “It provides a really intentional way of trying to regain normalcy by paying attention to simple, ordinary moments — which really is normalcy,” she says. Natalie adds that the resource helps parents see that “connection that feels disrupted following crisis can be regained in ways that are less complicated than they might be making it out to be internally.”
In her clinical work, Natalie relies on developmentally appropriate resources that support both children and the professionals working alongside them. One of her most frequently used tools is Chatter Patter, an emotion‑focused game designed for kids.
“It’s my favorite one to utilize,” she explains. “It’s a really great, developmentally appropriate tool to use in the beginning phases of the therapeutic relationship.” She shares that it supports children while also informing her clinical work: “Watching the way a child is able to interact with it gives me a baseline for where they’re at developmentally, and where I can go clinically.”
Natalie describes how these indirect, play‑based tools are especially important for children who are struggling to express themselves after loss or disruption. “I worked with a young client who was experiencing a lot of shutdown, withdrawal and difficulty in externalizing feelings. They would often become more walled when we tried to explore feelings verbally, through direct questions. And it was challenging for the parents to find a way to connect because that walled reaction would come up,” she says.
Using Chatter Patter changed that dynamic. “The game‑like setting allows for a more gentle approach to access vulnerable feelings,” Natalie explains. “Playing with the game allowed me to step around the wall. That was a really great moment.”
“And for parents too, wanting to support their kids, this game is helpful. You’re sitting on the floor, you’re down at their level, and there’s a different form of engagement that resources like this give you access to.”
While a focus on the children is important, Natalie emphasizes that the parents play an important role and emotional support must extend to them as well. “As much as we try to foster emotional literacy to help a child navigate the complexities of emotion following life disruption, so much of that needs to be supported with the parent too,” she says.
She explains that tools like Chatter Patter can help adults help their kids but also reconnect with and ground their own emotions: “Emotions can be extremely complex and sophisticated, but every human walking planet Earth at the end of the day is hardwired with the same set of primary emotions. They just become more sophisticated as life moves on and complexities increase. The rudimentary approach to defining some of our feelings in a way that’s helpful for a child can actually also be helpful for the parent during these times. It can allow them to reconnect with the root of what they’re feeling. It can be really grounding for the parents, as well as the kids."
For Natalie, these tools are more than activities — they are essential supports for recovery. “Kids are resilient,” she says, and she feels strongly that “these tools really support that resilience in a very natural, developmentally appropriate way.”
