Parenting

There is no question about it – parenting is hard work. Parents NEED information, support, and skills.  Think about – in our culture today, many people don’t have daily experience interacting with children until they become parents themselves! Then without this solid base of experience, and often without amble support, people are suddenly thrust into the role of parent and being the expert of their child’s life.

Although, I had a PhD and had even taught child development as a professor before I became a mother, I can still remember  sitting in the back seat of my Camry with my fussing newborn daughter next to me, sobbing as we said goodbye and dropped my own mother at the train station. I had never felt like this. I was exhausted. I felt overwhelmed with responsibility.  I seriously wondered if I could actually do this.

This experience pushed me to build upon my base in child development and family therapy and search for tools to support and empower new parents (and myself!). As I identified these tools, I completed specialized training in the transition to parenting, newborn care, and parenting. I am passionate about helping others in this process of transitioning to parenthood. This process often includes exploring the experiences you had with your own parents, deliberately naming the values that will guide your parenting, building your capacity to attune with the emotions of others and learning a bunch of new skills. While we can always work on parenting in individual or couples therapy, I also offer classes and retreats.

Happiest Baby Class:

The class is a small two hour interactive class based on the work of Dr. Harvey Karp and the best selling book ‘The Happiest Baby on the Block’. The two hour class focuses on connecting with your infant and building a strong attachment. New parents will learn step-by-step how to soothe infants and help them sleep longer. The class information includes the following topics: covering why newborns are fussy/have trouble regulating, the calming reflex, the 5 soothing skills, and the cuddle cure.