What I offer

As an Licensed Clinical Social Worker with clinical training and specialization in trauma, I utilize a variety of techniques, which include talk therapy, mindfulness, emotive therapy, that have proven helpful for clients.

The Enneagram is a valuable tool for understanding self and others, for empathizing with oneself and others, and for utilizing healthy communication skills and managing conflict.

What does it mean to be a conscious parent? Consciousness is a “state of evolution,” and its an ongoing journey towards greater self-awareness and awareness of how our personal history affects our relationships with others, particularly our children.

I have worked with children in foster care and their respective families for much of my career. Even as I move into private practice, I still have a deep love for this population, and I want to spread the message of conscious parenting with as many families as possible. My heart goes out to families that need services and cannot afford them; families that are limited in accessing them due to time constraints and lack of transportation. Conscious Family Services is a Medicaid approved program that provides in-home conscious parent training/ therapeutic services for low-income families.

What makes CFS different from other forms of early intervention? I use the Conscious Parenting paradigm to assist caregivers in learning how to parent without the use of punishment or other traditional, archaic methods. Many of these methods of “discipline” are not based in scientific theory and are often improperly applied. In fact, the use of corporal punishment has been proven to be damaging to children, but sadly, many people do not know this.

Instead of teaching parents discipline methods, I will teach them how to keep their children safe. What most people refer to as “misbehavior” is children exploring and utilizing healthy and adaptive skills in an unsafe environment. I will provide factual evidence about what causes child injuries, and how to prevent these injuries while providing a safe, stable, secure, healthy environment, optimal for meeting children’s needs and allowing them ample opportunity for play and self-expression.

Instead of teaching parents how to use their force to control their children, I will teach them how to use their hearts to connect with their children. I will educate them on the body of evidence about children’s brains, how children grow, develop and learn, how to enhance a child’s emotional and physical intelligence through play-based activities and connection activities that allow for bonding between child and parent. Instead of forcing an active child to sit down for a story, I can educate parents on all the different types of books that allow for movement during reading, so even active children will learn to cultivate a love of books.

Instead of focusing upon the child’s behaviors, which are often not the real problem, I will focus upon the parents’ own unmet needs, their unhealed childhood wounds, and assist them in the process of healing and transformation. I will teach them skills to help navigate and understand the intense emotions that parenting can trigger; I will teach them methods to cultivate presence, acceptance, and inner peace. I provide information about personality typology and methods for self-awareness to assist them in unpacking their emotional baggage so they are capable of being present with their own heart and being present with their children. I also can provide information about deep breathing, meditation and yoga that cultivate presence and peace.

How did I learn all these things? Good question! When I first became a parent, I recognized that all my years of training and advanced degrees did not prepare me for the realities of raising human beings, and the other adults around me were not helpful. So I began reading, researching, learning, and engaging. I love Dan Siegel, Shefali Tsabary, Laura Markham, among others. But most of all, I have been educated and inspired by my children. My children are my greatest teachers and my connection with them has allowed me to learn what “works” and does not work. My son has been my greatest teacher, and he continues to teach and inspire me every day.

I am excited to work alongside other early intervention providers to bring this peaceful message to the families that need it most. Together we can heal the world, one child at a time.