Partnership for Trauma-Informed Parenting
Parenting children from hard places with hard-to-meet needs can feel overwhelming and isolating.
Coaching support can help!
Hi! I’m Nadine!
I’m a parent coach and educator helping parents move from a place of feeling stuck, frustrated, and discouraged to a place of progress, clarity, and hope.
My own parenting journey has been challenging and there were many periods of despair, confusion, and overwhelm. I desperately needed support and resources but was way over my capacity limit and had no idea how to get the help I needed. Slowly over time I was able to find the resources, support, and information that I craved all along.
I don’t live in a perfect family and I’m not a perfect mom (ask any of my kids) but I’ve learned a lot - like how to repair after a “monster mommy” moment, the importance of compassion, how brains work, what practices give me the best chances of showing up in the ways I want to, and most importantly that I absolutely CANNOT do this journey without support.
My deep desire is to offer you support that helps you make meaningful progress toward the vision you have for your family. And if you feel so buried you don’t have a vision, maybe just a burning desire to not have things be the way they are, we can work on that together. There is hope and possibility!
Ready to get the support you need?
Come be held in a space of tender, unconditional acceptance
Receive the Balanced Support You Need
There is a phenomenon in plant growth called Thigmomorphogenesis where plants change their growth in response to mechanical stimuli like wind or rain or deliberate touch. Gentle breezes help trees grow stronger by encouraging the deepening and broadening of roots and the thickening of their bark. When the tree matures it has the strength to withstand more severe weather.
Just like the wind gently pushing against new trees helps them grow the strength they need, I plan to offer you support and gentle challenges that can help you grow into the strong and deeply rooted parent you long to be. I balance this by also holding you in a place of tender unconditional acceptance. My experience is that an environment of complete non-judgement and gentle challenge woven together offers great opportunity for growth.
Illustration by Rukmini Poddar
Three Pillars of My Coaching
Being With
I hold a space of tenderness and complete acceptance for you to process all that is occurring in your journey. Bring all the mess, the deepest darkest thoughts, the big ugly cries, the rage, the despair. All of you is welcome and all will be held totally free of judgement or “shoulding.”
Co-Create Experiments
We will collaboratively examine your situation and together develop plans that support movement towards your goals. We won’t find everything to be an immediate success but rather we’ll process how things worked out and what else you can try.
Cultivate Growth
I’ll gently challenge you in ways that help you deepen your inner fortitude and strength. The truth I’ve discovered is that parenting is as much about growing ourselves as it is about helping our kids grow. When the journey is hard, focused attention on our inner world can make a huge positive impact.
Are you and I a fit?
We’re likely an excellent fit if…
You long to be held in the challenge of what you face as a parent. One of my greatest gifts is my ability to be present for the hardest stuff - big, baffling behaviors (theirs and yours), unpleasant emotions, rage-filled thoughts. I’m here for it all.
You want to examine your own conditioned patterns and experiment with how to be with your kid(s). Though it takes courage to do this, I find this can be a really exciting part of coaching as you start seeing things shift in you and subsequently your family.
You are willing to do deep inner work to sustain the changes you’re making. There are many resources and practices available for helping you grow the inner resilience you long for and together we can find the few most helpful things for you to engage with.
You are okay with being compassionately challenged, in service of your goals, when you fall into unhelpful patterns of thinking or acting (no judgement here - it’s a place I’m very familiar with).
You believe we’re all doing the best we can (or working on believing) in any given moment and that even negatively impactful behaviors are the best attempt we have to try and meet our need(s).
What happens in coaching?
In the coaching sessions we might do things like…
Play and Experimentation
Science teaches us that we learn more effectively when we play. In coaching we might use play and experimentation to deepen learning. It may look like:
Role playing
Using imagination
Connecting with your body and senses
Sharing intuition or imagery
Stretch within capacity
We’ll stretch into your growth areas but always within capacity. It may look like:
Exploring areas that are uncomfortable
Connection to your deepest, truest self
Holding your limitations (and your family’s) with tenderness
Receiving a gentle challenge to support movement toward your goals
Learning and Integration
There is a lot of wonderful information out there that supports your kind of parenting journey but it can be really hard to find the space for taking in new information. When it’s beneficial I will share what I’ve learned to help you integrate this information into your parenting.
Relational Neuroscience
Nonviolent Communication Principles and Techniques
Connected Parenting Techniques
Mindfulness Practices
Be Held,
Co-Create + Grow
Experience yourself grow as you (and your family) progress, sometimes with big jumps and sometimes with small steps, all worth celebrating!
Participate in co-creating experiments that support movement toward your vision for your family.
Be held in a space where you’re met with full acceptance and tender presence, allowing you to explore openly.
Parenting is hard.
It’s even overwhelming at times.
You’re in the right place.
The journey of parenting children from hard places is full of challenge and can feel messy or overwhelming or impossible or all the above. Support helps us navigate these challenges with more inner strength and resilience.
I invite you to come land in a safe place of unconditional acceptance where you will be emotionally held, supported in exploration, and encouraged in the ways you need and desire for your journey.