I received my Master's in Social Work from the University of Washington in 1994. I have extensive experience in a variety of practice settings, including in-patient psychiatry, school based day treatment, out patient mental health services and private practice. Thirsting for something that fit my practice philosophy of focusing on what is right versus what is wrong, I was blessed with Glasser's Transforming the Difficult Child by a client family who had experienced the success of the approach. That was the beginning of my own transformation.

I am, first and foremost, a wife and mother of four wonderful children ages 21, 19, 17 and 11 (as of 2018). I am raising my children based on the philosophy of the Nurtured Heart Approach and have been blessed by the abundant rewards of this approach. I've never felt more confident in my own parenting.  Believe me when I say that Nurtured Heart Approach is about transforming the way your family "feels" more than the way it looks or the behaviors that your kids display.  I too had a "temporarily challenging" child and so I know the angst and pain that a parent feels when a child is intense/difficult/challenging/sensitive and those trying to help seem only to make the situation worse. The Nurtured Heart Approach has changed my child in a profound and permanent way. I became such a true believer that NHA has become the focus of my practice.

I attended my first Advanced Training in Tucson AZ in 2009 and was privileged to again attend in 2010. I am honored to call Howard Glasser my friend. His transformational work has changed me as a mother, as a person and as an agent of change in the life of every child I come in contact with. Every child deserves to feel successful, to feel valued and in control of their emotions and behavior. It's all about relationship and feeling honored in the moment for good choices and character. It would be my privilege to assist you in redefining your challenging child and, in the process, yourself.

I am the author of the first children's series based on the Nurtured Heart Approach and fully endorsed by Howard Glasser. Nurture My Heart- Igniting the Greatness is Every Child (2009) and Teacher, Nurture My Heart- Igniting the Greatness in Every Student (2010) were born from my desire to bring the Nurtured Heart Approach to every family and student in a simple, quick to implement fashion.  My most recent project Your Greatness is Growing- Nurturing the Heart of Autism (2012) is a celebration of a child, really any child, throughout a day.  It provides an example of the relational language one can use to see, create and magnify greatness in a typical day.  It was illustrated by children on the Autism Spectrum and their peers and reflects the greatness that can be internalized when adults focus on successes over failure.

"Strengthen a parent and you strengthen a child" — Fred Rogers

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