I’m a clinical psychologist empowering joyful, resilient parent-child relationships by translating neuroscience research into practical and compassionate tools and strategies.

As a young mother and psychologist, I faced the limitations of my training when I couldn’t find supportive resources or information to help me understand how to support my own toddler and her challenging behaviors. I realized that the field of psychology included very little about early development, so I embarked on a multi-year deep dive of post-graduate training in infancy and toddlerhood, during which I discovered the importance of the brain-body connection in how we understand and support children’s challenges. To this day, the fields of psychology and education still haven’t integrated the wisdom from the “decade of the brain” into everyday usage and rely on methods that seek to alter children’s behaviors through rewards and consequences. This kind of thinking doesn’t consider the underlying causality of behaviors, which I call the tip of the iceberg.

Yet, the most meaningful information about children’s behaviors is largely invisible, underneath the tip of the iceberg: this is where we discover the triggers of children’s behaviors and stress. Once we acknowledge that behaviors are meaningful and protective adaptations to a child’s internal experience, we can create a whole new range of compassionate and individually tailored options that surpass simply managing behaviors.

I explained this new approach in the book Beyond Behaviors, laying out the strategies that I have successfully used in my practice for over two decades. I explain that when we shift from securing compliance to supporting a child’s body-based and emotional needs, we unlock more harmonious and joyful family dynamics. The book challenged many current assumptions about childhood behaviors in the fields of education and psychology. In Brain-Body Parenting, I expand the conversation to all areas of development to show how loving, attuned, and responsive relationships are the foundation of resilience for our precious children.

My books, blog posts, trainings, and online communities are all designed to help parents and childhood providers experience the joy of connected relationships and I welcome you to join me on social media and online as we shift paradigms and update our views on raising healthy, resilient children together!

I live and practice in the Los Angeles area with my husband and try to spend as much time as possible with my three grown children, taking long walks along the beach, and playing for hours on end with my sweet granddaughter, who calls me Oma.