Struggling to deal with your highly sensitive child's challenging behaviour?

Let’s put connected parenting into practice with your child and teen, with specific strategies to support you one-to-one in your personal parenting journey.

Even the best parents need support with their children at times.

Let’s face it, when you’re constantly tending to everyone else’s needs, it’s hard to tend to your own. You’re tired, frustrated and yearn to be the calm, confident leader for your strong-willed child, but you find yourself losing your patience and yelling in an effort to try and control them instead.

I’ve been there, too.

Many of the families I work with tell me they’re at their wits end with their child’s intense outbursts, disrespectful behaviour, lack of cooperation and listening–and they’d do anything to make home-life calmer and parenting enjoyable again.

They feel lost, alone and like they’re failing their kids because they go from micro-managing their child one minute to being passively permissive the next because they’re emotionally tapped out and don’t know what to do.

They crave consistency, confidence and a connected parenting approach that allows them to move quickly from conflict to connection so they can strengthen the bond with their child and become the calm, capable parent they envision themselves being.

If you want help breaking the cycle of yelling, feeling bad, trying to be patient and then yelling again so you can cultivate a healthy, loving relationship with your child (and enjoy each stage of their development), reheat that morning coffee, Mama. You’re in the right place.

Connected Parenting Coaching is best suited for parents of toddlers to teenagers who:

Want strategies for staying calm, cool and connected when your child is pushing all the wrong buttons.
Need relief (rather quickly) from feeling worried that yelling, punishments and threats have damaged your child and can't be turned around.
Feel overwhelmed by your child’s emotional outbursts and you need concrete things to say or do, like now.
Are exhausted by your spirited child's not-so-easy-going temperament and are wondering what the heck you're doing wrong or where you went wrong.
Are worried that your child's anxiety is holding them back and want strategies to build confidence.
Are worried about your rebellious tween/teen's safety because they're pushing you away and you want to do everything you can to stay connected.
Understand that while many parents report that their child responds positively to the techniques right away, learning connected parenting takes practice over time and isn't a "quick fix".

(or keep scrolling for investment options)

“I’m amazed at how quickly she responded to the techniques.”

“Since our session, I’ve been able to calmly and respectfully handle any outburst and do so in a way that strengthens the connection with my daughter and gives her the skills to cope in a much healthier way. I’m also amazed by how quickly my child responded to the techniques Colleen gave me and she seems happier as I’m sure she senses I’m not as agitated or stressed. I’m so grateful for Colleen’s kind, non-judgmental support as it’s given me the confidence to trust my intuition and do what I know is best for my child and surrender the mainstream advice that doesn’t serve me or my family.”

~ Krista Bauer, Mom of 4yo and 2yo

What you get with my connection-based parenting approach:

A safe and nurturing space to talk through parenting struggles from the understanding of child development, brain science, and attachment, as well as eighteen years of personal experience raising a highly sensitive spirited child.
A different parenting perspective that helps you view your child's misbehaviour with empathy rather than seeing it as "the enemy" so you can move from contention to connection and more quickly restore peace in your home.
A deeper appreciation for your child's sensitive/spirited nature so you can focus on their gifts instead of their weaknesses, helping them see themselves in a more positive light.
Practical strategies--words to use and actions to take--that can build connection with your child or teen.
Practices you can use to help calm yourself and your child, based on current neuroscience.

Some of the challenges/concerns we can work through together:

Anxiety
Temper tantrums
Not listening
Low self-esteem/negative self-talk (nobody likes me, etc.)
Perfectionism, hard on themselves
Low motivation

Low self-confidence
Reluctant to try new activities
"Attitude"
Teen rebellion
Anger
Calming yourself when triggered
Support to practice tracking your sensations and improve your ability to be less reactive

How It Works:

Once you choose from the options below and complete your payment, you receive a confirmation and my booking page where you can pick a time that works.

You then are prompted to fill out a short questionnaire so I can better understand your needs before we meet via Zoom Video.

You also receive an appointment reminder 24-hours before your session.

Coaching and Therapy Options

Connected Parenting Coaching Single Session

Perfect for parents who want to laser focus and find connection-based parenting strategies and practices for your most pressing challenge.

$95 CDN

Connected Parenting Coaching Package

Perfect for parents who want new connected parenting strategies + support to practice them to help build lasting consistency and confidence in your approach.

$325 CDN

Relational Somatic Therapy

When we start our parenting journey, no one tells us the extent to which our past experiences will impact our parenting, especially those from early childhood and how we were parented.

We carry our life story and past experiences in our biology, as memory imprints. These imprints are subconscious and influence our parenting practices, our emotions, and our beliefs. When some of those imprints are from stressful experiences and carry an emotional charge, we can more easily be triggered by our kids (or our partner) and be thrown into a dysregulated state.

However, we don’t have to keep those memory imprints forever. We now know that the brain and nervous system can change.

I offer Relational Somatic Therapy for parents of kids (any age), who are wanting to:

Change their parenting and aren’t able to make the changes they want, despite reading books or taking courses.
Explore emotional triggers that keep recurring (e.g., losing your temper, impatience, yelling, anxiety. Example – “I’m having the same ____ over and over with my child and can’t seem to stop myself”).
Build their ability to calm themselves when triggered by stressors.
Build their capacity to get less dysregulated when stressed.
Be more embodied.
Take time and space in their lives to heal past wounds.

Relational somatic therapy is for parents who find that they’re easily triggered by their kids, and/or want to change intergenerational family patterns and are feeling stuck.

You may also be navigating one or more of these issues: anxiety; shame or perfectionism; difficulty with boundaries; coping with difficult feelings such as anger, impatience/frustration, overwhelm (and how to regulate yourself); low self-esteem, or others.

“Colleen easily made me feel comfortable in what was a new experience for me -which allowed me to relax into recalling emotions and the physical sensations they provoke. She gave me a few great questions to ask and conversations to initiate with my kids and a few tools to use when I start to feel triggered so that I can attempt to maintain and strengthen the evolving relationship I have with my young teenage sons as I learn to navigate my new role as their mother and the quest to maintain open communication and trust.” ~ Mom of 2 teenagers

Click to Learn More about Relational Somatic Therapy

What is Relational Somatic Therapy?

Relational Somatic Therapy (RST) is focused on integrating memories, beliefs and emotions held in our subconscious and in our bodies. The body, as the holder of all memories, contains the road map to wellness. As such, symptoms are treated as guiding clues to be followed rather than problems to be eliminated.

RST is also based on an understanding that past wounding happens in relationship, and it prioritizes providing a safe relational field for healing to occur. The therapist guides the client to slow down, and track and observe sensations and body responses with curiosity. When doing this exploration in a safe relational space, new insights and options emerge, enabling the client to have more “choice”. For example, instead of getting pulled into your old habit, you may find yourself pausing and noticing a different possible option. Essentially, RST can update the memory imprints in the body, and change old behavioral patterns in a way that feels meaningful and aligned with your authentic self.

“Somatic psychotherapy is deeply informed by complex ‘leading edge’ research in the fields of neuroscience, attachment theory and trauma work.” ~Mariah Moser

RST is designed to support nervous system regulation, foster insight, and nurture deep and lasting integration of the healing.

“I really appreciate the way Colleen held a gentle space for me to share my specific parenting challenges. I felt heard and empathized with, and she taught me how to track my body’s sensations to a recent triggering event. Feeling my feelings can sometimes feel very boring and painful, so it was really helpful to have Colleen hold this space for me. She was very gentle and respectful in checking in with me and I was so, so happy to finally feel this last layer of feeling sunshine joy, which I haven’t felt in quite a while. Being able to unwind my painful feelings to reconnect with my joy again gives me this reassurance that I can stay with my painful triggers during similar parenting challenges and get back to this joyful state again. I highly recommend Colleen’s somatic therapy for fellow parents who understand the importance of feeling their feelings, especially during emotionally charged situations, so they can stay grounded and be empathetic for their children.”

~Bingz Huang, Mom of 3 boys, Singapore

I’m trained in Relational Somatic Therapy + other modalities. To learn more about me and my professional training, visit this page.

What Can I Expect?

Sessions via Zoom - many people find that every 2 weeks feels like a good rhythm, and we can decide this based on what feels right for you and your intentions for the sessions.
Usually a minimum of 6 sessions to start with, to begin making some changes. Again, we discuss this and it's based on what feels right for you.
Access to Learn to Work with Your Triggers: Practices to Help Parents React Less and Stay Calmer When Emotionally Triggered (90min webinar recording + Summary Notes)
After the initial, we can continue working for as long as you need, and you can stop any time.

For Relational Somatic Therapy, please book a free 15-30min consult first (to determine if Colleen’s services are a fit for you.) A consultation is done by Zoom and is by appointment only.

Rates

$85 for a 60min session

$110 for an 80min session

"There’s relief in understanding why behaviors are happening and getting clear strategies."

“I’m so grateful to Colleen. It’s been really helpful to talk through parenting struggles with her as she brings such a depth of understanding of child development, brain science, and attachment; as well as so much personal experience. There’s a lot of compassion there, and it’s so important. Sometimes, I just feel lost or alone, and after talking to Colleen, there’s such a relief in knowing why certain behaviors are happening, and that there are clear tangible strategies for building trust and that my parenting troubles are not unique. Thank you so much Colleen!!”

~ BELINDA WHITE, MOM OF 15YO, PHOTOGRAPHER AND HOME LEARNER MENTOR

Hi, I'm Colleen

I’m passionate about helping parents who feel like they’re running out of options for how to deal with their sensitive child’s challenging behaviors, so they can use connection to bring the joy back into parenting.

I know, through my experience of parenting a son and stepson, that when you’re disconnected from your sensitive, spirited child, you feel it, and everything is harder. You may blame yourself for the conflict and chaos because you see other parents seemingly managing easily, but connected parenting really is harder if your child is sensitive and spirited, especially if you were raised in an authoritarian home. (“They just don’t listen!”)

Connecting with them takes a new set of skills, and because your sensitive, spirited child needs connection as much as they need air to breathe, learning to connect can bring back the peacefulness you’re craving.

I want the parents I work with to feel the calm, supportive presence of someone who’s been where they are, and knows what it’s like to repair a relationship and build connection from the bottom up.

Because underneath the busy-ness of life and everyday responsibilities, it’s connection that we and our kids are deeply longing for.

“Connection is why we’re here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.”

~ Brené Brown

FAQs

What ages do you work with?

I work with parents of kids and teens, preschool age through the teen years.

My child's a teenager, am I too late?

It’s never too late. Any steps you take towards connecting can rebuild the bridge between you and your teen. I’ve also had parents tell me that using the connected strategies they’ve learned with their young adult children has helped repair a fractured relationship.

How soon will I see results?

Many parents say they see some changes quickly, after even just one session. When you know some connected parenting techniques to use and you’re calmer yourself, that’s often a catalyst for your child’s behaviour to change.

And while I’d never promise everything will be completely calm, connected and “rosy” after a session or two, (I do have integrity, and it’s individual)–I know with certainty that using connected parenting practices and leveling up your self-awareness (and healing if necessary) make it possible to have a stronger bond with your child.

Your child or teen never wants to be “floundering” without an anchor–they’re always seeking unconditional love and connection. Connected parenting helps you be that anchor for them.

Finally, if you’re struggling with regulating yourself, I can support you with practices for regulating the nervous system or Relational Somatic Therapy (see description above, or book a free chat to find out more).

Can my partner attend the calls?

Yes, your partner can attend the calls. In fact, it’s helpful if both parents (and other guardians or stepparents, if possible) are aligned and using the same approach, but it’s not essential.

What if my partner isn't on board?

This is common, and it’s still possible to use connected parenting, even if your partner isn’t willing to participate.

First, children can feel it when you’re responding to them with connection and unconditional love, so it can rebuild your connection with your child or teen and ease conflict and chaos, even if you’re the only one doing it.

Secondly, many parents are surprised and happy to discover that the connecting skills they’ve learned also help them in their spousal (and other) relationships.

Will this work for my child with Autism/ADHD/Anxiety/Learning Disabilities, etc?

Connected parenting strategies can strengthen the bond with your child and complement the recommended parenting approach for your child’s specific needs. At its core, connected parenting embodies unconditional love, understanding of the child’s perspective and needs, and respect for those. If your child has some specific needs related to their diagnosis, we meld those with a connected parenting approach.

If you’re child’s diagnosis means that you’re also struggling to be patient and stay calm with your child, I can also provide support and practices to help you build your capacity for regulating yourself, or for staying more regulated in the face of stressors.

"[My daughter's] getting better at calming herself and she’s gaining confidence."

“I came to Colleen for help because my sensitive daughter was being so hard on herself. She was anxious, having meltdowns at school, and frequently judging her looks and comparing herself to her friends. I did a coaching package with Colleen, and I noticed changes even after the first session. I’ve gotten better at identifying my daughter’s needs and knowing how to respond differently. As a result, she’s getting better at calming herself and she’s gaining confidence. Our sessions also helped me fine-tune my approach for speaking with her teachers which has helped me to successfully advocate for her and ensure she gets her needs met. I’ve been excited because my child has been coming to me and sharing her feelings more than she did before, and I’m feeling more connected to her.”

~ M.B. Mom of 5yo and 2yo

Ready to become the calm, capable parent you’ve always wanted to be?