I have a  Bachelor's Degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and earned my Masters in Social Work from Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Illinois. I have been working with children, teens, and families for 20 years, and in my experience, I have found that parents are often overlooked in the treatment process. So often, parents are given tools or strategies to address their child’s challenging behavior with the best of intentions—I often did so myself—but there was always a critical missing piece to this approach. That piece is the relationship-the relationship you have with yourself, with your child, with your partner, and even with your own parents. You deserve and need the opportunity to heal from your own childhood wounds and unhelpful attachment patterns. I want you to be given the space and support to understand yourself better, to learn ways to attend to your own emotional pain, and ultimately to self-regulate when your child is struggling. Behavioral tools and tips will not be effective unless these core areas are given the attention they deserve.
Healing also comes from supporting your partner and feeling supported by them, both in parenting and in your partnership as a whole. This becomes the foundation to build connection, understanding, and repair with your child and your family. Through this process, your role as a parent transforms; you move away from the role of a disciplinarian driven by a need for control and become a teacher, a role model, and a guide. The result is less guilt, anger, and desperation, and more compassion, hope, and peace. You deserve this.