Confessions of a Parent Coach

What am I supposed to DO with the Enneagram?

Last week, you heard me discuss the levels of development and integration that exist within the Enneagram. The most common question I get after teaching these concepts is, So what? What am I supposed to do about it?

It’s really helpful to see that we struggle with certain personality constraints, or that we are hanging out in the less healthy range of integra...

How developed or evolved do you think you are?

One of the reasons why I love the Enneagram is because it is so helpful not just in pegging personality type, but also facilitating our growth and development.

In fact, when you think not just about the nine types of the ‘gram, but the six combinations of our primal instincts we could have, the two wings we could have flavirong out Type, and the levels of i...

How come my clients tend to be a bit older?

Since tons of people have kids in their 20s, it might seem strange to hear that I don’t have a lot of clients in that age range. Maybe you’re thinking it’s because they can’t afford me, but that’s not it! 😜 (I actually have lots of ways for people to work with me for free or very low cost)

The real reason has to do with what is happening internally for us in ...

(The short answer is yes, btw)

Codependency is a buzzword on steroids these days! And if you get down to it, pretty much every self-help and pop psychology thing out there is really getting at this same topic, whether it's encouraging us to "Let Them" or "not give a F-k". It's all about how codependent we are.

This week‘s episode of the podcast breaks down what codependency is, provides examples of all ...

Why do you treat me like this?

This week‘s episode of the podcast was inspired by a client of mine who asked this exact question to his teenage son a while back.

Like every relationship, there is so much at play here, but what I hone in on in today’s episode is the answer to that specific question!

Why do we receive the treatment we do from the people in our lives?

The Short and snarky answer is: beca...

When was the last time you were bad at something?

How do you feel when you are in that kind of situation?

The truth is that the only way to get good at something is to first be bad at it, and that is very uncomfortable for so many of us. It’s so important that we do some work around that discomfort for two huge reasons:

First, as parents, we start out bad at parenting simply because we’ve never done it...

Kids and their bodies.

This is such a hot topic, and I discuss it all the time with clients in one way, shape, or form. How do we raise kids...

...to understand consent and that they can say no?

...to feel good in their bodies and sidestep eating disorders or body dysmorphia?

...to be comfortable with sex and have a healthy relationship with their bodies and sexuality?

...to have healthy relationship...

Do you know what you're really feeling in any given moment?

There's a core emotion inside each of us. It is a big driver our personalities - our motivations, avoidances, habits and behaviors are all determined in large part by this current of sensation flowing within us all the time. And when we are unaware of that current, we show up in the world as a bundle of all those protective elements and not a wh...

Do you know what you're really feeling in any given moment?

There's a core emotion inside each ot us. It is a big driver our personalities - our motivations, avoidances, habits and behaviors are all determined in large part by this current of sensation flowing within us all the time. And when we are unaware of that current, we show up in the world as a bundle of all those protective elements and not a wh...

What if you always knew how to parent your kid? Sound preposterous, and maybe so. No matter what evolution we go through, we will always be human beings and parenting will always have surprises. But on this week's episode of the Confessions Of A Parent Coach podcast, I will make the case that it's a Hell of a lot less preposterous than you might think.

There are lots of intuitive approaches gaining popul...

What is a growth edge? This week on the Confessions Of A Parent Coach podcast, my littlest kiddo, Skye, is helping me make my confession!

I asked him if he could think of a time I pushed him to do something that was just too much for him, and he came up with a great example that helps me talk about the idea of a growth edge with you. Listen to the podcast to hear:

· My awesome eleven-year-old ;)
· What ...

What is your default coping style? This week on the Confessions Of A Parent Coach podcast, we're doin' it for the 'gram (the Enneagram, that is)!

I'll go around the 'gram with you to talk about the three different coping styles of the nine Types: Externalizing, Repressing, and Internalizing. Understanding which is your default style is SO POWERFUL in parenting.

Are you an internalizer, making everything...

WAIT! This week on the Confessions Of A Parent Coach podcast, I'm talking about this acronym that has been bounced around in corporate, communication, and coaching circles for years. It stands for:

Why Am I Talking? And I recommend you run it through your mind almost every time you're about to open your mouth around your kiddo. Listen to the podcast to explore:

· The many answers to this question that p...

It's important to have agency, ok? Have you ever said things like, "5 more minutes of screentime, OK?" or "You can stay up 15 minutes later, but then no fighting about bedtime, OK?"

This is just one example of how we find ourselves putting our kids in charge and literally asking for their permission instead of the other way around! We often relinquish our agency in subtle ways, and that can really sabota...

A superhighway...to disaster? This week on the Confessions Of A Parent Coach podcast, I'm talking about the idea of rewiring our brains. I's a big part of what’s happening in coaching, but what does it really mean?

Your habits and defaults are well-trodden neurological pathways, which make them superhighways that we use to zip from impetus to reaction at lightning speed. Unfortunately, those reactions ar...

Do you have a fantasy of who you should be? Most of us do - we have an idea of how we should think, react, behave, or feel if we were the best version of ourselves. But unfortunately, that person doesn't exist. They are just as fake as a character in a novel. The person you're trying to be is as real as Anne of Green Gables or Princess Buttercup. She is nonsense.

But we often have a deeper, more intimate...

Parenthood is mostly unknowns.

In this week's episode of Confessions of a Parent Coach, I'm talking about how we deal with uncertainty, worry, and fear in parenthood.

Listen to hear:

• My own stumbling block when it came to this concept (I was paralyzed by uncertainty),
• One tool to combat our craving for certainty and future information, and
• The only thing you need to know to parent well, no matter...

Meet Stacey.

In this week's episode of Confessions of a Parent Coach, I'm sharing an excerpt from a session I did with one of my clients, Stacey. It's very common that a few months into my work with a parent, I have a moment like the one in this recording - where things are going SO much better than before- that we celebrate and reflect. We're so lucky that Stacey was open enough to share her celebration...

Are you interacting with a fantasy or with reality?

In this week's episode of Confessions of A Parent Coach, I'm sharing a concept I've been exploring with my clients and in my own personal work lately. It's the idea that most of the pain we experience in life comes from more aligned with our fantasy of life, than with real life itself.

I'll walk. you through this concept, and give you concrete examples...