Hi, glad you’re here.Let’s make parenting feel a little lighter.
Parent coaching to help you understand your child, learn to trust yourself, and bring more ease and fun to your relationship.
Hi, glad you’re here.Let’s make parenting feel a little lighter.
Parent coaching to help you understand your kid, learn to trust yourself, and bring more ease and fun to your relationship.
You love your child. But sometimes (maybe often?) parenting feels harder than it should.
Maybe you’ve been losing your temper more than you want to admit. You’re feeling out of ideas, comparing yourself to other families who seem to have it all figured out. You’re exhausted and not showing up as the parent you want to be.
Sometimes a little shift in perspective and new practices can make a world of difference.
That’s where I can help.
Practical support for parentsImagine parenting with more ease, trust, and connection.
My approach is grounded in Positive Discipline and informed by developmental attachment theory. Together, we’ll make sense of what’s happening in your family, look at what may be underneath the struggle, and find practical ways to move forward with both kindness and firmness.
The goal isn’t perfect behavior or perfect parenting. It’s more connection and mutual respect, better communication and problem-solving, and a child who has room to become increasingly capable and responsible.
You’ll leave with a better sense of what’s going on with your kid, practical strategies for everyday parenting, and more trust in yourself to handle the hard parts.
“I first worked with Lisa when my son was three and pretty oppositional. She helped us better understand his behavior and gave us tools to meet him where he was instead of getting stuck in constant power struggles. I came back to Lisa a couple of times over the years, including during a really difficult stretch in his early teens.
My son is now almost 19, and I’m incredibly proud of the independent, respectful young man he’s become. I truly credit Lisa with helping us build the strong and healthy relationship we have today.”
– Caitlin Lang
The thinking that guides my work
Positive Discipline
A practical approach rooted in connection, encouragement, mutual respect, and being both kind and firm at the same time. From my first introduction to Positive Discipline, I knew I’d found a roadmap for navigating the wilderness of parenting. I was so taken with the approach that I went on to become a Certified Positive Discipline Trainer.
Gordon Neufeld’s Developmental Attachment Theory
A deeper look at how children develop, attach, and mature over time based on research by Gordon Neufeld. This approach deepens our understanding of what we can realistically expect at different stages and reminds us that maturation can’t be rushed.
On Stage & On Air
The Moth StorySlam
I took the stage at The Moth StorySLAM in Berkeley to tell a personal story about a particularly hard season of parenting, and what it taught me.
The Joyful Courage Podcast
A conversation about shame resilience, how shame shows up in parenting, and how we can respond to ourselves and our kids with more compassion and courage.
Free GuideA simple way to bring your family together
Family meetings give everyone a regular place to connect, feel heard, share plans, and maybe even solve problems 😉
This free 7-step guide walks you through how to get started with a simple routine that will deepen your entire family’s feeling of togetherness and connection.
Please sign up for my mailing list to receive your free guide.
Where I’ve Been a Featured Speaker
Here for the Writing Circles?
You’re in the right place.
Separate from my parent coaching work, I also facilitate Wild Writing® Circles for people who want to make space to write and reconnect with their own voice, while being part of a small, supportive community.
What Parents are Saying
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“Since taking Lisa’s Positive Discipline class, the screaming and yelling in our house has turned into laughter and smiles. Everyday, I tell my wife how proud I am about the way she handled a specific situation and I compare it to how we would have handled it before attending your class. We’re so grateful for everything Lisa taught us.”
– Eric
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“I couldn’t believe it. We tried Lisa’s approach during a conflict between my kids, and it worked exactly the way she said it would. My instinct was to step in and fix things, but giving them space to work through it helped them problem-solve on their own. It was such a good reminder that sometimes stepping back can help our kids feel more capable, not less supported.”
– Rachel
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“Last spring my husband and I were spiraling, not knowing how to parent some intense situations that our teenage son was going through. Lisa provided us empathy, compassion and a clear framework. She helped us review our past parenting structure and develop new methods and understanding that would better support teenage parenting. We’re happy to report that our son is doing great now and our home feels much calmer.”
– Tiffany
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“Lisa gave me practical ways to include my son in solving problems and helped our family create more mutual respect and understanding. She reminded me that all my child really wants is to know he belongs. She also helped me see my own mistakes as opportunities to learn, so that ‘I kind of lost it there’ can become ‘Now I know what to do next time’ and, most importantly, ‘I’m not an awful parent ruining my son.’ Positive Discipline is a tool that will help us for years to come.”
– Sandra
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“I’m so grateful to Lisa. Her parenting tools have made such a difference, giving us simple yet profound new ways to relate to our children. I really appreciated her kind and thoughtful approach to teaching. She was never judgmental or shocked by anything shared in the safe environment that she created. Our home is much more peaceful now and my children thank her too. Well, they would if they knew she was the reason Mommy yells much less now.”
– Kristy
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“Even though I’d always hated role plays in the past, I learned to love them in Lisa's Positive Discipline series. There is something so powerful about stepping into my child's shoes, and taking a minute to not just think about, but to experience their perspective, and how they see me as a mom. Lisa is a gentle and caring teacher who makes it safe to talk, ask, act, and open up about parenting, which can be a pretty sensitive topic.”
– Marcilie Smith Boyle, Certified Positive Discipline Educator
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“Without hesitation, I highly recommend Lisa’s Positive Discipline class for all parents who are interested in having a loving relationship with their children. I was worried I’d feel out of place as a single working mom, but I was so wrong. Lisa created a safe space for everyone. I particularly loved the way Lisa made the curriculum come alive with participation and role plays.”
– Krystin
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“I first worked with Lisa when my son was three and then came back a couple times over the years, including during a really difficult stretch in his teens. He’s now almost 19 and I’m incredibly proud of the independent, respectful young man he’s become. I truly credit Lisa with helping us build the strong, healthy relationship we have today.”
– Caitlin
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“Lisa helped me think through tough questions and doubts I needed to overcome to make better choices as a parent. We all feel overwhelmed and frustrated at times as a parent and it's so helpful to learn positive methods to move through these situations. After working with Lisa, I feel a greater sense of confidence and have become more relaxed and playful as a parent. I face everyday difficult situations with much more ease.”
– Francoise
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“I would strongly recommend Lisa’s Positive Discipline class to any parent who knows that there are better ways to interact with your kids, but just aren't sure what those ways are. If you go in with a willingness to learn, change, and apply the techniques over the long haul, it could literally change your life.”
– Jared
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“I was surprised at first that Lisa is deep in the practice herself. I guess I expected (and at first hoped) I would get tips from a master—a Jedi Knight of Positive Parenting—who had all the answers I needed to keep my son from going to the Dark Side. But by the end of the 8-week course, I had such respect for the ‘Mom’ that she is—whose personal stories of success and failures added immeasurable value to her insightful coaching techniques. I mean really, is there any better teacher than a ‘loving mother’?”
– Clay
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![A man wearing glasses and a clergy shirt holding a black and brown dog with one paw on his cheek, inside a bright room with a window in the background.]()
“Lisa has a wonderfully inviting, hospitable, trust-building, and empowering presence and teaching style. She’s engaged but not directive, an authority yet not authoritative, challenging yet not demeaning, and fun!”
– Monte
