Parenting Is Hard,
But You're NOT Alone
1
Connection
Create a secure relationship with your children based on trust, connection and felt safety
2
Empowerment
Empowering you and your children to recognize needs and develop self-regulation skills
3
Healing
Heal the relational wounds you experienced as a child, so that your children don’t have to
As caregivers, we can find ourselves drowning…
in feelings of frustration and self doubt, sinking as we find ourselves overwhelmed and exhausted. And, for those of us parenting children with vulnerable nervous systems, histories of trauma, loss, abuse, neglect, parenting can feel even more treacherous.
Without conscious, mindful effort, our parenting strategies can create distance instead of connection. The traditional parenting methods many of us were raised with, can lead to conflict and frustration, endless power struggles and leave us with broken and distant relationships with our children.
It’s Never Too Late to Turn Things Around
No matter what your relationship with your child(ren) looks like right now, I want you to know THERE IS HOPE! My mission is to meet parents and caregivers in the treacherous, deep waters of parenting and help them rise towards hope and healing. By using science-based, trust-centered, attachment-focused and developmentally respectful caregiving strategies we CAN find hope and healing for ourselves and our children.
Hello! I'm Michelle Ammerman
I am a biological, adoptive and step-parent to 8 amazing kids and I have spent the last 16 years working with vulnerable children and families in and around the U.S. child welfare system.
I became a Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) Practitioner and a Jai Certified Parenting Coach because I want to be in the business of healing relational trauma, and not creating it.
Once I discovered that it was possible to build secure, healing relationships with children based on safety, connection and trust I became deeply passionate about supporting other biological, foster, adoptive and kinship parents in this life-changing work.
I believe all children deserve to be mentored and loved by caregivers who are invested in becoming the best version of themselves possible. If you’re reading this, I believe that you must be one of those invested caregivers who longs to develop an attuned, meaningful and connected relationship with your children. I can’t wait to join you on your journey!
Traditional parenting strategies just aren’t working
Traditional parenting strategies based on threats, punishment, shame and control create conflict and relational wounds. They leave us feeling like we are spending all of our time fighting with our children, and we find ourselves drowning in frustration and self doubt. Soon, we find ourselves overwhelmed with the fear that we’re just not doing a good job as a parent.
When we parent children without working through our own history, we are destined to repeat painful patterns we ourselves experienced as children. I believe that in order to begin the healing process we must start by taking a look at the patterns that have been ingrained in us from our own childhoods. Once we are able to shift the lens we use to view our children, we will be able to show up as the parents our children need.
I understand how hard it is to ask for help as a parent (trust me, I’ve been there). The truth is that reaching out for help is the first, and most difficult, step in the journey to finding hope and healing for you and your child(ren). You do not have to travel on this journey alone! When you contact me, you will be met with understanding and non-judgmental openness. Together we can create a supportive, personalized, effective plan to help you move from the deep waters of parenting to a place of hope and healing.
"It was comforting to know why or how I have come to the place of parenting I was in and that it could be changed and overcome and made better. It was incredibly helpful to analyze it and not just study it academically. I really enjoy the brain science behind all of this."
-Parent Coaching Client
"The most helpful part of the training was knowing that there is hope for struggling children and parents/siblings."
-TBRI® Training Participant
"I am so happy that I am learning new ways to interact with children, learning that I need to use all the engagement strategies, to give them choices, and to compromise. Thank you so much for changing my ways!"
-TBRI® Training Participant
How Coaching Works:
When you schedule a call with me, we’ll sit down together and talk so I can get a sense of what’s going on for you and your family and where I can offer support.
I’ll explain my approach and the options we have for working together. You can ask any questions you have and see what type of support would be the best fit for your life and schedule.
If it feels right to you, we can book our first session and get started. If it’s not a good fit, I will do my best to offer alternative resources or suggestions for support, wherever possible. There’s no pressure of any kind, simply an opportunity to see if we are a good fit to work together.
Let's Connect!
Ready to shift your experience of caregiving to connection, empowerment and healing? Set up a time for us to chat, so that together we can explore the first step on your journey...
Let's Connect
