Meet Olivia

The Positive Parent Coach®

 

Hello I'm Olivia, The Positive Parent Coach. 

I'm a Psychologist and Early Years specialist with over 16 years of experience in education, psychology and child development. I'm a Mum of 3 children; aged 6, 4 and 2 so I know first hand how challenging raising a child can be for us.

When I first became a parent and had my eldest daughter, I had expectations of what our relationship would be like. I thought we'd enjoy quality time together when doing her bed time and going on adventures. I felt I’d easily navigate all the whining, tantrums and sleepless nights since I’ve worked with hundreds of children and been supporting families for years. But I was wrong…

The transition to parenthood was tough. 

I felt under a lot of pressure from people around me because they expected me to be a natural at parenting. I would get anxious when my daughter would cry or if plans had to change because her needs changed. It was overwhelming and I felt like I was somehow failing.

I kept pushing through because I thought it would get better and I was worried about asking for help. In those moments, I just wanted to be proud of who I was as a parent. I wanted my confidence back so I could support my child without feeling overwhelmed all the time.

So I summoned the courage to ask for help. I was put in touch with a therapist but that didn't help. I felt that he couldn’t relate to me and my situation since he didn’t have any children. I needed someone who would really get me.

I invested in a coach who could support my mindset and help me feel like myself again. I took a course on finding happiness in times of trauma because I knew I could only support my child if I worked on my own emotions first. This led me to Internal Family Systems (IFS). A trauma informed therapy model that supported me with my own inner triggers in parenthood.

I completed more courses on Positive Psychology, delivered by a team of leading psychologists and child development specialists. I learned about using people’s strengths and a holistic approach to meet their needs and support the whole family.

I put all the coaching into practice as time went on and I stayed consistent in applying them in my family. I began to see some major changes; I understood myself better and my triggers. I understood my child and her needs.

Then I modelled to my daughter how to express how she felt without the meltdowns. I nurtured trust in our relationship which helped her feel safe telling me about her challenges, listening to me and following my lead. 

I loved how beautiful our relationship became which made me go on to have 2 more children in the following 18 months.

I’m so grateful for the relationship I have with my 3 children and for the positive changes in our family dynamic.

We spend time together and I never worry about meltdowns, power struggles or difficult behaviours. It's because I understand how to calmly navigate challenging situations. I've nurtured harmony and teamwork among us so even when we make mistakes, we know how to repair and stay connected.

Since then, I've been supporting other parents to make positive changes and understand how they can get the parenting experience they really want. I also completed a course with the IFS Institute on Parenting and IFS because I loved the approach and I've been using this to help the parents I work with understand their own emotions, triggers and their child’s emotions a lot better.

Fast forward to today…

  • I've supported hundreds of families who had similar challenges to the ones you might be facing

  • I've spoken at two global events and published two scientific papers on attachment and transitions

  • I've been featured in numerous national and international publications sharing how parents can develop a more positive parenting approach.

I've shared my story with you for you to see what's possible for you regardless of how you feel right now.

With the right guidance, you can overcome any challenge you're currently experiencing and nurture a more positive relationship in your family. 

Over the years, I've worked with:

  • Families with children that have deep or intense emotions

  • Families with a neurodivergent child or parent

  • Families with co-parenting or single parenting

  • Families with very different parenting approaches and ideas

  • Families where the child has a preference for one parent over another

  • Families who have very busy lives and many children

  • Families who have nannies, maids and other professionals working with them

  • Families who have been involved in the court system or had to flee violence

…and many more. 

These are some messages they’ve shared after working with me:

Regardless of the situation you might be facing, I'm confident I can help you. All you need is courage to reach out like I did. I'll listen to your challenges and help you understand what you need to see positive changes. 

So if you'd like me to support you in achieving what you want in your home, please reach out to me by clicking the button below. It'll lead you to my email where you can tell me about the challenges you're facing. 

I'll respond to you in a few hours afterwards.

Parents contact me for support with a variety of challenges, these include…

  • Knowing how to respond when their child has a tantrum

    This could involve shouting, hitting, throwing things, running away or telling the parent to ‘Go away’

  • Understanding what to do when their child isn't listening to them

    Your child might ignore you, purposefully do the opposite of what you’ve said or show generally defiant behaviour

  • Parents wanting to stop the shouting and nagging

    Parents who have found themselves in negative patterns of behaviour who want to know how to get th results they was from their child without having to shout or ask constantly

  • Feeling confident in using approaches that avoid making threats, punishing or bribing their children

    So many parent use reward systems like steers or star charts, remove toys or priviledges or send their children to their room because they don’t know any other ways of responding. However this can have negative longer term impacts