Family Matters NY

Here you'll find our recommended resource list of people, professionals, and places that provide specific services for parents and families.

PARENTING SUPPORT

Childbirth Education and Post-partum Support:

Realbirth
www.realbirth.com
54 West 22nd Street
New York, N.Y. 10010
212.367.9006

Realbirth is New York City's only Childbirth Preparation and Postpartum
Support Center. Realbirth provides a community of support, with many classes,
support groups and activities. Their mission is to provide an educational
resource for parents, helping them negotiate many of the critical choices
they will face during birth and parenthood. Labor and new parenthood are
challenging events. Realbirth is there to teach, build confidence and provide
community. Your choices affect your outcome and your experience.
Realbirth, is dedicated to giving you tools for the unknown.

Brooklyn Post-Partum Depression Support Group

www.brooklynppdsupport.org
Molly Peryer
Available for information regarding the group and meeting time and location at 917.549.6012
Chris Lindsay-Abaire
Available for phone support at
917.771.6359
The Brooklyn PPD Support Group meets weekly and is a place where pregnant and postpartum women can get support if they think they are at risk for PPD, are experiencing symptoms and need further help and resources, or are in the care of a therapist and want to attend the group as part of their treatment plan. The group is free and babies are welcome to join us. Women are encouraged to attend for as many weeks as they feel the group is helpful – whether once for information or weekly for ongoing support.

Home-based Psychological Assessments/Consultations for Post-Partum Depression/Anxiety

Galia Siegel, Ph.D.
718-781-6991

Dr. Galia Siegel is a clinical psychologist offering in-home consultations to new parents coping with depression and anxiety in the context of the transition to parenthood. The home-based consultations include a diagnostic assessment and development of a treatment plan, which might include strategies for increasing a sense of connection with an infant, referrals to psychiatric and psychological treatment with specialists in the field, referrals to support groups, addressing relationship issues between parents, and organizing help from available family and community members.

Doulas:

Birth Day Presence
www.birthdaypresence.net
Terry Richmond, labor support coordinator: 917-751-6579 terry@birthdaypresence.net
Jada Shapiro, postpartum doula coordinator: 917-407-1347 jada@birthdaypresence.net
Birth Day Presence is a group of labor support and postpartum doulas. Other services available include childbirth education classes, birth photography and support for mothers with postpartum depression/mood disorders.

Labor Support:

LOTUS DOULAS
www.lotusdoulas.com
Jessica Sowards
(917) 721-3973

Providing nurturing, continuous and professional labor support to
women and their families. Services include a personalized prenatal
consultation, 24-hour on-call support, extensive resource and referral
network, assistance with initial breastfeeding, and one postpartum
visit in your home. Offering constant, non-judgmental emotional,
physical and informational presence during your labor and birth.
Jessica is a certified labor doula with DONA International and a
member of the Metropolitan Doula Group of NY. Please email
jessica@lotusdoulas.com for further details.

Labor and Post-partum:
Sasha Slocombe
sasha@yogajunk.com
home 718 832 0625
cell 718 887 6290

Labor doula, pre-natal yoga teacher, mommy and me classes

Sasha has been teaching yoga since 2000. She is the proud mother of two girls, Xela age five and Tulsi age two. Sasha combines her work as a yoga teacher and doula to help her clients connect to their own inner teachers. She offers non-judgemental support to families before during and after childbirth.

Post-partum:
Chris Lindsay-Abaire
motherthemother.chris@yahoo.com
917.771.6359

Meema Spadola, PCD
917-627-9834
Meema is part of the Birth Day Presence doula group and can be reached
meema@birthdaypresence.net

Meema is a DONA (Doulas of North America) certified postpartum
doula also certified in infant CPR. Her goal as a doula is to help parents feel
confident in their new roles and to work herself out of a job. Meema
is also a knitting teacher and designer and a documentary filmmaker
whose work on body image and family issues has aired on PBS, HBO,
Sundance Channel and beyond.

Caregiver Support

The Nanny Bridge
Expert advice for nannies and caregivers
www.nannybridge.com
718.928.2421

The Nanny Bridge offers individual consultations and workshops to help parents through the process of hiring and working with a nanny. The consultations help parents assess their family's needs and evaluate the cargiving situation that would work best. Parents are coached on how to thoroughly interview candidates and their references to get the information they want to make the best choice. Parents are also given the building blocks for becoming effective employers and developing a positive, professional relationship with their nanny. Consultations are also available to help sort out problems with a nanny who is already employed by the family.
Individual consultations take place in the family's home and include follow-up contacts to help at different points of the process. The Nanny Bridge is designed to be sensitive to the particular needs of individual families, as no two situations are exactly alike.

Pediatricians:

La Guardia Place Pediatrics:
Vicki Papadeas, MD
Mikal Finklestein, MD
Leigh Serra, MD

505 LaGuardia Place l-3
New York, N.Y 10012
Office hours: Monday, Thursday, Friday 9-5, Tuesday and Wednesday 9-6

LaGuardia Place Pediatrics is conveniently located at the crossroads of the West Village, Nolita, Soho and the East Village. It is a pediatric and adolescent practice for every kind of family. Primary care is provided for children in a warm, intimate atmosphere that facilitates getting to know each child and family personally and individually. 45 minute well checkup visits ensure ample opportunity for questions, and a 24-hour telephone on-call service is available for after hours concerns. The pediatricians’ skills come not only from medical training, but also from their own parenting experiences. You won’t find a more accessible and personable group of doctors anywhere.

Nutritional Counseling

Laura Fischer-Harbage
Holistic Nutritional Counselor
(917) 501-3411
www.matrihealth.com

Laura Fischer-Harbage of Maitri Health provides holistic nutritional counseling to moms (future, expecting, new or seasoned) and families looking to improve their health and nutrition. Through a customized one-on-one program, parents will better understand their family’s specific nutritional needs and how to meet them. Clients will learn to prepare delicious, healthy foods their whole family will enjoy, along with other tools to achieve optimal health. In addition to overall wellness, Laura specializes in fertility support, special diets and picky eaters. Laura also teaches nutrition and wellness classes as well as parent/child whole foods cooking classes at Still Hip, Get Fresh and in the New York Public Schools.

Donna Fish, LCSW: The Food Coach

Anything you ever want to know about your kids and food, but don't know who to ask, ask Donna Fish. Donna is a highly regarded expert on eating disorders, and a Manhattan-based mother of three. She’s also known as The Food Coach, and is the author of "Take the Fight out of Food: How to Prevent and Solve Your Child's Eating Problems" along with other articles. Donna currently writes for The Huffington Post on kids, food, and parenting, offering practical tips on how to manage food-related issues between partners, babysitters, grandparents, schools...you name it.

Like us, Donna works with families in her office and in their homes.

Check out her web-blog filled with information and advice.
www.donnafish.com, or e-mail her at donna@donnafish.com

Bodywork

Michele Carlson LMT
212-353-3878
270 Lafayette St. Suite 607, New York, N.Y. 10012

Michele has been a Licensed Massage Therapist for over 12 years. She is a graduate of The Swedish Institute of Massage and The Barbara Brennan School of Healing. She has also studied with the Upledger Institute. Michele educates her clients to understand their unique energy systems. Her personalized approach lends itself perfectly to work with expectant and new parents, whose energy systems can be easily thrown out of balance. Using Pre & Post Natal Therapy, Energy Healing, Massage, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Thai Massage and Reiki she is able to address issues arising from the challenges of parenting on the physical, emotional and spiritual levels.

Jenny Lorant, LMT / CIMI®
917.848.2730
jenny@centerherself.com
www.centerherself.com

Jenny Lorant is a licensed prenatal massage therapist and a certified infant massage instructor (CIMI®). With the belief that body, mind and spirit are inseparable, Jenny fuses Eastern and Western bodywork to help women reconnect with themselves. She is a graduate of the Swedish Institute of Massage and has trained with Ohashiatsu, Carol Osborne-Sheets and Diana Moore. Her practice is located in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and she teaches infant massage privately and to groups around New York City.

Learning Disabilities and Special Needs:

Ann Smith, LCSW
240 Berkeley Place
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217
718.230.4826

Ann is a child and adult psychotherapist specializing in learning disabilities. She has worked with children and families for 20 years. Ann has advanced training and expertise in the diagnostic understanding of learning disabled children and how these problems impact the lives of their families. Ann’s goal is that the families she works with feel prepared with the knowledge necessary to effectively oversee the educational and social development of their children.

Baby Fingers
A musical journey through language and learning
www.mybabyfingers.com
212-874-5978
Babies as young as one month, children in pre-school or Kindergarten, and toddlers anywhere in- between will benefit from this unique combination of American Sign Language and music, games, stories, and dramatic play. Based on considerable research, Baby Fingers is designed to promote family communication while enhancing motivation to speak, increasing IQ, improving vocabulary and literacy skills, decreasing frustration, refining motor coordination and spatial reasoning skills.

Mommy & Me Classes: Music/Sign, Drama Sign, Kindermusik
Kids and Adult ASL Classes
Music Therapy
Birthday Parties!
Baby Showers
School and Family Workshops

ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN

Brooklyn:

Gumbo
493 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217
718.855.7808

Hours: Monday-Saturday 11-7, Sunday 11-6

Gumbo is just that, a wonderful combination of everything a family could want. Infants and Children’s Wear, Gifts, Women’s Fashions, Accessories, Jewelry, International Crafts and much more are sold in the front of Gumbo. In the rear of the store, an inviting space has been carved out for children’s music classes, as well as parenting workshops for dads and moms. Call Gumbo for a listing of current events, or stop by the store and see for yourself.

ArtsCetera:
718.643.6817
www.artscetera.com

ArtsCetera is a family-oriented arts organization serving the neighborhoods of Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill and Park Slope in Brooklyn, New York. ArtsCetera director Nanette De Cillis introduced Music Together® to Brooklyn in 1993. As her music classes for infants and toddlers grew in popularity, and with the dream of creating a multi-use space dedicated to arts activities, ArtsCetera was born in 1998. In addition to its music and art classes for children, ArtsCetera has become distinguished as an alternative space to view contemporary art and continues to expand its roster of performances and other arts-related events.
ArtsCetera offers a variety of music and art classes for children from birth to 6 years old at its Smith Street studio, and at "satellite" locations in the area. The mainstays of ArtsCetera's music and art classes for children are Arfie's Music Adventures featuring Arfie and Friends and Music for Aardvarks and Other Mammals, with an ever growing schedule of art, art playgroup and other classes. Many ArtsCetera families begin with a music class and move on to sample the art classes and other ArtsCetera offerings.

BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange
421 5th Ave Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.bax.org
718-832-0018
Fax 718-832-9189

BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange is known for its excellence in education since 1991. Over two hundred young people study dance, theater, and related courses year-round in a full range of youth classes for ages 5 months-18 years. Special offerings include Music and Movement for Babies and Toddlers, Boys Movement, Teen Dance and Theater Performance Workshops. In 2006, we welcome BAXco, a new teen dance company performing choreography by guest artists led by director Shannon Hummel. Students study in the context of a professional arts center, at a place where their development is part of the arts and artists in progress family. Teachers are seasoned professionals who are active performers, choreographers, actors or playwrights.

Manhattan:

Biz Kids
www.bizkidsny.com
646.336.9101
Pier 40, West Side Highway at Houston Street

Biz kids ny, inc. is a theater school dedicated to the training of young actors. Biz kids has been incorporated since 1993, although Director Peggy Lewis has been teaching for over 25 years.
The training program is Classic Conservatory-style training. Students study mime, mask, space improvisation, speech, dance/movement, interpretation of scripts from Classics to Contemporary for film, television and theater. Range in age is from 6 to 18, and there are adult classes as well. Biz kids uses guest teachers in movement, musical theater, stage combat, clown and image consultation. They also offer courses in makeup, wardrobe, on-camera and audition techniques and a business course, which parents are encouraged to attend.

OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES

GoCityKids
www.gocitykids.com
Winner of the 2006 Webby Award for "Best Family/Parenting website," GoCityKids gives parents the inside track on places to go, things to do, and resources in cities around the US (and soon, around the world).

www.AChildGrowsInBrooklyn.com
A Child Grows in Brooklyn: a road map to parenting in Brooklyn. As a new mother, Karen joined a neighborhood parents group. That inspired her to start this website: It’s a parents group for ALL the neighborhoods of Brooklyn. You can find resources and services, read parent recommendations and learn what is going on anywhere in the borough. Check it out and hopefully, you will benefit from what she have started and help grow it even bigger.

Household Organization

The Spacialist:
www.TheSpacialist.com

Disorganized? Too much clutter? Don’t know where to start? Toys everywhere?
Face it, all those out-of-control closets, filing cabinets and stuffed animal piles are taking over more than just your space... they're muddling your mind. While keeping your family needs a priority, The Spacialist custom creates organizing systems that reflect your individual personality and habits. Organize with The Spacialist and you'll get it done much faster than you ever would if you were doing it alone.
Call 212-924-4383 and see how The Spacialist can help you.

Family Matters NY (updated on 09:40 AM)

FMNY Parenting Talk at PROSPECT PARK Y
May 31rst, 2008
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Prospect Park YMCA, 357 Ninth Street
Brooklyn, New York, 11215
Tel. (718) 768-7100

FREE to all interested parents!

The Importance of Fathers
Research shows clearly that paternal involvement is very important for a child’s emotional, social, and cognitive development. But fatherhood can be particularly complicated – dads often feel sidelined and unsupported.
In this Talk, we will discuss the wonderful benefits of involved fathers. We will explore what it has been like for workshop attendees to become fathers and how they can be supported and encouraged to be the best dads they can be. *

(*Moms are invited too!)

FMNY Parenting Talk at BIRTH DAY PRESENCE
Birth Day Presence Studio
291 8th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues
Brooklyn, N.Y.
(917)751-6579

To Work or Not to Work, That is the Question
Today’s generation of action-oriented, post-feminism mothers are in a constant state of questioning and comparing. It’s hard enough being a mother, much less a working-mother, or a formerly-working-mother, or a stay-at-home mother, or... You get the point. When issues of motherhood and work collide, the dilemmas are complex, confusing, and deeply personal. In this Parenting Talk we focus on the identity issues, familial histories, financial concerns, and social pressures inherent in the work/motherhood dilemma, offering possible frameworks for resolution and joy in whatever your situation offers.

Tuesday, June 17th 7-8:30pm
$20 per person, or $30 per couple

to register for this Talk go to Reservations at Birth Day Presence
or call Birth Day Presence at (917)751-6579 if you have any questions.

Family Matters NY (updated on 12:54 PM)

Once you have a child, you know. You know your life has changed
forever, and for the better. You know there is no greater joy than
holding your child, watching your child grow and develop -- seeing your
child smile, laugh, play, learn, and love.

You also know the true meaning of sleep deprivation, the irritations of
temper tantrums, sibling rivalry, and homework struggles. You know the
frustrations of household chaos and lack of exercise. And you really
know what it means to have your buttons pushed.

Getting help with parenting challenges should not be a big deal.
Parents should not have to reach a crisis point before they feel
justified seeking outside support. Sometimes an impartial, outside
perspective can make all the difference in the world. Family Matters NY
provides exactly that. Our home visits bring coaching and counseling to
your home, since we know just getting out of the house is
sometimes a family’s biggest challenge.

For a complete listing of how we can help, please click on "What We Do".

Family Matters NY (updated on 04:26 PM)

Parent Coaching:
Coaching is our solution-focused approach, providing immediate answers
to your parenting questions. During a home visit we discuss your
individual parenting style, values, and priorities.
We come to know your family’s unique needs and balance of energy and
time. We address specific concerns and questions with targeted
strategies and creative problem solving. In addition, we offer telephone
consultation to supplement our home visits.

We also work with parents in groups. Our Parenting Talks provide parents
opportunities to share ideas about aspects of family life and child-rearing.

Family-Life Coaching:
We also address more practical concerns such as time management,
household organization, and physical fitness through home visits. These
vital issues are central to everyone’s needs. Even small changes can
yield profound benefits for all family members.

Co-parent Coaching for Separating or Divorced Couples:
Most couples find it difficult to separate or divorce amicably. Those with children have even greater issues to resolve. Anger and resentment are hard to avoid. Even the most loving parents may say and do things that damage the fragile balance of a separated family, inadvertently putting at risk the children they want to protect.
Family Matters NY believes a child’s needs always come first. We coach separating or divorced couples towards cooperative relationships focused on the welfare of their children. We address specific issues that are sources of conflict, and troubleshoot issues that have potential for future disruption.
We also offer co-parent coaching to individual parents when practical or emotional issues make joint sessions impossible.

New Parent Support:
A first baby brings much joy. But the first year of parenting can also take an emotional toll - post-partum blues, and feelings of being overwhelmed and isolated are common. Home visits enable new parents to talk through these issues. We join you in the flow of your day, eliminating the exhausting prospect of trips to an office with a baby in tow.

Also, relationship difficulties often develop in the year and a half after the baby arrives. In our Transition to Parenthood Workshop, we teach skills that help couples stay connected and become a great parenting team. Babies are welcome, childcare is provided, and the chance to chat with other new parents is available.

Psychotherapy:
Psychotherapy makes sense when deeper issues such as
depression, anxiety, family or couples conflict arise. We can work
with you on these issues, in short- or long-term explorations.
Sessions can take place in your home; if a more neutral environment is
desired, our Soho office is also available.

Community Offerings:
Family Matters NY is available for speaking engagements at schools,
community centers, support groups, and other places where parents
congregate. Our Transition to Parenthood Workshops and Parenting Talks
provide opportunities to share knowledge in fun and informative ways.
Our topic lists are always evolving and we welcome your suggestions or
requests.

We offer guidance in the areas listed below. For more detailed descriptions, click on individual headings. For information regarding fees and scheduling, call us at:
(212) 502-7979

COACHING:

-PARENT COACHING

-TIME MANAGEMENT

-HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZATION

-FAMILY FITNESS

PSYCHOTHERAPY:

-PRENATAL AND POSTPARTUM COUNSELING

-INDIVIDUAL/CHILD THERAPY

-COUPLES and FAMILY THERAPY

SPECIAL WORKSHOPS:

-TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD WORKSHOP

-CREATIVE ARTIST/PARENT WORKSHOP

PARENT COACHING

Sleep strategies:

Family Matters approaches sleep issues with broad-minded flexibility. We believe no strict rules apply, as each family’s needs and schedules are different. Some children work well with consistent bed and nap time rituals, others thrive with a more fluid approach. Additionally, as children grow their sleep requirements shift dramatically, and reliable strategies become obsolete, literally overnight. When addressing your family’s sleep issues, we keep in mind optimal sleep, restful play, active play, and work times for each family member. Our goal is to maximize and structure sleep time in so far as possible and necessary.

Effective limit setting and communication:

We offer suggestions and tactics for effective limit setting and clear communication with your child, modeling our techniques and coaching you as you try them yourself. With our guidance, complicated family dynamics can be examined, understood, and freshly approached. We are particularly interested in the use of expressive play and affection with children as opportunities for connection and to help children allay their fears and face challenges.

Creative Play:

Play time is fun for children, but it is also when they are hard at work trying to make sense of the world. Children test out appropriate social behavior through games and fantasy play. They also express and sort through fears, grief, anger, and life challenges, and integrate developmental steps. The parent who plays with his/her child has a great opportunity to help that child develop healthy values and good social skills, and to provide an open, accepting channel for feelings. Yet many adults find it difficult to get down on the floor and play spontaneously with their children. Not all grown-ups are comfortable being silly or wildly creative, but we believe all grown-ups have the capacity to be playful. Our goal is to help you find a comfortable way to engage in creative play, suitable to your temperament and style.

TIME MANAGEMENT

Time management is often one of the first things to go when a couple or a single becomes a family. The unpredictable rhythms and demands of children throw even the most efficient parent off-kilter. Each family member is affected by the way other members use or mis-use time. When schedules conflict, loved ones are at odds and resentment brews. Suddenly it seems there is no time for work or play. The solution to such seemingly unresolvable conflicts can be quite simple. Family Matters will offer you concrete time management strategies tailored to your family's needs and help you find a way to fit it all in.
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HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZATION

A home with children, especially young ones, is bound to be messy. Sometimes it is hard to think and act clearly among the disarray. The more efficiently a home is organized, the more time and energy there is for the fun aspects of family life. Family Matters will help you arrange your household in a manner and style that suits you. We will help you tweak systems you may already have in place, and make suggestions for new ways to get things organized. Your home may not end up camera ready, but it will feel more comfortable and functional.
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FAMILY FITNESS

Finding time for exercise while contending with the immediate demands of family life can be a frustrating challenge. Many parents sacrifice some degree of physical fitness in order to be available for their children. Before you know it weeks, months, even years have gone by without any attention to your physical fitness. While we fully support all efforts towards increasing parent-child contact, we also know how important it is to have a healthy, strong body.

Family Matters can help you find the time, place, and means to restore your body. We offer techniques culled from our backgrounds as dancers, fitness instructors, and personal trainers. If it is impossible for you to leave home for exercise, we will construct a regime that works for you in your home. We can also construct programs for overall family fitness, addressing each individual’s needs in the context of togetherness and fun.
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PRENATAL AND POSTPARTUM COUNSELING

Right before, and in the first weeks after a birth, it is difficult to get to a therapist's office. With so many intense feelings and issues coming up at this time, we believe parents of newborns need access to support. Anxieties about labor and birth, a desire to process the labor experience, post-partum depression, relationship problems, body image issues, worries about the responsibility of parenting can become highlighted and intensified. The chance to talk to someone about all of these concerns can be invaluable at this time. We offer home visit counseling sessions on a short term basis so that these concerns can be addressed as needed.
We are available to provide crisis intervention therapy for parents struggling with difficult pregnancies, who have had complicated or traumatic labors, or who have had babies born prematurely and/or with physical problems.

We also offer Transition to Parenthood Workshop, a special couple's workshop for new parents and parents-to-be, created by John Gottman, Ph.D. and Julie Gottman, Ph.D. For more information, please click on "Special Workshops".
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INDIVIDUAL CHILD/PLAY THERAPY

Sometimes children struggle with serious issues parents cannot address on their own. These children may need individualized attention and intervention. Using our skills as clinical psychotherapists, trained in psychodynamic, family systems and play therapy, we work with such children one on one. If the child’s needs dictate, we can use our office to provide a focused and comfortable environment.

Family Matters believes it is vital for the whole family to stay involved in the therapeutic process. Therefore, parents and siblings are periodically invited to join in sessions. Individual child/play therapy is serious and clinical in its objective, but can also be fun and healing for the entire family.
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COUPLES AND FAMILY THERAPY

Family Matters can provide couples and family therapy in your home or in our office. These sessions offer an opportunity to address family members’ concerns, and relationship dynamics in more depth. There is time to explore how childhood history is impacting your couple relationship and parenting, and to create shifts and changes that help to dissolve unwanted patterns. Specific communication techniques and relationship skills that create connection and empathy are integrated into the therapy process.
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Family Matters NY (updated on 04:23 PM)

PARENTING TALKS

Our Parenting Talks can be scheduled separately or as a series. We typically allow 1 and 1/2 hours for each talk. Following an informative presentation, we will answer questions and moderate group discussion on the following topics affecting parents of infants, toddlers and latency age children. We welcome suggestions and requests on other parenting-pertinent topics in addition to those listed below.

Setting Limits Without Getting Your Buttons Pushed.
Are time-outs without losing your temper possible? Are bribes always a bad thing? How to be clear, firm and direct when setting boundaries with spirited children.

Promoting Healthy Self-Esteem.
Is there such a thing as too much praise? Discussion of how praise and ‘constructive’ criticism impact a child’s sense of self, and how problem-solving and age-appropriate responsibility heighten self-esteem.

Playdate Politics and Peer Smarts.
How to help your child develop compassionate social skills and become a good friend, while you negotiate the challenges of different parenting styles and expectations. We’ll also discuss sharing, respectful play, food choices and other loaded issues a parent encounters when their child hits the social circuit.

New Parenthood: The End of The World As You Know It.
The transition to parenthood is loaded with joys and challenges. Navigating the changes can be tough on a couple's relationship. However, there are ways to strengthen and preserve connection with your partner. This talk will focus on how to avoid estrangement and conflict to cultivate greater intimacy and trust.

The In-law Dance:
Are your in-laws inviting or intrusive? Do you and your partner join forces or split into separate camps when grandparents come calling? This talk focuses on the variety of issues and emotions that come up when extended family participate in the life of your primary unit.

Sibling Survival:
Parenting two or more children can be a challenging and exhausting job. Siblinghood affords children intimate opportunities to learn the valuable life lessons of compassion, co-operation and compromise. When siblings co-exist harmoniously, life is a joy. But when they fight, parents are stressed to the max. This Talk focuses on how to defuse sibling tensions by looking at the underlying issues and assumptions that get in the way of effective parenting.

The Importance of Fathers:
Research shows clearly that paternal involvement is very important for a child’s emotional, social, and cognitive development. But fatherhood can be particularly complicated – dads often feel sidelined and unsupported.
We will discuss the wonderful benefits of involved fathers. We will explore what it has been like for Talk attendees to become fathers and how they can be supported and encouraged to be the best dads they can be. *

(*Moms are invited too!)

To Work or Not to Work, That is the Question:
Today’s generation of action-oriented, post-feminism mothers are in a constant state of questioning and comparing. It’s hard enough being a mother, much less a working-mother, or a formerly-working-mother, or a stay-at-home mother, or...
You get the point. When issues of motherhood and work collide, the dilemmas are complex, confusing, and deeply personal. In this Talk we focus on the identity issues, familial histories, financial concerns, and social pressures inherent in the work/motherhood dilemma, offering possible frameworks for resolution and joy in whatever your situation offers.

NEW PARENTHOOD: TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD WORKSHOPS FOR COUPLES

As new parents fall in love with their baby and experience the pleasure of becoming a family, an entirely new pattern of living begins. These lifestyle changes can take a toll on a couple's rhythm of connection, conflict and intimacy, wearing down partners' satisfaction with their relationship.

Support, information, and preparation for this transition reverses that trend, helping couples continue to enjoy their connection, and bloom into their new role of parenting together.

The Transition to Parenthood Workshops for Couples helps couples develop the resiliency needed to meet the intense physical and emotional challenges of parenting. Each two-hour workshop provides couples with relationship strengthening strategies and information, as well as ways to develop into a great parenting team. The workshops also provide new and expectant parents opportunities to meet other couples going through this important and exciting life transition.

Participants are welcome to take all or any of the following two hour workshops:

Workshop I

Staying Connected

This workshop lays out the realities that hit when a family of two becomes a family of three. We talk about how to stay connected despite time constraints, constant interruptions, and sleep deprivation. Through discussion, DVD viewings, demonstration and experiential exercises, we will teach a roster of specific techniques that help couples keep the channels of communication, appreciation, and receptiveness flowing.


Workshop II

Managing Conflict
Preserving Intimacy and Romance

Conflict increases for most couples after a first baby arrives. At the same time there is less time, privacy, and energy to process and resolve conflict. There is also less time, privacy and energy for intimacy: snuggling, talking, sex.

In this workshop, we offer rituals for cultivating intimacy despite new time and energy demands. We address how conflict affects your child, and how to prevent the escalation of fights. We teach creative strategies for discovering new pathways through conflict to repair and reconnection.

Workshop III

Creating a Family Life Together
Finding Shared Meaning and Values
Honoring the Past: How You Were Parented; How You Hope to Parent:

People experience a profound philosophical shift when they become parents. Through guided dialogue, partners have the opportunity to express these changes in perspective, as well as their developing thoughts, dreams and hopes about creating a family life together. The idea of shared meaning and values is explored. We explore ways for couples to combine and channel these important visions into daily family life.

The way we were parented can also influence our own parenting ideas and approach. Guided exercises and discussion will move couples toward making conscious parenting choices that incorporate personal history, cultivating the good and leaving the bad behind.

Workshop IV

Becoming a Great Parenting Team
The Importance of Fathers

Parenting together requires communication and flexibility. Teamwork is crucial, but often partners have different parenting styles and ideas. This workshop offers an opportunity for parenting teams to work towards agreement, while incorporating diverse approaches and compromise.

Research shows clearly that paternal involvement is very important for a child’s emotional, social, and cognitive development. But the transition to fatherhood can be particularly complicated – dads often feel sidelined and unsupported.

We will discuss the wonderful benefits of involved fathers. We will explore what it has been like for workshop attendees to become fathers, and how they can be supported and encouraged.

These workshops incorporate the research of John Gottman, Ph.D., and material from the Bringing Baby Home Workshop he created with Julie Gottman, Ph.D. with Family Matters NY’s practical philosophy and approach to parent counseling.

The Gottmans’ research showed that expectant and new parents who took their BBH workshop were more satisfied with their relationship two years into parenting, compared with unprepared couples who frequently experienced a major dip in relationship satisfaction.

Because each segment has a different focus, it is possible for couples to sign up for one or more.
Interruptions for nursing and tending of babies and toddlers are expected and incorporated into the rhythm of the class. Dates, times and locations will be posted on this website.

THE ARTIST, FORMERLY KNOWN AS...
A workshop for creative artist/parents

Coping with parenthood is no easy feat, especially for the mother or father with artistic ambitions. Sometimes it seems impossible to combine good parenting with the intense focus required to keep creativity alive. This challenge leaves many creative artist/parents feeling confused, distracted, depleted and alone.
The Artist Formerly Known As...is an eight session workshop addressing some of the issues arising when an artist becomes a parent. Some of the weekly topics included will be:

- Time Management: How to carve out time for creativity, while recognizing that new limitations, both practical and psychological, exist now that you are a parent.

- Competition/Envy: The Creative Artist/Parent is particularly vulnerable to the downside of these emotions if unable to engage in his/her craft as readily as before the birth of his/her child. However, there is value to these "bad" emotions. The workshop will explore how to use feelings of competition and envy to motivate and engage the Creative Artist/Parent.

- Creative Block: What is behind a dip in creative motivation and/or inspiration? Is it really just a matter of no time and/or too much creative energy poured in to parenting? Sometimes a "vacation" from the demands of a creative life is the best thing for future artistic ventures, sometimes not. The segment will offer new solutions and perspectives on this tricky subject.

- Marriage: Many creative artists are married to other creative artists. Often one partner's creative life thrives through parenthood, while the other's suffers. The creative artist married to a non-artist may also watch his/her career fade while his/her spouse's career continues to develop. Obvious tensions arise in either scenario. The focus of this segment will be on rebalancing the marital scale through effective communication and partnership.

- Family of Origin: This segment will explore the impact of the Creative Artist/Parent's own upbringing on his/her feelings about parenthood, and creativity.

This workshop is led in two-hour segments by Alice Kaltman, L.C.S.W. Alice has an extensive background in treating creative artists. A professional dancer married to a visual artist, she brings her own personal experience to this workshop.
Dates, time, and location will be determined by consensus, once enrollment is set. Please call (212) 502-7979 for more information.

Family Matters NY (updated on 01:10 PM)

Alice Kaltman, L.C.S.W. has been a psychotherapist since 1988. She worked at Fair Oaks Hospital, The Miller Institute for the Performing Arts, and the Brooklyn Heights Center for Counseling before focusing exclusively on her private practice. Alice specializes in individual and family therapy, eating disorders counseling, child therapy, and group work with mothers and women in mid-life. She also has an extensive background as a professional modern dancer and fitness instructor, bringing a personal understanding of athletics and movement to her work with clients. Alice lives with her daughter and husband in Brooklyn.

Sara Zaslow, L.M.S.W., C.G.E. received her master’s degree from Smith College in 1989. Since then, she has worked at clinics and hospitals, and in her private psychotherapy practice, focusing on individual and couples therapy, the treatment of eating disorders, and parenting. Her interest in working with parents led her to the Relationship Research Institute, where she studied Dr. John Gottman’s research on how couples transition to parenthood. There she trained to lead workshops that prepare couples for the enormous and transformative life changes that come with bringing home their first baby. Sara’s work draws from her professional knowledge and her own experience as a mother of two.

Family Matters NY (updated on 04:04 PM)

We are more than happy to talk with you by phone to provide more information regarding our services, fees, initial home assessment visits, or other issues.

Please call us at (212) 502-7979. Messages can be left at any time of day.
We will return your call as soon as possible.

Our office address is:
270 Lafayette Street, Suite 607
New York, N.Y. 10012

To email us please fill out the form below. We do not publish our email on the website to avoid an onslaught of spam. All information sent to us is private and confidential.

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We look forward to hearing from you!

Family Matters NY (updated on 01:41 PM)