Adler Graduate School in Richfield, MN, is offering a two-course (five weeks per course) certification in parent coaching to licensed professionals. Teachers, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Physical Therapists, Social Workers, School Counselors, School Psychologists, Early Childhood Educators, Parent Educators, and Family Educators are all eligible to particpate.

Outside of Adler Graduate School, agencies can hire Tina to train parent coaches. Our most recent collaboration involves:

Cass County Social Services, Fargo Cass Public Health, West Fargo Public Schools, Fargo Public Schools, Moorhead Public Schools, SE North Dakota Head Start, North Dakota State University, SE Human Service Center, and PATH North Dakotaass County Social Services, Fargo Cass Public Health, West Fargo Public Schools, Fargo Public Schools, Moorhead Public Schools, SE North Dakota Head Start, North Dakota State University, SE Human Service Center, and PATH North Dakota

This has been an entirely inspiring and fulfilling experience for trainer and trainees alike. For more information, please call Tina at 651-453-0123 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Tina also offers individual training for parent coaches, using Skype and in-person meetings. 

More info on Parent Coaches’ Certification: 

Parent Coaches’ Certification is a program that trains interested people who have four-year degrees in a child-related field to coach parents on a wide array of topics, with particular focus on challenging child behavior.  Taught by Tina Feigal, a former school psychologist with nine years’ experience in coaching parents, the certification qualifies individuals to provide “personalized parent education.”  In lieu of parents taking a parenting class, coaches help them to apply techniques to their specific situations, bringing about more permanent solutions.  Coaches also follow up with parents until they are feeling solid in their use of the techniques. 

The Nurtured Heart Approach, created by Howard Glasser, M.A., is foundational to parent coaches’ certification.  A basic tenet of the Approach is that children are seeking emotional energy matches from their parents.  These matches usually occur when things are going poorly, in the form of yelling and punishment.  Unfortunately, the matches are highly rewarding of the negative behavior.  The Approach teaches parents to give heartfelt appreciation (energy matches) to positive behavior and no energy to negative behavior.  Physiologically, this is sound practice, as based on the research of Daniel Siegel, MD and others, we now know that neural pathways that are reinforced for good behavior ensure that the good behavior will be repeated.  Neural pathways that are not reinforced by repetition will die off, resulting in diminishment of negative behavior. 

Learning to reward only good behavior and steadfastly avoid rewarding negative behavior is a simple concept, but it’s challenging for parents to learn.  Most parents were raised with giving energy to negativity, and since their neural pathways are so entrenched for reacting to negativity, some intense undoing is needed.  Rather than teach them once and send them on their way to figure out how to go about this, coaches support parents in undoing their old neural pathways, and in replacing responses to negativity with heartfelt appreciation for children’s positivity. 

Another tenet of the certification program is the use of Present Moment Parenting, created by Tina Feigal.  Using principles from the work of Ekhardt Tolle, who wrote the books The Power of Now and A New Earth, Present Moment Parenting encourages a new focus, not of fear, but on the power of connecting with children in this moment.  This enables parents to let go of old “tapes” about what will happen next, and focus on making this present moment the best it can be for each child.  Letting go of using the past to predict the future is enormously effective for turning challenging behavior around.  We also include the use of mindfulness techniques in parenting as put forth by Dr. Daniel Siegel in his book The Mindful Brain.  Siegel uses the science of neurobiology to help his patients reduce stress by mindfulness meditation practices. 

Parent coaches also use their expertise in a variety of issues related to child development to provide guidance on school issues and to make good referrals for mental health and/or occupational therapy services for children when needed.  Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, attachment disorders, sensory processing disorders, blended families, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and many other issues that children and parents face today are covered in the certification process. 

Alternatives to traditional pharmaceutical interventions, as put forth by the field of orthomolecular science are also included in the certification.  It’s now known that when the molecular structure and interaction of the brain is well understood, nutritional supplementation can dramatically improve child behavior.  The resources for this information are the Pfeiffer Treatment Center, Warrenville, IL , which has been studying these phenomena for decades, and Christopher Foley, MD, a University of Minnesota Pharmacy professor and owner of Minnesota Natural Medicine in Vadnais Heights, MN.

The role of a parent coach as teacher is clearly defined in the certification process.  Coaching is differentiated from psychotherapy in that with coaching, parents do not need to be diagnosed with something wrong in order to get help with their children’s behavior.  The certification process teaches parent coaches to remain in the role as teacher, cleanly avoiding analysis and judgment. 

The certification program includes supervised parent coaching with real clients.  Using Tina’s expertise, trainees can come with questions and receive support as they work with parents to improve child behavior. 

Parent coaching is the perfect model for bringing families with intense children to a place of peace.  Parents care the most about their children’s behavior, have the most invested in their children’s lives, and are present for much of the children’s daily lives.  The healing is placed in the hands of the parents, where it belongs.  When the family relationships improve, parents get the credit, as they have been the ones to bring about the positive changes. Without having to diagnose child or parent with a disorder, and often without the child’s knowledge that the coaching process is even occurring, dramatic improvement is realized.  Parents relax, their self-esteem soars, and their relationships with their children blossom.  It’s a win-win situation. 

Our program will help to proliferate the field of parent coaching throughout the US, and to bring about healing for kids that may otherwise not have happened.  We can only speculate, but our instincts strongly suggest that we are saving children from future mental health and behavioral disorders, which contributes to society in countless economic, ethical, and cultural ways. 

For research findings on the Nurtured Heart Approach, visit nurturedheart.com, and click on Parenting Articles, Review of Research on the Nurtured Heart Approach. 

Comments from recently certified coaches:

“Tina’s style of teaching allowed me to not only learn/understand the material, but apply it to my own style.  Very cutting edge and solidly based on research at the same time.”

“Very helpful (student assessment techniques).  I enjoyed my research time and learned so much from presenting.  The journal was fabulously helpful in keeping the material present and integrated into my client work.”

“I left the course feeling like I would have paid twice as much for it and still have gotten more than I paid for.” 

“… you found yourself doing great work without even knowing it.”