About us
Caren Gitlin, LCSW, CPC
I am a parenting coach and child and family therapist. I have been working with parents and families in various settings for over 20 years. Helping parents and children has always been my passion. When I became a parent, I knew I wanted to create a safe, respectful and nurturing environment for my children. I also understood just how challenging that could be at times. It has been said that parenting is the hardest job in the world, and I could not agree more. No other job (that I can think of) has more paradoxes than parenting. We love our children immensely and often need a break from them. We want them to be independent but don’t want to let them go. The highs are high and the lows can feel very low. There is so much pressure for parents to be “perfect.” The truth is that there is no perfection in parenting. I want to bring more joy to families by helping to support parents during challenging times. Parents often feel stuck and can’t find a way out of the slump. By helping parents find their way, my hope is that more connection and family bonding can shine through.
Caren is a certified parent coach through the Jai Institute for Parent Coaching.
Synthia Praglin, MA, CPC
I have always had a passion for working with children and families. Having grown up in a family system where “children were seen but not heard,” I knew there had to be a better and healthier way to raise children. Raising my own child reinforced this notion, and fueled my desire to raise my son in a way that was respectful, and from a place of curiosity, compassion and conscious awareness. I have enjoyed working with families for over 20 years. I utilize a model that takes a relationship based view of parenting and emphasizes the importance of nurturing the connection between parent and child. My mission is to help you bring lightness, laughter, and love into your home. To help joyfulness and tranquility find a place at the table. To teach you to forgive yourself when you are human and move forward. To feel in control and optimistic about the future, and to have fun with your family.
Synthia is a certified parent educator through Teach Through Love and a certified parent coach through the Jai Institute for Parent Coaching.
Our Philosophy
Parenting is full of joy, gratitude, pride, unconditional and never-ending love. Parenting is also hard! Really, really hard! No one quite prepares you for the challenges, the heartaches, the guilt and so much more. There is a narrative in our society that good parents are always enjoying the journey. This narrative is not realistic. Good parents come with baggage, they make mistakes (lots of mistakes!) and they don’t always like the journey.
At Imperfect Parenting, you will be given the guidance and support to understand where your child is developmentally. Specifically, how their social, emotional, cognitive and physical development plays a part in how they communicate their needs to you. Unwanted behaviors are often a way for children and teens to express their needs and desires. These behaviors are frequently a cry for connection, even though the actual behavior might create a disconnection between you and your child. Why are some behaviors more triggering than others? Why can your partner tolerate a screaming toddler but you struggle? There is a reason. We all come with our own set of triggers based on our past childhood and life experiences. At Imperfect Parenting you will learn to start to notice which behaviors are triggers and how to better prepare for those triggers so that you are able to connect with your child during challenging moments. Parenting is beautiful, messy, exciting and complicated. Parenting is Perfectly Imperfect!
We offer parent coaching for parents with children of all ages. You are the expert of your child. No one knows your child better than you, which is why we take a collaborative approach to parent coaching. We have the tips and evidence-based practices to help you create a healthier relationship with your child but we also want to make sure that it fits with your family. We will work together to create a plan that feels right.