Compassionate Families

Simple strategies for overcoming overwhelm

Reconnect with yourself and the people you love

Let's Connect

Whether you’re longing for richer relationships→ Or seeking strategies for self-regulation→

Welcome to Compassionate Families.

I’m so glad you’re here.

Story Groups

An invitation to engage stories of heartache and harm and imagine restoration in the caring presence of others.

Strategies for Self-Regulation

When everyday life is overwhelming… simple and effective strategies that work.

Coaching

If you’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin, you don’t have to do this alone.

Story Work

If you’re longing for richer relationships

Our stories of heartache and hope shape our relationships.
Whether you’re longing for a deeper connection with people you love
or looking for courage to maintain your integrity,
engaging your story is an invitation to greater freedom.

Our stories are the way we make sense of our experiences.

As we engage our stories with compassion and curiosity, we begin to understand how stories from the past shape our relationships in the present.

Engaging our stories—and ourselves—with kindness invites us to imagine the intimacy and integrity in relationships that we long for.

“The way hearts, minds and bodies operate is always in story.”Adam Young

You are more than one story.

Lee Warren

Making sense of our life stories enables us to have deeper connections with our children.

Daniel Siegel and Mary Hartzell
Families

Creating more compassionate families

Our children rely on us to help them make sense of their experiences.

We can only help our children make sense of their stories to the degree that we have compassionately engaged our own.

When our parents help us make sense of our stories in ways that are consistent with what actually happened, we learn to trust ourselves and others—and we learn to trust our ability to make sense of our experiences.

Engaging our stories is an invitation to understand ourselves more fully and reflect more honestly on what is happening in our relationships with our children, rather than simply reacting from patterns shaped by the past.

As we engage our own stories with curiosity, we grow in our capacity to respond to ourselves and our children with kindness, creating more compassionate relationships within our families.

Courage

When relationships with family members are complicated

It takes courage to acknowledge our stories of heartache and harm.

When relationships with people we love have become demanding, disappointing, or draining, engaging our stories can offer greater clarity about what is happening between us.

If family members aren’t open to addressing what happened in the past, our desire to name the truth about our stories challenges us to hold onto our integrity.

As we make sense of our stories with courage and compassion, we can respond in our relationships with greater freedom.

“You will only deal with the present to the degree that you are open to addressing the past.”Dan Allender
Story Groups

Engaging Your Story

Story Groups offer an invitation to engage our stories of heartache and harm and imagine restoration in the caring presence of others.

An eight-week journey

Over the course of eight weeks, we’ll journey together as we compassionately engage one another’s stories with kindness and curiosity.

The stories we share will be prayerfully read and engaged with care in the context of our group experience. Together, we’ll explore some of the ways stories from the past continue to shape our relationships in the present and imagine new possibilities for the future—with more freedom to be the people we were created to be and to experience the relationships we were meant for.

  1. Your journey begins when we schedule a time to connect by phone.

    Let’s connect →
  2. If we agree that joining a story group is a good fit for you,
    you’ll receive an invitation to submit a short written childhood story in advance.

    How to write a childhood story →

If You’re Experiencing…

 

Fear, Apprehension, Worry

Unwanted Weight Gain or Loss

Irritability, Frustration, Anger

Relational Conflict

Secondary or Vicarious Trauma

Stress, Anxiety, Overwhelm

Procrastination, Lack of Motivation

Discouragement, Hopelessness

Fatigue, Exhaustion, Burnout

Sadness, Grief, Loss

Troubled Sleep

Isolation, Loneliness

Meet Laurie

Over the past 25 years, I’ve worked with countless parents like you and children like yours. As an Accredited Advanced Certified EFT Practitioner, I know parents need simple, effective strategies that work.

Overcoming Overwhelm—it’s simpler than you think

Let’s connect.

Reach out to schedule a complimentary consultation. I'll be in touch with you soon.

Contact Information

2201 Lakeside Drive, Bannockburn, IL 60015