About Me
Let the fire within you shine brighter than the flames around you. This journey doesn’t have to destroy you. There is a way out. There is hope!
Hi! I’m Diana
I’m glad you’ve found me! I’m a wife, a mom to 3 awesome (but also very challenging) kids. I’m also a trauma-informed, certified life coach who specializes in working with women who are parenting children who have experienced significant childhood trauma and struggle with intense emotional and behavioral problems because of it. I also help women who have been through these things themselves.
I’ve been down this road. I know how intense, scary, and utterly exhausting things can be. What started out as a good desire to be a mom and bring more kids into our family quickly turned into a nightmare and we found ourselves living in a war zone! Even though we’d read all the books and done every training we were asked to do (and more), I still had no idea what truly terrified kids could do. I had no idea the chaos it would bring into our family. I had no idea humans could be so cruel and cause such significant and long-lasting damage to kids.
This job is too big to do alone! Even though my kids are now adults and off doing their own thing, I still have a passion for helping hurting families climb out of chaos, reclaim peace, and restore hope. I also know it’s impossible to do alone. I know how important it is to be validated and how critical it is to have someone in my court who has my back and understands how truly extreme the issues that come with parenting hurt kids can be. Getting out isn’t always easy, but it is possible!
A Bit More About Me…
Just for fun, I’ve added a few bits of trivia (many of which are also answers to frequently asked questions) to help you learn even more about me.
About My Family
My husband and I met on a blind date nearly 30 years ago. I avoided him for two weeks, we dated seriously for two weeks after that, and we were married three months later.
We were blessed with one “miracle baby” who joined us the old-fashioned way after five years of trying. We adopted two boys from Eastern Europe eight years later at the ages of seven and almost three. Sometimes my kids are my greatest challenges. Always they’re my greatest gifts.
Both my boys came to us with a severe trauma history and have struggled greatly with issues related to FASD, Reactive Attachment Disorder, complex PTSD, mood disorders, ODD, depression, anxiety, and more.
All three of our kids have ADHD and learning disabilities.
About My Training
Much of what I know I learned through the “School of Hard Knocks” and by reading dozens of books about trauma, attachment disorder, and more recently narcissism, in order to survive the insanity our life.
I went through rigorous training and received my life coaching certification in 2015. I have since completed two other additional certifications specifically related to parent coaching and trauma and am curently working on a third.
I am not a licensed mental health professional and don’t offer any kind of therapy, diagnosis, treatment program, or therapeutic intervention.
I do what I do because I know how hard it is to find any help, let alone anyone who truly understands the impact of trauma. I’m not okay watching families shatter and collapse because they don’t have the proper training, tools, or support needed to make things work.
About My Approach
I firmly believe that the most important person to help in the family is Mom!
Though our kids may be causing the problems, so much of how things play out depends on mom, both for better and for worse. Yet far too often, she’s the last one to get help, the last one to get any support, and the first (and often only one) to stand on the front line doing all the hard work.
Many moms have their own hidden (or not-so-hidden) trauma wounds and adaptations that must be resolved in order for anyone and everyone to move forward.
Investing in Mom and helping Mom get the support and resources she needs helps the whole family to heal. The best shot our kids have at healing themselves is by watching us healing ourselves. They need us to go first and show them what it looks like and how it’s done.
About Me
I love the ocean and the beach, but I don’t like heat and I live in a desert.
I’m not a dog person, but we do have a pair of Russian tortoises.
I love taking pictures of beautiful places and things, and I love being in places where I can take those pictures.
I live in Utah. The answer is yes, and I love people and Jesus with all of my heart.