Professional Consultation & Mentorship
Dr Laura Cesaroni, Founder & Clinical Director
A place to think together about the process.
After many years of working with children, young people, adults and families, I have learned that some of the most useful clinical conversations begin when we slow down.
Sometimes we are not quite sure what we are seeing. A child's or youths behaviour may not make sense in the way it first appears. A family may be caught in a pattern that is difficult to shift. And sometimes, without realizing it, we have become part of a pattern too.
We may understand the theory, but still not know what to do with what is happening in front of us. We may also need to step back and notice what we are bringing to the situation: our assumptions, our expectations, our own reactions, or the ways we may have started responding automatically.
And sometimes, as professionals, we find ourselves affected by the work in ways we didn't expect.
These are the situations I enjoy processing with other professionals.
I offer individual consultation and mentorship to people working with children, youth, adults and families, at different stages of their education and professional lives.
What might we talk about?
It really depends on what you bring. You might want to talk through a child whose behaviour is becoming harder to understand. We might consider the role of stress, development, sensory experience, relationships or the demands around them.
You might be working with a family where everyone is trying very hard, but things continue to feel stuck.
You might be wondering whether the way you are understanding a neurodivergent child or young person is actually helping you see them more clearly.
Or you might want to talk about something that happened in a session; a reaction you had, something a client said, or a relationship that doesn't feel quite as you expected.
Sometimes there is something practical to work on. Other times, it helps to step back and look at the situation differently before deciding what to do.
Families are at the center of my work
My work with professionals has grown out of my work with families.
FERN (Family Education Resource Network) was created from a belief that children cannot be understood separately from the people and relationships around them.
Over the years, I have sat with many parents who were worried about their child, unsure what to do next, exhausted by trying to make things work, or simply wanting someone to understand what life was like for their family.
I have also had the privilege of getting to know children and young people over time-listening to their experiences, watching relationships unfold and trying to understand what makes things easier or harder for them.
That experience has shaped the way I approach clinical work.
A child is not simply a behaviour to change or a problem to solve. A diagnosis does not tell us everything about a person. And when something isn't working, I think it is worth becoming curious about what the person and the people around them may be experiencing before we decide what needs to change. Sometimes a different lens of understanding is all that is needed.
Sometimes the question is simply:
What is happening here? What might help?
A relational and stress-informed perspective
My work has been influenced by developmental psychology, relational and emotion-based therapies, Self-Reg®, and neurodiversity-affirming practice. As well as my many years sitting with families, children and youth and listening deeply.
Self-Reg has particularly influenced the way I think about behaviour, stress and capacity. It has encouraged me to look beyond whether someone could do something and become more curious about what may be affecting their capacity in that particular moment.
I don't see any framework as something that gives us the answer.
The person in front of us still has to come first. That means being willing to reconsider our assumptions, to notice when something doesn't fit, and sometimes to sit with uncertainty for a little longer.
Mentorship across disciplines
One of the things I have valued most through FERN has been the opportunity to work with students and emerging professionals from different fields.
I have worked with practicum students from psychology, social work, early childhood education, youth work and developmental sciences, as well as professionals already working in the field.
I enjoy the different perspectives that come with this kind of work. A child may be seen differently by a parent, an educator, a social worker, a therapist or a youth worker. None of these perspectives necessarily tells the whole story.
Mentorship can provide a place to bring those perspectives together and think about what they might mean for the person or family you are supporting.
For students and newer professionals, it can be a place to ask questions that don't always have easy answers and to begin finding your own way of working.
For experienced professionals, it can be a place to step outside the day-to-day demands of the work and think through something that has been sitting with you.
I am not interested in giving people a script for how they should practice. I would rather help you become more comfortable asking questions, noticing what you are seeing, and trusting yourself to keep thinking when the answer isn't obvious.
Who I work with
I work with people across a range of professional and educational settings, including:
therapists and mental health professionals
psychology and social work students and professionals
early childhood educators and ECE students
youth workers and youth work students
developmental sciences students and professionals
educators and others supporting children, youth and families
You don't need to arrive with a perfectly formulated question. I invite you to bring the situation you've been thinking about. Bring the family you aren't quite sure how to support. Bring something that happened in your work that you keep coming back to.
We can start there.
NOTE: This is independent professional consultation and mentorship. Not regulatory or College supervision.