Frequently Asked Questions

Answered by Marny Elliott, with Advanced Training in the Nurtured Heart Approach® and Certification in Spiritual Psychotherapy

Here are some of the most common questions I get asked. Don’t see your question here? I’m happy to answer it. Give me a shout at (250) 218-8702 or send me an email.

What is a Parent Coach?

Parent coaching is your personal guidance to understanding the dynamics in your family, helping you reach your goals and confidently maintain a new family balance. After exploring existing patterns and identifying new skills to create your vision, you will be fully supported to ensure you experience long term success. You are one of the most influential people in your child’s life – embrace that and learn to use it for positive outcomes.

We are not born knowing all the things we can do to be the best for our children. Coaching is engaging outside expertise to help us be successful in making permanent changes that will move us to better results. 

A Parent Coach is someone who can assist any adult with children in their lives to gain new insight into current concerns and bring tangible skills that create lasting change.

What is Spiritual Psychotherapy? (also called Transpersonal Psychotherapy)

With no religious aspects, this type of therapy is holistic in nature and respects the belief that in connecting with your true self, you can be a large part of your own healing. Your true self is always there, knowing what is best and right for you, it often just gets buried by the ways we learn to cope and the ways we believe we need to be different to belong. Here is a great article, What is a spiritual approach to counselling/psychotherapy? that explains this in more detail.

What NHA workshops are available?
  • 1-hour Introductions provide a high-level overview of the approach and the foundations that make NHA successful. It is a great start for people looking to get an idea of what the approach is all about.
  • 5 to 8-hour Workshops are held in a one-day format or over several weeks. They provide the foundations of the approach, details of the core methodology as well as the techniques to implement. Attendees will be able to fully use the approach in their daily lives upon successful completion. The more hours, the more opportunity for experiential learning and more detail to really solidify the concepts. Great for those new to the approach or those wishing to refresh their knowledge.
  • 12-hour Workshops are the most comprehensive level of training for those wishing to use the approach. It provides all of the benefits of shorter trainings, with the greatest opportunity for experiential learning and details to solidify the concepts. It will benefit those new to the approach or those wishing to refresh or deepen their knowledge.

All workshops, explore the relationship you have with the children in your life, from the perspective of The 3 Stands™.  With consistent usage, these combine wonderfully to:

  • Build the Inner Wealth™ of children which is proven to be essential in positive behavioural and academic outcomes.
  • Help express intensity in successful ways.
  • Focus on strengths and skills building to promote positive behaviours.
  • Clearly support them in the healthy expression of their feelings and thoughts (self-regulation).
  • Reduce stress and increase connection, confidence, grace, and joy.

Nurtured Heart Approach® group workshops are held in the Comox Valley and virtually. Additionally, arrangements can be made for training at other locations.

Can I hire you to do a workshop for my group?

Yes! I have done many workshops for various schools as well as parenting groups across British Columbia. Customized presentations, training workshops, as well as packages to meet time constraints or specific audiences can be arranged.

What are your credentials, training and education?

For a current list of education, credentials, and ongoing training, please see the complete list on the About Marny page.

What modalities and techniques do you use?
  • Family of Origin – what we learned, what we came to believe about ourselves and how that plays out today.
  • Dealing with core issues and blocks.
  • Focusing.
  • Guided Imagery.
  • Body Psychotherapy (might include chakra work and Reiki).
  • Voice Dialoguing.
  • Integration of coping mechanisms and defenses.
  • Expressing and healing the Inner Child.
  • Experiential Psychotherapy.
  • Working with the Inner Critic and other Sub-Personalities.
  • Healing shame.
  • Mindfulness.
  • Creating and protecting personal boundaries.
  • Living your higher purpose.
  • Moving through spiritual emergency and dark night of the soul.
  • Making lifestyle changes (writing, relaxation techniques, being of service and meditation).
How do I choose the right counsellor for me?

One of the biggest factors is your comfort. The relationship with your counsellor can be a big part of your healing and will make any techniques used much more effective if you are able to express what is needed, receive clarity and engage in a supportive, collaborative and open exchange.

Another important factor can be if the therapist has done their own healing work. In order to be fully present and authentically help you, your therapist needs to be caring for their own emotional health. Also, helping others heal can be greatly informed by going through the process ourselves.

Also, you are unique and there are many different professionals and modalities so there is a right fit for everyone. Some people use very holistic techniques while others are more focused on the mind or the body. Some are compassionate based and positivity focused while others are more direct. Some counsellors use several modalities while others use just one.  It is all up to what resonates with you. It is absolutely OK for you to find a better fit or request a referral. Just be aware if any discomfort is an excuse to avoid therapy. 

What I use with children already works well for me but I am also interested in the Nurtured Heart Approach®. Can I use both or do I need to drop what I doing and learn something totally new?

You can absolutely use the NHA philosophy in conjunction with other parenting tools. Nurtured Heart can form a solid and broad foundation for many other effective tools to lean on.  Often times this foundation can serve to actually make existing tools that work, that much more effective.  We will work closely together to keep what is working, notch up what can be made more successful and add in what is needed to round out your parenting, teaching or therapeutic tool box.

What makes the Nurtured Heart Approach® different than other parenting techniques?

There are many ways the NHA is different from other parenting techniques. This is a really good resource that explains the differences.

Questions? Comments?

Send me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.