Welcome
Family relationships are likely to be the most complex connections we experience in a lifetime. They are the deeply embedded root in all other relationships, and it is often the parent, caregiver, or extended family who provides the anchor.
About Carol
I’ve been working with families, schools, agencies and non-profits for 40 years as a child and family consultant, and a co-parenting mediator. My theoretical leanings are in attachment and regulation in human development, child development, and anti-bias practices. I look at children through the lens of stages of development, autonomy, safety and relationships. There is a well of expression that reflects the things which are important to us. The work of human development and connection are the reasons I love this work. I look beneath behavior toward a deeper understanding of children while also supporting their grown-ups. Because we rely on communication to know each other, the goal is for children and adults to find they accompany each other, most of the time, with a deeper understanding and with resiliency and joy.
My work expands adult tools for observing and understanding the emotional life of children and the work each stage of child development or life experience represents. Together, we uncover what adults are feeling, and explore the dilemmas children and families face.
Contact Carol
805.798.3322
carolcastanon@icloud.com
Carol’s wisdom and insight into the developmental issues of children and her profound respect for families create a fertile, supportive environment in which parents feel safe enough to engage in genuine self-examination.
Time and time again, a parent comes in grappling with a particular conflict. Each time, as Carol listens and begins to probe with questions, a more complex set of dynamics emerges. In her work with each family, the problem at hand rapidly gives way to deeper issues as she helps parents find their own solutions.
Carol inspires us to question our assumptions, try new approaches and see our role as teachers differently. Not just: “What will fix things in the moment?” but “What is it that we want to teach? What are our hopes for this child in the long run?” Carol has helped me with my commitment to building a world where parents have the support they need to build strong, healthy families — families in which children play, laugh, explore, learn, and take love and safety for granted.
Adrienne Hoskins