LEARN FROM CERTIFIED MASTER PARENT COACH
Jerrod Zertuche, M. Ed., BCBA
Trauma-Informed Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner (NLP)
LEARN FROM CERTIFIED MASTER PARENT COACH
Jerrod Zertuche, M. Ed., BCBA
Trauma-Informed Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner (NLP)
First of all, thank you for investing your time in becoming the parent you want to be. It takes a village to raise a child and as a parent you want the best, research-based guidance for your family. That’s what I’m all about!
HOW MY PARENTS INFLUENCED ME
I was born and raised in Clovis, CA with a mother and father who would say things like, “As long as you did your best” and “I’m sorry for…” which I now see as secure attachment parenting and I’m very grateful I grew up this way.
Interestingly, my father did not have the same secure childhood that my mom grew up in, so he made a conscious decision not to use the parenting techniques that had led to his own traumatic childhood. As a youth, he intentionally set boundaries with his stepfather—and did not want to pass on to me what was passed on to him. The good news is, he succeeded!
In fact, I’m proof that a parent can successfully break the cycle of generational trauma.
THE LESSON: GOOD PARENTING CAN BE LEARNED
I’m interested in parent coaching because of the secure attachment I feel with my parents and the choice my dad made to change the course of his own family’s trauma. He’s proof that anyone can break the cycle. You can break the cycle, too.
With the unconditional love I received from my parents, I went on to graduate from UC San Diego with a degree in Psychology. And then, I went on to professionally help kids on the spectrum.
MY EARLY CAREER: HELPING FAMILIES
In June of 2012, I began my first professional service position of working with kids on the spectrum and their parents. I helped my younger clients through the challenging times of their day like morning/night routines, trying new foods/things, transitioning away from screen-time (or any preferred activity), and just overall getting their needs met in an “appropriate” way.
I helped my older clients with their self-esteem, emotional processing, and coping mechanisms. And I used behaviorism—which is a branch of psychology that focuses on how people learn through their interactions with the environment — to support these families.
Since then, I have supported a countless number of households all with different values and dynamics. I understand how each family has their own individual needs; what works for one family may not work for another family. This experience has led me to have a keener sense of what’s important for the families I serve and how to guide them through challenges more effectively.
In addition to using behaviorism to support families, I also use neuroscience and trauma-informed therapy to help parents get to the root of their struggles and grow the way they want to grow. Getting “unstuck” from old, generational parenting strategies and guiding them to new ways of responding to family challenges that “just feel right” to them.
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE IS THE KEY
Giving unconditional love to you and your child while applying research-based techniques will allow you to break the cycle of generational trauma so that your life becomes one of peace, hope, and balance.
Knowing what a securely attached connection to my mom and dad feels like gives me experience in what unconditional love looks like and feels like.
• And, it is the most powerful gift you can give yourself.
THE FRONTLINE: PARENT COACHING FROM INSIDE THE FAMILY
This brings me to my parent coaching journey! I started specializing in parent educator in July of 2016.I became a certified parent coach —specifically, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) working closely with children and teens on the autism spectrum.
As a BCBA, I’ve seen the worst in children—including a multitude of escalations, aggression, and uncooperative behavior. For the younger children, I provided behavior support plans and writing skill acquisition programs.
In fact for the past 10 years, I have had the privilege of supporting and educating parents on how to implement behavior interventions outside of my sessions.
And here’s the one big takeaway that I’ve learned from working within my clients’ homes;
Once the parent changes their behaviors and nurtures a safe and connected attachment, their children change their own behaviors!
ON-GOING STUDIES: RESEARCH BASED ADVANCES IN NEUROSCIENCE
I have also studied and become certified in teaching parents new, research-based breakthroughs in neuroscience and unconscious work. These breakthroughs include understanding the importance of the bond between parent-child/teen and its effect on the developing brain.
In our parent coaching sessions, we will discuss the most time-efficient and effective ways to strengthen this bond, which will be individualized to meet your family’s needs.
These new breakthroughs in science are actually ancient ways of raising children — but now that we have modern tools of science (MRIs, MEG, EEGs, etc) we have scientific data proving how powerful the ancient parenting mindset of co-regulation, validation, and unconditional love is to a child/teen/young adult’s developing brain. This is Balanced Parenting.