About

Highest Ground Family Counseling, a private family counseling practice, was co-founded by two mothers, Jill Valenti and Lonnie Green Ph.D, in October 2010. After having success after success counseling families, Jill became passionate about finding a way to make a difference with many more families so her website JillValentiCoach.com was founded to empower as many parents as possible and be a resource for thriving families.

 

Jill Valenti

 

I recognized early on that, for me, my parenting was tied to my greatest life challenge which was to show up as my best self –authentic, calm and resilient, no matter what family crisis or everyday stumble life was throwing my way at the moment.  I developed a deep thirst for learning and growing as a parent because I wanted to be prepared for — and succeed! — with my parenting challenges.

My mindset used to be that being a great parent meant getting my children’s behavior effectively under control.  Effective meant what would ultimately work for me.  Courses and workshops in Positive Parenting, lectures given by parenting experts and authors, evening presentations by family counselors, CD/DVD boxed sets of principles, tips and techniques, all of it, culminated in the realization that my attitude and perceptions about my children were where I had to start.

The realization WAS THAT I NEEDED AN ATTITUDE SHIFT TO START TO CREATE THE CHANGES I DESIRED IN MY FAMILY AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND was the key to having my family thrive.

This is not to make light of kids whose life circumstances are truly problematic.  This is shining the light on how when parents examine and reflect on their own parenting attitudes and question their perceptions of their child they are parenting their whole child and not just their child’s behavior.  Children respond to being “worked with” as the whole and complete individuals they are rather than being managed to produce desired behaviors.

I couldn’t have done it without the tremendous support network that I created around me.  I couldn’t have done it without being committed to a practice of mutual respect, giving rise to mutual benefit, which in turn laid the foundation for mutual trust.  I learned a way to be a parent that had me feeling good and my family thriving.  To put it simply, I want to share this approach to parenting with you so you feel good and your family thrives.

Bringing harmony and workability to the parent-child relationship is my greatest joy.  I can hardly wait for you to find the premises, principles and methods featured on this website as useful to you as they have been to me and to those families with whom I have worked with.

Biography

For almost a decade, Jill has had a private face-to-face practice working with families, couples and individuals in the United States, internationally, as well as an online practice.   She did her postgraduate training in family counseling for four years working with families directly under the supervision of Lonnie Green, M.Ed., Ph.D.  Jill is certified to lead the Quality Parenting Program and has also studied P. E. T. Parent Effectiveness Training.  Jill has 35 years of experience in diverse therapeutic modalities including, but not limited to, building EQ (emotional intelligence), the Enneagram Personality Profile,  and somatic-oriented counseling.   She has co-authored with Dr. Lonnie Green, the handbook, Workable Agreements. She has led youth courses, parent workshops, and facilitated parent support groups for years as well as being a featured speaker and presenter for workshops and online webinars.  She is a Certified Master NLP Practitioner, has led Transformative Movement Workshops and has been a guest teacher for the women’s leadership course, “Freeing the Feminine Spirit.”

Jill has also given back to her California community by providing classes, presentations and leading support groups for the parent community of Pediatric Alternatives in Mill Valley, California & Parent’s Place in San Rafael, California which is a non-profit organization serving families in Marin County, California in the United States.

Jill specializes in creating a bond of trust with her clients that allows her to support them in developing resources that transform their lives for the better.

Please contact Jill to learn about counseling and upcoming groups.
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