About Me
Being a parent is pretty much the most important role we can play in life. Our children are shaped by who we are and how we show up in our daily life. What a gift and responsibility.
Hello and Welcome. My name is Marina Johnston. I am an RN with many years of experience working in public health helping families to build healthy coping skills, parenting skills and resilience.
I am a Parent Coach and certified in trauma informed EFT and Transformational Coaching through NEFTti. I have a Master in Counselling from University of Toronto and am trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Anxiety Management, Attachment Therapy and Trauma Therapy.
Most importantly, I am a mother who has learned through experience how difficult it is to parent children in today’s world. We are often stressed, isolated and do not have the same community and kinship connections as previous generations to help us in our journey.
This is a place for you if you find yourself struggling as a parent and have an inkling you can be handling things better. Here you will find validation, emotional support and practical strategies to become the parent you are meant to be. After all, the greatest gift we can give our kid is our Best Self.
Parenting is challenging at the best of times. Inevitably we come up against our own fears, emotional triggers, feelings of inadequacy and sometimes hopelessness. How competent, confident and calm we feel will create the atmosphere in our home that helps our children thrive. This means learning to watch and respond to our children without reacting. It means stepping back and considering what is needed in the situation.
She writes “I love you; I love you; I love you. You are the best mom I ever had. Sometimes you are nice, sometimes you are bad and moody and sometimes even scary. But I love you and you will always be in my heart you are the best mom”.
My Early Parenting Story
I separated form my children’s father when my daughter was 4 and my son was 7. They were both lively spirited and creative children. They were also diagnosed with ADHD and in those days, there was little known about neurodiversity. I would parent very differently today knowing what I know. I have a sound knowledge how to help parents understand their child better when identified as neurodiverse.
My daughter Emma wrote this poem in grade one. It is telling in so many ways. She was feeling stressed because she needed me to be more calm and present.
What is ironic is that I was facilitating parent education groups for public health at the time. How could I be advising parents and not applying the information to my own child? Well, the difference between knowing something and emotionally being capable to keep your cool and apply it are two different things. I realized I had been preoccupied, stressed and overwhelmed.
I started studying about the brain and its’ stress response. Basically, there are two parts of our brain, one the ‘upstairs brain’ which is good at planning, coordinating and responding logically to situations. Then we have our ‘downstairs brain’ which is our survival brain that gets hooked into a stress response that starts running the show, with our logic going out the window.
I found that working with my own EFT practitioner helped me resolve much of my childhood patterns and found ways to pause and respond to my child’s needs no matter what their age was. My learning journey continues today as a parent of young adults.
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