Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison LaTona.
Hi Allison, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Along with being first a mom of two young adults, I have over 30 years of experience counseling individuals, couples, families, and have facilitated life-changing parenting groups for over two decades.
After pursuing my Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute in 1993, I became licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in 1997. In my training, I worked as a therapist for New Directions for Youth, where I performed school counseling as well as therapy for individuals, couples, and families. I then trained at Counseling West, where I began to specialize in couples, with a deep understanding of relational dynamics. Upon licensure, I worked as a contract therapist in the Family Therapy program at the esteemed Julia Ann Singer Center, now Reiss-Davis Child Study Clinic, where I worked with families, as well as facilitated play therapy with young children.
Upon having my first child in 1999, I discovered a profound sense of love and agency in motherhood; I became further intrigued with early childhood and the maternal journey, along with the critical significance of relationships in development. This experience led me to facilitate parenting groups with Babygroup in Santa Monica, as well as in private practice. I have since been leading multiple weekly/monthly groups for 24 years and currently have groups of parents from ages eight weeks to 15 years old.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey has not been without challenges, as I have held a full practice of groups and clients while parenting young children for over two decades, which thankfully my husband has been able to offset with his presence and commitment to our kids and family. I wouldn’t be where I am in my career today without the enduring support of my husband, as he is always there for our kids when I cannot be. Although I am forever grateful for how we partner in parenting, as a mother who naturally wants to be there for my children at all times, there is an internal struggle when not possible. I reframe this struggle, knowing it is positive for my children to have this modeling from and connection with their father, as well as the model of their mom doing meaningful work that serves raising the next generation.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Cultivating relationships and resilience is at the core of my work, encouraging reflection and self-awareness while helping clients make better choices and take thoughtful action in their lives. With a deep understanding of a woman’s transition to motherhood, I prioritize maternal health, addressing the core issue of identity loss and re-birth, as well as the multitude of conflicting feelings new mothers experience in the process. I also inspire couples to prioritize and grow in their relationship, as it is the center of the family, and to recognize it is their child’s first model of love and blueprint to intimacy.
Helping families go beyond merely surviving and move toward thriving, I guide clients in creating a coherent narrative of their early childhood experience, fostering increased presence, compassion, and flexibility within oneself and one’s relationships, along with the ability to more intentionally and effectively parent. This process enables parents and future generations to create secure attachments with their children, thereby promoting well-balanced lives.
I specialize in empowering parents with the understanding, vision, and tools to create thriving and fulfilling family lives and foster long-term connections. I inspire parents to be present and to connect with their child while guiding them to parent with intention. Passionate about the power of language to carry the emotional intention of our thoughts, I coach parents to mindfully choose their words to maintain connection, build self-esteem, and foster emotional intelligence. Understanding that behavior is communication, I guide parents to tune into their child to see the mind beneath the behavior. I facilitate uncovering the origins of challenging behaviors and provide optimal strategies and tools to address them effectively.
By educating parents about the dynamic interaction between the mind, brain, and relationships, they discover they can fundamentally affect the way their child views, feels, and interacts with their world. Guiding parents to utilize mindful and purposeful philosophies grounded in research and science, I offer specific strategies and invaluable insights to deepen relationships, build skills, and ease the inherent challenges of contemporary parenthood.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The biggest shifts I see are in both parents working, along with the ubiquitous digital distractions, thereby often limiting the ability to be present with their child, which challenges the family system, and thereby can impact behavior, since connected relationships are at the core of developing a secure attachment and the abilities necessary to thrive in young adulthood.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.allisonlatona.com
- Instagram: @allisonlatonamft
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllisonLaTonaMFT
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-latona-mft-12710520/
Image Credits
Liz Lonky
