Heather Stevenson, M.A. - About Heather

Heather Stevenson, M.A. - Helping Parents and Children Create Closer Relationships

Heather Stevenson, M.A.

Child & Adolescent Development Specialist

Certified Aware Parenting Instructor

Welcome to my website! Below is some information about me--both personal and professional. Please feel free to email me with questions. I love to connect with other parents!

I hold a Master’s degree in child and adolescent development and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology, both from U.C. Santa Barbara. I am a certified Aware Parenting Instructor, and have incorporated this approach into my work with parents who are in recovery from drugs and alcohol, as well as other parents who want to develop deeper connections with their children while addressing behavior issues as well. In addition to my private practice with parents, I also work as a parent educator instructor with Santa Barbara City College's Continuing Education Program. Since 2008, I have worked as the parent educator at Casa Serena, a residential recovery program for women in Santa Barbara, California. As a lesbian mother, I keenly understand the complex issues facing gay and lesbian parents and their children, and I greatly enjoy working with that community as well. I have a partner of 13 years and a son named Liam.

Before starting my work with parents, I worked in the non-profit community doing fundraising and grantwriting. I still do some grantwriting for several non-profits, including Boxtales Theatre Company, Pacific Pride Foundation, and the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, three organizations that are close to my heart.

On a musical note, I am a singer-songwriter, and in 2000 I put out a CD of my original songs called Golden, available at CDBaby.com.

My Journey as a Mother

A number of years ago, my partner and I decided to start the process of becoming parents. After becoming pregnant, we set out on the daunting task of finding a parenting philosophy that worked for us. Luckily, a good friend pointed me in the direction of Aletha Solter, Alfie Kohn, and Thomas Gordon—all proponents of democratic methods of raising children. My eyes were opened, and I began learning more about these philosophies and applying them in raising my son. It has become my passion to help other parents learn how to develop close, respectful relationships with their children using these techniques. I have a deeply held belief that one of the most effective ways to create positive changes in society is to change the way parents raise children. By deepening family connections, I know that we can raise a generation of truly compassionate children who are loving, emotionally aware, and effective problem solvers.