As a child, Scott Ehrenpreis was awkward, shy, and had trouble making friends. But when he got on stage, all inhibitions disappeared and he felt empowered, untouchable, and capable of anything. In Season 3, Episode 3 of Centering Kids, host Merab Favorite interviews Joel Ehrenpreis on how he discovered his son's talent and nurtured his dream to one…

When it comes to creating a culture of care in the workplace, it's all about feeling supported from CEO to entry-level positions. This trickle-down effect essentially leads to better client care. In Episode 2, Season 3 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, host Merab Favorite interviews Dr. Kristie Sk…

When it comes to navigating a child's Individualized Education Plan, or IEP, parents can sometimes feel confused, powerless, or simply overwhelmed which can make their participation in the process less meaningful. In this episode of Centering Kids, host Merab Favorite interviews parent advocate Jen Werden about her new YouTube series, Different Chi…

There's a lot happening at the only Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Clinic in Florida. It's not just for helping individuals living with FASD find answers and solutions regarding their disorder, but it's also about finding companionship, even in canine form. In season 2, episode 10 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center f…

Receiving the diagnosis that your child has a delay or disability can have an emotional impact on the entire family. In Season 2 Episode 9 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, host Merab Favorite interviews Gigi Gillis and Kaitlyn Aland, two parents who are raising children with exceptionalities. Tam…

A good night's rest can affect a child's mood, performance, and behavior, but it's often not considered a factor if a child is acting out or struggling in the classroom. In Season 2, Episode 8 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, host Merab Favorite and special guest Allison Phinney, a mental health …

In Season 2, Episode 7 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, host Merab Favorite interviews school-based mental health therapist Margaret Ross, who serves elementary-age children at Fruitville Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla. The two women discuss ways parents and early childhood professionals can …

In Season 2, Episode 6 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, host Kristen Theisen interviews Kim Williams, a speech-language pathologist and The Florida Center's Director of Development Services, and Tamra Cajo, who heads the agency's Fetal Alchohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Clinic. The three women di…

In Season 2, Episode 5 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, host Kristen Thiesen interviews children's mental health counselor Michele Duss, who works with preschool-age kids. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and Children's Mental Health Week, the two discuss ways parents can model positive …

In Season 2, Episode 4 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, host Kristen Theisen interviews Alba Colmenares Moore, Supervisor of School-Based Mental Health Services in North Sarasota County. The two discuss Alba's upcoming training on Compassion Fatigue, which can limit a caregiver's ability to feel …

In Season 2, Episode 3 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, host Merab Favorite, filling in for Kristen Theisen, interviews Occupational Therapist Melissa Cox and Mental Health Therapist Lisa Klein. The three early childhood professionals discuss the causes of autism, its signs, and symptoms, and how…

In Season 2, Episode 2, host Merab Favorite, (filling in for Kristen Theisen) interviews Dr. Johnna Brynn, a mental health professional, and director of training and professional development of The Florida Center for Early Childhood. They discuss Flip-It, a strategy developed by a preschool teacher who created it to help deal with a little girl in …

In Season 2 Episode 1 of Centering Kids: Advice from the Experts at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, host Kristen Theisen consults mental health therapist Jeanie DeLa about peripartum depression, also known as postpartum depression. The two discuss signs, symptoms, and treatment for this mood disorder that's more common than you might think.…

In Season 1, Episode 13, host Kristen Theisen and The Florida Center CEO Dr. Kristie Skoglund, interview Dr. Harleen Hutchinson, president of the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health, or FAIMH, and Dr. Christine Hughes Pontier, who is also involved with the organization. In this podcast, the guests discuss the importance of infant mental he…

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month which has been amplified, especially in Sarasota County Fla., as a result of the high-profile Gabby Petito case. As the story unfolds, our host, Kristen Theisen, uses the opportunity to discuss the warning signs and effects of domestic violence on families, particularly young children. In Season 1, Episo…

In season 1, episode 11, our host Kristen Theisen explores fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD, an often invisible disease that affects 1 in 20 children. Theisen interviews Tamra Cajo, Director of the FASD Diagnostic Clinic at The Florida Center for Early Childhood, and Jen Werden, a mother turned advocate whose adopted child was diagnosed wit…

In this episode of Centering Kids, host Kristen Theisen kicks of Fetal Alchohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) awareness month by interviewing author and activist Lucas Boyce. Boyce, who now serves as the Assistant to the County Administrator of Orange County, one of the largest counties in Florida, discusses growing up in foster care, overcoming countle…

Besides a basic list of school supplies, it’s important for parents to mentally and emotionally prepare children to go back to school or face other new beginnings. In this episode, host Kristen Theisen interviews school-based mental health therapist Tia Nagel on how parents can create a mental health checklist to help ease any anxiety their child m…

Team parenting seems like an obvious endeavor for adults, but more often than not, parents and caregivers can disagree on parenting philosophies, especially when their romantic relationship has ended. In this episode of Centering Kids, host Merab Favorite discusses parenting and caregiving as a team with mental health therapists Michele Duss and St…

In this episode, our host Kristen Theisen, of The Florida Center, interviews Amy Weinberger, founder of the Lean On Me Project, a non-profit organization that focuses on 'healing' education my providing students and educators with tools that bridge education and mental health. Amy discusses the need for sleep, nourishment and overall kindness when …

In this episode, host Kristen Theisen interviews school-based mental health therapist Margaret Ross. Ross, who is also a children's yoga instructor, describes how teachers and parents can help children regulate their emotions through simple breathing techniques and daily mindfulness practices. The podcast also features Dr. Johnna Brynn, director of…

As parents, we are sometimes made to feel we are being overprotective or too sensitive when it comes to our concerns for our children. But what happens when our gut instincts are right? In this episode, host Kristen Theisen, interviews the parent of a child who struggled with speech and language but was hesitant to seek additional services. She rea…

When you think of speech and language therapy, you might instantly think of a means to correct a lisp or a stutter. However, the therapy is used in the treatment all types of different delays and disabilities including mutism, apraxia and even autism. In this week's episode of Centering Kids, your host Kristen Theisen interviews Speech and Language…

In this episode of Centering Kids, Mandi Coker, of the Sarasota County School District, and Melissa Bradley, Director of School-Based Mental Health Services at The Florida Center, discuss how the tragic shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Fla., led to a mental health therapy program that placed therapists at e…

In this episode, host Kristen Theisen interviews Dr. Kristie Skoglund, one of the few professionals in Florida designated as an Infant Mental Health Expert, about the impacts of trauma on young children. Background Music for podcast: https://www.soundotcom.com Support the showAf Merab

Every first-time parent can relate to that moment of sheer terror, when you're leaving the hospital with a teeny, tiny newborn and you realize the nurse isn't coming home with you. In this episode, host Kristen Theisen interviews Debbie Keyso and Kelly Curran of Healthy Families, an at-home visiting program designed to help new and expecting parent…