SF Bay Play Therapy by Karen Wolfe, MFT

04/26/2026

Here’s a real moment from my day… 💛

My 4-year-old has been a lot today—and honestly, I’ve been feeling overstimulated and needing space.

At music class, he was all over the place and I found myself setting limit after limit. By the time we got to the car, we were both pretty maxed out. Then he tripped, fell, and started crying way bigger than the scrape.

At first, I stayed back, taking a moment to regulate while my husband helped him. He kept asking for a bandaid over and over.

Then I stepped in and asked if he wanted me to hold him.

I just held him quietly while he cried.
He’d look at his hand, I’d gently say, “Yeah… you hurt your hand,”
and he’d melt back into me and cry some more.

No fixing. No rushing. Just staying close.

After about 5 minutes… he was calm. We got in the car and moved on.

✨ This is Staylistening.
✨ This is what it can look like in real life—not perfect, not polished, just present.

And it’s not always easy to do this alone.

If you’re craving a space where you can show up honestly like this—messy moments and all—and connect with other moms who get it…

I’d love to invite you to join our Hand in Hand Parenting Village 💬
A place where we share, learn, and support each other in real, grounded ways.

You don’t have to figure it out by yourself 🤍

Comment VILLAGE for more info

04/18/2026

What Staylistening actually looks like

The video below is a beautiful example of what Staylistening actually looks like with a young child. Watch this video and bring all your feelings about it to our group on Monday so we can work on all that comes up around being in connection with our children when they are dysregulated. The work of parenting by connection is deep and intense, but well well worth it for healing our own past hurts as well as supporting healthy attachment with our children

Monday at 12pm PST is our first Hand in Hand Parent Village!!

We will be focusing on supporting parents of children with BIG feelings! Come and get support for the hard work of parenting you do every day! Comment for more info!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWwVVMyjYwk/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

04/16/2026

East Bay parents — does parenting ever feel overwhelming or just… a little surreal?

You’re not alone. 🤍

Join us Sunday nights in Orinda for a different kind of parent group: real conversation, real connection, and support for raising kids in today’s world.

Originally created for dads, this space is open to all parents and caregivers looking for something deeper than small talk.

📍 Orinda | Sundays 6:30 PM
📅 Last day to join this round: April 17 (3 spots left)
📚 Current book: The Anxious Generation (intro only to start)
💫 Free

A small, thoughtful group to slow down, reflect, and talk honestly about parenting.

Facilitated by therapist Nauser Wolfe, LMFT
📩 NauserBeartherapy@gmail.com
🔗 www.sfbayplaytherapy.com/dads-groups.html

DM or email to join — next round opens soon.

03/30/2026

🌿 Periapocalyptic Parents Book Club 🌿

This group was created with a specific intention—to support parents navigating the unique challenges of raising kids in today’s world.

But at its heart, this is not a space about exclusion. It’s about inclusion.

You are welcome here if:
• You’re a parent of any gender
• You’re expecting or hoping to become a parent
• You’re an aunt, uncle, caregiver, or deeply involved in a child’s life
• You’ve experienced loss
• Or simply… you care about kids and want to engage in meaningful conversation

This is a space for thoughtful discussion, connection, and reflection—centered around a shared book and the experience of caring for children in complex times.

You don’t need to fit a specific mold.
You just need to care enough to show up, read, and be in conversation.

📍 In person in Orinda
🕡 Sundays at 6:30 PM
📧 NauserBeartherapy@gmail.com for details

Come as you are. All are welcome.

03/26/2026

Most parents don’t need more advice.

They need a different way to respond in the moment.

Curious about the Hand in Hand Parenting Foundations for Professionals course—but want to experience the work before committing?

Join me for a free 1-hour Connection + Info Session designed especially for therapists, coaches, and parenting professionals who want to deepen their work with children and families.

Tuesday 3/31
11am PST
Free
Join here: https://luma.com/eyp5etq8

This won’t be a typical info session.

You’ll experience the power of Hand in Hand Parenting tools in real time.

In this interactive hour, you will:

✨ Learn practical, attachment-based tools you can use immediately with families

✨ Experience a brief connection exercise to support your own regulation and presence

✨ Explore how these tools help parents move from reactivity → connection

✨ Get a feel for how this approach transforms both your clinical work and your own parenting (if applicable)

We’ll also cover:

📚 What’s included in the Foundations course

🎓 How you can earn 22 CEUs

🧠 How to integrate these tools into your practice (including leading Listening Groups + parent support groups)

🤝 Options for both professionals and non-professional partners to learn together

We’ll end with a live Q&A so you can ask anything you’re wondering about.

If you’ve been looking for a way to support parents that goes deeper than strategies—and actually shifts patterns—this is a beautiful place to begin.

02/05/2026

Parenting asks so much of us emotionally, often without much support. When parents have a place to be heard and held, it becomes easier to show up with patience and connection at home.

Right now, Hand in Hand Parenting is offering three months of free access to their Parent Community, where parents can receive live support, coaching, and connection.

What part of parenting feels heaviest for you right now?

01/30/2026

Ask Me Anything live Now! 11:30am-12pm

Got questions about the Hand in Hand Parenting tools? Curious about my upcoming 8-week Hand in Hand Parenting Foundations Course that begins this coming Monday? Got other play therapy or hand in hand parenting questions for me? Come ask me anything and get answers live!

Join here:

A place for parents and therapists to learn, connect, and get help to support children through play therapy and Hand in Hand Parenting tools.

01/27/2026

Parents need support now more than ever.

Empower yourself as a parent with tools you can rely on to become the secure base your child needs and think together with other parents about how to lead your family well in these challenging times.

Overcome challenging behavior, work through the personal patterns that trigger frustration and overwhelm, and build a family rich with more laughter and connection.

8 Week Hand in Hand Parenting Foundations Course

Mondays 11am-12:30pm

Begins Feb 2

Hybrid: Zoom and in-person in orinda

$121 per week

Register here: https://www.sfbayplaytherapy.com/foundations-course.html

This course will

Increase your understanding of how emotions can drive your child’s behavior off course and what you can do in these tough moments.

Offer new ways to respond to difficult behaviors like defiance, anxiety, and aggression with confidence and clarity.
Provide a deep-dive into each Hand in Hand Listening Tool one-by-one to learn how each works, how to get the best from the tool, and ways to adapt it for your family.

Weekly 90-minute mentoring call with Hand in Hand Instructor, Karen Wolfe, LMFT, that includes coaching and Listening Time.
Show you how to boost cooperation, lift fears, and reduce overwhelm for you and your child with the power of play and laughter.

Build your confidence in setting warm but firm limits.
Restore your energy for parenting and manage your own reactions through Listening Partnerships, a space to work on your own emotional healing.

What you will get

Weekly small group sessions with like-minded parents and personalized support so you can build support for being the parent you want to be.

Lifetime access to the Foundations Course online classroom with powerful videos, articles, and booklets – accessible at times that work for you.

Helpful printables to help you practice, including the Foundations Course Manual.

The Listening to Children Booklet Set ($29 value).

Free access to ongoing support in the Hand in Hand Community for 30 days after class ends so you can have support while you practice everything you learned. ($25 value).

01/21/2026

Do you know that connection and play matter—but feel unsure how to actually use play when things are tense?

Do power struggles, limit-setting, or daily conflicts leave you feeling overwhelmed, reactive, or disconnected from your child?

Many parents want to parent by connection but struggle with:
Knowing how to add play as a real tool for connection (not just entertainment)

Using laughter to diffuse conflict instead of escalating it
Staying grounded when their child’s big emotions trigger their own

I’m offering an 8-week Hand in Hand Parenting Foundations Course for parents of children ages 2–10 who want both practical tools and deep emotional support.

In this very small group (max 6 parents), you’ll receive:

Weekly listening support to explore the exact ways setting limits and power struggles feel triggering for you

Step-by-step guidance on using play and laughter intentionally to build connection and reduce conflict

Support in healing childhood wounds that make limit-setting feel confusing, overwhelming, or emotionally charged

A clear framework for parenting by connection, practiced in deep connection with other parents

Space to think through your specific parenting challenges, not just theory or scripts

This course is offered in a hybrid format—on Zoom and in person in Orinda—to support both accessibility and embodied connection.

Mondays 11am-12:30pm
Begins February 2
Very small group (6 parents max) for depth and individualized support

👉 Curious but want to start gently?

I’m also offering a free (for now!) recorded webinar on the brain science of children’s emotions—a great way to explore this approach before committing: https://www.skool.com/sf-bay-play-therapy-6562/classroom/11c40cc6?md=a99732f09f174236ae6b1c9510ca4534

Learn more and register for the course here: https://www.sfbayplaytherapy.com/foundations-course.html

Warmly,
Karen Wolfe, MFT
SF Bay Play Therapy Family Counseling Center

01/20/2026

Anyone else here feeling seething rage just under the surface? Or is it just me? Parenting in this culture and in this political climate is so intense! Do you feel this way too? I am so ready for my listening partnerships this week! I really need some primal screaming type stuff. If you know, listening partnerships, and want to join me, let’s find a time to all be pi**ed off together all for the sake of healing and change.

01/10/2026

This is exactly why learning the emotional co-regulation tools in Hand In Hand Parenting is so transformative. When we get the support to be able to listen to our children’s feelings, the brain changes and their children grow into the intelligent well adjusted empathic adults we hope to run the world in the future.

New neuroscience research shows that children save their hardest emotions for their mothers because their nervous system physically changes in her presence. Brain scans reveal that when a child is reunited with their mother during moments of stress, the stress circuits in the brain deactivate up to five times faster compared to being comforted by anyone else. As the stress response drops so quickly, the emotions that were held inside finally spill out, leading to crying, meltdowns, or sudden emotional release.
This happens because a mother acts as a child’s primary “regulating force.” Her voice, touch, scent, and presence trigger deep biological responses that calm the amygdala and signal safety to the nervous system. Once the body no longer feels threatened, the child can let go of the emotional weight they had been carrying, even if it appears as overwhelming feelings.
Researchers emphasize that this behavior is a sign of secure attachment, not misbehavior. It means the child feels safe enough to express what they suppressed while managing the outside world. Mothers often witness the hardest emotions not because they cause them, but because they are the safe space where healing begins.
This insight reminds parents that emotional closeness plays a powerful role in a child’s neurological development. A mother’s presence literally reshapes how the brain processes stress, proving that love and connection are among the strongest regulators of a child’s emotional world.

12/31/2025

Parenting big emotions can feel overwhelming, especially when the strategies you’ve tried don’t seem to work.
Our Hand in Hand Parenting Foundations Course is a 6-week, small-group class designed to help parents respond to tantrums, defiance, and emotional overwhelm with more confidence and connection!

The Winter session begins January 12 and is led by Karen Wolfe, LMFT. This course offers practical tools, support, and community so you don’t have to navigate parenting alone!
Drop a comment for more information on this class, or find more at sfbayplaytherapy.com!