Gena's story
Hearts and Minds of Napa is the culmination of two passions: a lifelong journey of learning about the brain, mental health, and development, and working with children and families.
Gena grew up in Tehama, California, and left the small rural community to join the Army where she was deployed to the Gulf War. She returned to the United States and completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Maryland.
Her journey continued with the opportunity to work with children of mothers in a residential treatment facility in Fairbanks Alaska, as she earned a Master’s degree in Community and Counseling Psychology. Her interest in helping children grew as she obtained her second graduate degree in School Psychology through the University of Arizona, Tucson.
Rich, practical experience with students, teachers, and schools
Gena has been engaging in rich experiences in public schools for 20 years, supported by continued education and exposure both related to the field of school psychology as well as the broader field of psychology (therapy based on attachment styles, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness) and training in a variety of assessments (neuropsychological, cognitive, assessments related to the evaluation of autism).
Gena’s approach
As a parent, you may have received confusing and conflicting advice. Parents often worry that, no matter whose advice they follow, they will do the wrong thing. Parents are often afraid they will contribute to the anxiety and distress they are already seeing in their child.
Often behavior charts don’t work, and punishments lack effectiveness. Parents worry that if they discipline too harshly they will create emotional damage, or not enough, and their child is ‘getting away with something.’
Gena’s approach to children and parenting is inspired by Ross Greene and is informed by two fundamental beliefs: that relationships in a child’s life are the driving force behind adaptive behavior, and that children do better when they CAN do better.
Children have a built in evolutionary compulsion to be successful in their immediate environment and maintain close relationships with caregivers. Behaviors are a way to communicate their inability to be successful. Whining, tantruming, and even hitting and screaming, and rule breaking are not efforts to disrupt the lives of the adults around them. Rather, it is a signal that there is an obstacle that they are struggling to overcome, and they are having difficulty meeting the expectations in their environment and maintaining their relationships.
The answer is not indulgence or the removal of an expectation. The answer lies in fostering healthy boundaries that are balanced with compassion and forming a partnership with the child. This is the training ground for becoming well-balanced and independent adults.
Education and Credentials
- Diplomate in School Neuropsychology
- EdS in School Psychology. University of Arizona, Tucson
- MA in Community and Counseling Psychology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
- BA in Psychology, University of Maryland
Assessments and targeted recommendations
A broad range of training and experience enables Gena to assess complicated and unique presentations of behavior and development in children. She has continued to fuel her passion for understanding the brain, recently attaining a Diplomate in School Neuropsychology. This more profound understanding of the brain and development informs her assessments and suggestions for interventions based on each child’s strengths and weaknesses.
Get recommendations implemented in the school system
Through her time in public schools, she often wished for a better connection between the private mental health community and the school community. Often, it seems as if psychologists and schools don’t understand each other. Her goal is to be the bridge between the two: Provide quality and comprehensive evaluations, as well as insight and support to families and their educational settings.
As a mother of a child with ADHD, Gena understands the challenges of navigating special education and raising a child with ADHD.
Start with an assessment
Are you a parent struggling to decide if you should get an evaluation for your child? This can be a complicated and frustrating process and you may not know where to start. To decide to move forward with an evaluation for your child is often unnerving for parents.
The priority at Hearts and Minds of Napa is a comprehensive and accurate assessment of your child and your comfort with the process and confidence in the results. Over the years, Gena has worked with families that have had their children evaluated by other clinics or educational systems, and they leave frustrated because the diagnosis doesn’t make sense or they still don’t know what it means or how to help their child.
At Hearts and Minds of Napa, Gena offers a free 20-minute initial consultation to discuss the presenting problem and to work with you on the best path forward. Depending on your child’s age and the kind of evaluation needed, the number of testing sessions can range from 2 to 4. For example, it is better to break up long testing sessions to obtain the best results in young children. Testing duration can last 2 to 3 hours, depending on the referral. When possible and appropriate, the evaluation will include an observation at your child’s school or a neighborhood playground.