About

Nurturing Compassionate and Responsible Humans and Communities

Hello! I am the Stephanie of Supportive Stephanie. I am an educator in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I have worked in high needs elementary schools for nearly two decades and have learned a lot of hard won lessons about what humans need to thrive.

Like most passions in life, Supportive Stephanie was born out of crisis. I didn’t realize just how not OK I was until my best friend had to drive me to the emergency room instead of spend a lovely Sunday with her family. One year before, the COVID pandemic had hit hard. At first, it was a huge relief. I was struggling. I was doing all the things I knew to do in my classroom and nothing worked. I spent my days waiting to see not if the other shoe dropped, but how many times. I hated the way it impacted my ability to be a parent and a wife. I was worried that I would start to hate myself.

So I started asking questions. I asked questions to myself. I asked questions of the people I loved. I asked questions to the internet and researched anyone that said something that resonated with me. As I learned more, it transformed not only my mental health but my relationships and how I approach working with kids. Now, I want to share it with you. My hope is that maybe you can find support before you find yourself in the ER.

Here I share what I have learned about caring for yourself, caring for others and making the world a better place.

The Foundation

Listen. I know I am not the smartest person in the room. None of this is my idea. I lean heavily on the work of leaders in their fields. What I do is think. A lot. This represents my point of view. How I see all these different ideas fit together and show up in the classroom. My vision is the synthesis of what I have learned from:

  • Trauma Informed Discipline: Positive Discipline, Dr. Jane Nelsen

  • Love and Logic Jim Fay, Charles Fay and Foster Cline

  • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

  • Resiliency window ( Window of Tolerance) from the work of Dr Dan Siegel MD

  • Shame, Guilt, Empathy work of Brene Brown

  • Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child: Drs. John and Julie Gottman

  • Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle Emily Nagoski PHD, Amelia Nagoski, DMA

  • Emotional Intelligence Peter Salovey and John D Mayer

  • Self-Compassion Dr. Kristin Neff

  • Restorative Justice

  • Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others Bonnie Burk and Laura van Dernoot Lipsky

  • Psychological Safety

  • Beyond Behavior: Mona Delahooke Ph.D.

  • Zones of Regulation

  • De-escalation: Patrick Mulick

  • Revolutionary Love: Valarie Kaur

F.A.Q

Q: If you could only give one piece of advice, what would it be?

A: Hmmm. I would say learn and practice self-compassion. Being your own worst critic is part of the human experience. Except, living things cannot grow where they are not safe.

Q: Are you a night owl or an early bird?

A: I am totally a night owl. Feel free to ask my sister-in-law. It is better to wait until I have had a few sips of coffee.