About Catherine
I was born and raised in the US where I completed degrees in social work and law. Over the years, I have worked with battered women, underprivileged youth, and asylum seekers.
We moved to Hong Kong in 2007, a transition that was hardest for my middle child who was seven at the time. Facing an array of challenges, I often had that awful feeling of not knowing what to do (or regretting what I had just done).
I finally took a parenting class in 2011. Moved by the changes in our family, I decided to become a P.E.T. instructor. Solidifying my grasp of Dr. Gordon's practical paradigm and tools allowed me to guide -- indeed transform -- our family's listening, communication and conflict resolution skills.
Today I am closer to my children (ages 21, 18 and 15) than I ever imagined possible. I enjoy every moment of the weekends, instead of waiting for the children to get back to school. We don't use any punishments, threats or rewards in our home. My children feel they can be honest and open with me. According to my eldest, Martin, "P.E.T. has changed our family for the better."
I am certified by Gordon Training International in both P.E.T. and Youth Effectiveness Training and feel blessed to have found my calling working with families!
Here are more reasons to join my course:
I tailor material to meet the needs of the participants -- your time is precious and I want the role-plays and exercises to be relevant.
After the course, the "P.E.T. Vitamin" blogposts will help keep the concepts and skills fresh -- I welcome suggestions for scenarios to unpack the P.E.T. way!
I care about your ongoing struggles and offer optional monthly refresher meetings. Here's what one mom has to say:
“My husband and I have attended several P.E.T. refreshers with Catherine after taking the full course last year, and we never fail to learn something new from her at each one. Catherine has unfailing energy and insight into communicating with children. Her empathy and language are inspiring and I always leave determined to improve my own skills following her example. The P.E.T. techniques continue to offer a priceless armature for building healthy and lasting relationships with our children and Catherine continues to be an awesomely skilled and inspiring teacher.”
I am available to meet with course "graduates" for one on one consultations on particular challenges facing their families.
I am certified in Emotional Freedom Technique and Matrix Reimprinting. I run a monthly Parents Tapping Circle so graduates can learn this self-care skill and share it with their children.
I wish I had known about P.E.T. back in Connecticut when my children were young. But training is in short supply -- it is simply not recognized that parents all need and deserve support in a job that can be so incredibly emotional, isolating, confounding and depressing.
I realize that my lowest moments, however, have made me the instructor I am today. If others can gain from my deep empathy and my passion for making the P.E.T. approach more widely known, then I can see that there was truly a plan all along.
Wishing you peace in parenting,
Catherine Khang Banson
