Explore CATCH Lunch & Learns featuring trusted mental health professionals and community experts. These recorded conversations offer practical guidance, summaries, transcripts, and resources to help parents and caregivers better support the young people in their lives.
CATCH Up on our last Lunch & Learn
Dr. Leigh Weisz shares practical, research-informed guidance on raising resilient, capable kids with compassion, perspective, and the long game in mind.
This short clip explores why kids grow when parents resist the urge to overhelp and make more room for independence and problem-solving.
This 90-second clip shares how manageable discomfort can help kids build resilience and confidence.
Understand the key takeaway that parents often need to do less and trust that their kids are more capable than they think.
Learn why meaningful responsibility at home can help children build confidence, capability, and a sense of belonging.
Try a simple parenting shift: choose one value that matters most to your family and look for everyday ways to practice it on purpose.
Continue your learning
If you’re unsure what to do when weekly therapy isn’t helping your child enough, you’re not alone. In this CATCH Lunch & Learn, therapist Josh Novick, LCPC, offers a clear, compassionate guide to understanding higher levels of mental health care for kids and teens.
Are we overparenting our kids? Are they missing out on the independence and resilience-building experiences that shaped our own childhoods? Dr. Andrea Goddard shares why today’s children are more anxious, overwhelmed, and struggling socially—and what we can do about it.
What do you do when your child is left out, ignored, or suddenly ghosted by their friends? As parents, it’s heartbreaking to watch—but how we respond can make all the difference. Dr. Ashley Leja shares a values based parenting approach to supporting our kids through social exclusion. In this
Kate Stewart, a licensed clinical professional counselor with Affiliates in Counseling, shares her years of knowledge working with young people and their families within both a school and private practice setting in helping parents support their kids navigate the challenges of drama with friends.
Erica Leibrandt from Sound Mind Counseling in Glenview Illinois helps us understand why social anxiety is on the rise, how it manifests and ways we can support our kids in taming the social anxiety monster.
Dr. Denise Duval Tsioles shares invaluable insights about what our kids’ intense behavioral outbursts might be actually saying. Learn what is contributing to the feelings behind the big behaviors, how a child’s temperament plays a large role and what we can do to support our kids – big and small.
Join us as we navigate through real-life scenarios and expert insights, unraveling the concept of co-regulation as our superpower in parenting. Discover how our ability to attune to our children’s cues and emotions paves the way for meaningful connections and resilient relationships.
Kirsten Cobabe shares insights and wisdomon how to create a collaborative teamwork based environment at home WHILE still setting expectations and implementing consequences.
Jodi Salata, ALMFT, Cutting Edge Counseling, helps parents understand the signs in their children to know when to seek additional mental health supports. She also shares tactical advice on creating a collaborative relationship with our kids to foster their self esteem and confidence.
When one person struggles with their mental health, it affects the entire family: siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles… everyone. During this presentation from the CATCH Lunch and Learn series, Kelly Scafidi, MSW, LCSW, DT, Sound Mind Counseling, Glenview, IL, offers advice on supporting all family members including language to use during difficult conversations.
Kristen Anderson, a licensed clinical social worker, and co-founder of Chicago Center for Evidenced Based Treatment helps us define the terms around, treatments available and ways parents can support their child who is struggling with an eating disorder.
Beth Ayn Stansfield, MEd, National Family Advocate from the Eating Recovery Center/Pathlight, offers insight from her personal experience supporting her daughter’s fight with an eating disorder. She shares tactical information on the signs and supports available to help someone who is struggling with any of the different forms of disordered eating.
Learn five practical rules for helping high school and college students build independence while parents maintain connection, trust, and healthy boundaries with Harlan Cohen.
How do you help your high school senior find and then transition to the right college if they struggle with anxiety or depression? How do you ensure the supports they have in high school follow them to college as they learn to adult and you learn to let go? Bonnie Lane from Family Support Services discusses the 3 keys to successfully finding and launching your soon to be college freshman.
Explore common ADHD myths, how symptoms may present differently across children, and practical strategies to support neurodivergent kids and families.
If your kid struggles to take a screen break (and they all do!), Kevin Lanham, LCPC, Skylight Counseling Center, Evanston, Illinois, explains how parents can work with kids to practice managing their relationship with technology.
Dr. Sonya Sandhu, a psychiatrist with Plena Mind Center, shares crucial insights on fostering a balanced and positive relationship between children and technology and sheds light on the impact of technology on mental health.
Parents are talking about technology, social media, and their indecision on how to proceed with their kids more than ever. Brittani Sitar, a mental health educator, helps parents and families navigate technology in the home and helps them create an environment where technology is a tool and not a weapon
How do you respond when your kid is struggling and there are challenges ahead? If you play the role of cheerleader and fixer, you may be setting up your child for even more strife down the road. Dr. Renee Dominguez, PhD, LCP, explains why positive reinforcement may be invalidating and why smoothing the path can backfire.
If you find your mornings chaotic and want to find those moments of connection with your kids, Susan Millner, LCSW, Susan Millner Therapeutic Services, Skokie, Illinois helps give parents helpful tips on calming the chaos and finding joy to carve out those moments of connection with our kids.
Returning to school this fall may present challenges for many in the aftermath of the Highland Park shooting, but there are steps you can take to ease the fear and discomfort for yourself and your children.
Keep learning. Explore our Resource Hub.
Sometimes you know you need support—you’re just not sure where to start. Explore CATCH’s Resource Hub for practical tools, trusted information, expert guidance, and real-life perspectives to help support children, teens, and families.
