In the Spotlight: Liz Hagerman
At The Center for Family Well-Being, we believe it's never too early to plant the seeds of well-being! Meet Liz Hagerman: Our associate therapist, Pikler Pedagogue, dance/movement therapist, and play expert who specializes in supporting families with young children. Liz offers warmth, compassion, and expertise through individual child therapy, parent guidance sessions, and dynamic workshops. We sat down with Liz to explore her passion for helping children and families thrive, and the profound impact of her therapeutic approach.
Can you share a little about your work at the Center?
I specialize working with young children, starting at birth and spanning to age 11. I also work with the parents of children in this age range. In addition to individual child therapy and parent guidance sessions, I facilitate an adult workshop focusing on the value of play and an ongoing clinical group for parents and infants.
You recently began offering more parent guidance sessions. Can you share how these sessions are helping parents enhance relationships with their children — and themselves?
In the past year, I've realized how much I enjoy parent guidance sessions. Parents often come to me seeking ways to improve their relationship with their child or learn how to address concerning behavior. I often start by helping them deal with the way they were parented.
The past is like a ghost that's always there — or, as Circle of Security International calls it, "shark music" that's continually playing in the background. It's important to help parents recognize when this "shark music" begins playing and their nervous system fires up, so they can acknowledge their feelings, move past them, and be present with their child. Once they learn to recognize and manage their own nervous system, it's easier to observe without reacting to their child's behavior. I remind my clients that all behavior is communication — even when a child is tantruming, he or she is communicating. If they can get under the words and manage their own shark music, it becomes easier to read a child's needs and take the lead!
The ability to be present with your child is something that holds value throughout the lifespan. In your Parents & Infants In Tune: Nourishing the Roots of Well-Being group, how are new parents discovering the power of presence in this therapeutic setting?
Our Parents and Infants In Tune group is unique because it centers on being present with the baby. As a group, we focus on the infants and what they're going through — seeing and marveling at what the babies are doing in the moment. Even when they're fussy, we're there with them. It's a safe holding space for the parent and their infant, a place for them to bond. The most amazing piece is that the babies recognize and make connections with one another — they're already beginning to learn about relationships! We truly are "nourishing the roots of well-being."
The moms who have participated say it's a place where they can relax, really pay attention to their babies, and 'just be' with other parents. For me, I'm enjoying guiding parents to focus on presence: Noticing what their babies are doing now, instead of what they're not doing yet.
You've built this clinical group based on Emmi Pikler's calm and nourishing approach to parenting. How did you find yourself on the "Pikler path," and where has it taken you as a practitioner?
I have been sharing Emmi Pikler's teachings since 2007, and after spending time training in Budapest and completing my thesis, I became a full Pikler Pedagogue in 2022. The Pikler approach recognizes the competencies of the infant, and begins to regard that infant as having a self — someone you get to build a relationship with. It's a very peaceful, non-intrusive approach to infants.
Most recently, I've been focusing on how I shift from being a teacher of the approach to being a therapist who can support the parent/infant bond and build health and well-being. Luckily, my Pikler colleagues connected me with Paris-based Dr. Julianna Vamos. Not only is Dr. Vamos a talented psychoanalyst/psychologist, but she's a Pikler Pedagoge as well, and she's been successfully combining the two approaches for years. Now she's guiding me as I grow the Parents & Infants In Tune group.
You're such a wonderful resource, expert, and teacher on the art and value of play. Whether it's how you work psychodynamically in the play space with children, or your play-focused workshops with grown-ups, would you mind sharing insight into the advantages of play at all ages?
Yes, another part of my work is play therapy — I can't emphasize enough how deep and rich play therapy is. Although I incorporate CBT, SPACE, and polyvagal concepts, mostly I connect with kids in psychodynamic, play-based sessions in order to understand and help them. Children learn, process emotions, and communicate to us through play, and if a therapist or parent can be with them in play, then it's like the child is opening their inner mind to us.
I enjoy this work so much because I personally highly value play. We tend to trivialize play, but play is a really health-giving supporter of well-being. We all can play at any age, and it's proven to help with resilience, creative problem solving, and thinking outside the box. My workshop, Let's Play! Cultivating Playfulness: A Workshop for Grown-Ups, focuses on this. I want participants to engage and reignite the playfulness that already lives inside them.
