Chris Hartstein

Hello! I'm on a mission to help parents stay connected with their children during the teen years. Through my own parenting journey I discovered how focusing on feelings and needs can bring us together in ways that sharing thoughts alone cannot. Inspired and encouraged by a teen I lived with and one whom I met, we wrote and illustrated a simple book for children and young families to introduce the basics of compassionate connecting. I believe the visual symbols can help us remember basic truths... Thoughts come and go, feelings come and go, and deep inside we all have the energy of our emotional needs which connect to everything we feel and everything we do! This is as true for adults as it is for children.


It was the feeling of desperation and my need for support in my parenting that brought me to Nonviolent Communication in 2013. I credit this practice with repairing my relationship with my teen daughter and improving my marriage. From the very first workshop I attended, I knew this learning would enhance my life. I offer a free weekly practice group through Capital NVC and dream that these sources of support will multiply in response to the world's need for empathy for everyone. My vision is that anyone longing for connection will know that these relational skills exist and that they will have access to learning them just as I did.