Nurturing Connections, together.
Expressive arts therapy woven with Nurture Neuroscience® for parents and little ones, from pregnancy through age eight. Art, music, movement, and play give big feelings somewhere to go, especially the ones that come before words.
Steady parents. Held mamas. Connected babies. Thriving children.
Boulder, CO + virtual.
☀ ☾ together through creativity ☀ ☾ nurture is a practice
☀ ☾ together through creativity ☀ ☾ nurture is a practice
why we make things together…
For the feelings that come before words.
Babies often feel long before they can name it and young children often speak in the language of play. And so much of what parents carry from pregnancy, birth, and the early years lives in the body, not in sentences.
Expressive arts give all of it a place to land. A swirl of color, a lump of clay, a song, or imaginative play can calm a nervous system faster than any explanation. We practice nurture through regulation and creativity, and change follows.
No art experience needed. Little hands and grown-up hands are equally welcome.
art
to release
movement
to transform
sound
to attune
play
to communicate
come in wherever you are…
Three ways in.
Every path is woven with expressive arts, for children and adults alike.
Perinatal Therapy
Support in pregnancy and postpartum for your nervous system, your birth story, and the big feelings that can come with new parenthood. Art gives the wordless parts a place to go.
Young Child-Parent Therapy
For little ones from age three to eight, with you in the room. Side-by-side play and art-making help big feelings move and help you read your child’s cues.
Mother Circles
Small groups for new and expecting mothers, with gentle creative practice and real science on how nurture shapes a growing brain.
Meet Lara…
Board certified art therapist. Infant mental health specialist. Mother.
Lara K. Rutledge, MA, ATR-BC, LPCC, IMH-E, has spent two decades weaving art, nature, and the science of early relationships into one practice. She is President of the Colorado Art Therapy Association and a Nurture Neuroscience® practitioner.
MA
LPCC
IMH-E®
RYT
PERINATAL SPECIALIST
ATR-BC®
what we practice with parents and their little ones…
Three things we hold to.
I.
What supports a child’s growth and develpoment is not a flawless parent. It is the returning again and again, to nurture and connect, and the repair made when things go sideways. We work on the relationship, not the performance.
II.
Regulation over striving
Connection over perfection
We work with the nervous system, yours and your child’s, because a settled body can do what an exhausted body cannot. Less trying harder, more about coming back to steady.
III.
Good enough is enough
Not a consolation prize. A clinical standard. Ordinary, imperfect, repeated care is what grows a child’s resilience and steadies a family, and it is already within your reach.
What we will never do here.
our promise…
Make judgement about feeding choices
Suggest perfect parent standards
Offer one-size-fits-all advice
Have sleep method debates
Rush your story
Shame about unwanted thoughts
a soft place to land.
A simple, mess-friendly way for you and your little one to slow down and come back to each other. Join the list for the prompt, plus gentle notes on nurture and upcoming circles.
A five-minute art prompt to do together.
A little gift for you…
Fall gatherings.
In-person in Boulder, CO
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Come learn about perinatal mental health, how nurture shapes your little one’s brain and how to build a parenting approach that feels regulating and nurturing.
at Radiant Roots Collective, Boulder, CO
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This is a nurturing support circle for mamas navigating breastfeeding and feeding journeys beyond the first year.
This gathering is a space for connection, education, encouragement, and community. All feeding journeys are welcome.
Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcblh7XuEI_hZc2l9mgI_Af66ieHC7cTLiqNMKErLBP6dh7g/formResponse?pli=1
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Come learn about perinatal mental health, how nurture shapes your little one’s brain and how to build a parenting approach that feels regulating and nurturing for you.
Location TBD.
You don't have to have it figured out.
Reach out to talk through what you and your family need. Consultations are free, fifteen minutes, and there is no pressure at the end of them.
Come say hello.
Hours
Tuesday-Friday, 9am-12pm, Thurs 3-7pm
Phone
(720) 491-1531
Address
3825 Iris Avenue Boulder, CO 80301 Suite 150e