Very good, I went to get a Covid shot and the nurse did a technique and I didn't feel a thing…read more Christian F. (11)

Absolutely terrible experience. Encouraged eating disorder behaviors to a seven year old girl…read more Encouraged skipping of meals, and only eating meals the "size of your fist." Absolutely unacceptable behavior, this man should not hold a medical license let alone work with children.

A very professional group practice…read more I've been impressed by their responsiveness and thoughtful response for a patient advocacy

We went here for help with a needle phobia and after 3 months of therapy with little to no…read morecommunication other than telling us things were going well. When we wanted to wind down, the therapist told us it didn't work. After doing more research on exposure therapy, it became clear to us that the therapist had no idea what she was doing and only did the laddering, or very first steps, of the treatment. It was a totally waste of money. Stay away from this place. They totally misrepresent their expertise.

My husband and I attended Tori's childbirth preparation and newborn essentials class a few weeks…read moreago, as we prepare for the arrival of our baby in February. The class came highly recommended from our OB and I was happy to take any more resources that didn't involve too much doom scrolling. The entire class was very informative and it's clear that Tori is a very experienced nurse (my aunt also happens to be a L&D nurse as well). I found it very helpful that she went through all of the options in a very clinical way and it helped reaffirm what choices I had available to me. I don't think it's reasonable to expect that everyone will agree with all aspects of the class (especially when it comes to baby products), but it brought me a lot of comfort and understanding that I didn't have before.

My husband and I took Tori's One Day Childbirth Preparation Class and later went back for Baby Care…read moreand Breastfeeding. I guess why I didn't leave this review as 1 star is because the childbirth class was informative but we both walked away from the baby care class questioning Tori's credibility. The biggest red flag was discussing SIDS and baby's "bed". Someone brought up SIDS as a concern (btw she asks at the beginning of class what everyone's fears are and doesn't address them) and she basically said don't worry about it because it's very rare, we don't know why it happens and there's nothing we can do about it. Later another person asked if baby will have a bed in the hospital and she scoffed and said "What bed? Mom is the bed". Every modern literature states the "ABCs" babies should sleep Alone, on their Back, in a Crib. While the technical definition of SIDS means that the diagnosis after death is still unknown there is one measure that significantly reduces likelihood of SIDS: sleeping on your back. This was researched by doctor's worldwide and launched the "Back to Basics" campaign also known as "Safe to Sleep" program which reduced SIDS by over over 50% in the US in the following decade. Mayo Clinic, National Institute of Health, and even the pamphlet that Tori passes out in the childbirth class (Preparing for Birth by Plumtree, page 65) states that baby should sleep on their back AND additionally without things like blankets, plush toys, bumper etc. So saying that it's fine for baby to sleep on mom and that "there's no science/evidence for why we stopped putting babies on their stomach" frankly is dangerous for new parents who haven't done any of their own research and were hoping to get all their information from her classes which which is mainly why I'm writing this review. Then there is her demeanor - she is definitely blunt and takes a more blasé approach to childbirth and childrearing which I didn't find an issue with during the 6 hour childbirth class but the 2 hour baby care class was a different story. She says she's not here to judge anyone but then says things like "oh god please don't tell me any of you got the baby cappuccino machine (Baby Brezza)" or "why, why on earth do you need to look at your baby on your phone??? (baby monitors/Nanit)". I haven't bought any of these items and am also of the camp of minimal consumerism (buy thoughtfully, get free/secondhand) so that's not what bothers me, it's that she treats 20/30/40's something ADULTS as mind addled teenagers who are addicted to social media and don't have brains to think for themselves. Your audience in the Bay Area is largely college educated working professionals (tech, medicine, law, etc.) who can likely distinguish between actual evidence and science backed research vs Instagram influencers and make the right decision for their own family and their own specific needs. She also dismissed many questions and contradicts herself - someone asked what to do when baby has a cold and she just goes "What cold? Babies don't get colds" but later explains how to use the suction bulb when baby has a cold - she harps on "this generation" for buying too much and says "Why do you need to buy a plastic tub to wash your baby in?" then proceeds to whip out a flower petal pad thing and says this works fine... but isn't that just another thing to buy??? Overall I get that she's trying to de-influence people from over consuming and trying to assure new parents that they don't need to be anxious and paranoid about every little thing but the approach is borderline rude and condescending. And for people like my husband and I who aren't in that camp but just wanted to learn something her answer to most questions is "don't worry about it, baby will be fine whatever you do, anything important you'll figure out"... so why did we sign up for a class?? Again the attitude and lack of information falls second to any advice she had that was dangerous. She ends the class by saying she grew up in the 70's, playing outside, feral, youngest of 5 kids in the back of the station wagon without a seatbelt and that it wasn't really a bad thing. This pretty much sums up her mindset, nostalgia for "a simpler time" and "the good ole days" but some things have changed and for good reason, like babies should sleep on their back, not letting women stay pregnant past 41 weeks, vaccine and immunization advancements. Also, I get that statistically you're unlikely to die not wearing a seatbelt here and there but should you really be implicitly saying it's fine to not wear a seatbelt when presenting as an "educator"?

The first several months of your baby's life, especially for first time parents, can be filled with…read morestress, anxiety, lack of sleep, self neglect, worry, and the list goes on. Fortunately for my wife and I, we were blessed to have one of the best Doula's working with Carte Blanche stay with us for the first three months after my wife delivered our son. However, her services started far before the birth of our son. Prior to the delivery she provided us with several consultations to help us prepare for the arrival of our baby. This included things expect, measures and responses we could make as a team in the event of emergencies, what issues and emergencies to watch out for, how to prepare the home and the nursery for the baby, what supplies/toys/equipment to purchase, emotional support, and most importantly- lots of hand holding and reassurance. Our Doula explained the Carte Blanche philosophy of recognizing the major needs of all newborns, how to anticipate those needs, and how to preemptively address those needs before the baby becomes stressed and reacts to lacking those needs. One of the most amazing and unique value of Carte Blanche is that their Doula's will live with you for 3 months after your baby is delivered. This allowed our Doula to help us develop a consistent structure and regimen which allowed for a much smoother developmental course for our baby. Although our Doula took the role of the primary caretaker for our son, she was never intrusive, nor dismissive of our wishes, preferences, or lifestyle; however, it was also very obvious that her primary concern was our baby and that would never be compromised. Our Doula created an hourly schedule for every aspect of our baby's life days in advance. This not only helped us coordinate our schedules and lives, but also helped to minimize the random unpredictable events which made these first few months so much less stressful. At our request, our Doula also slept in the baby's nursery and took care of all the night time feedings, diaper, changes, and any other needs our baby may have throughout the night. At first we were apprehensive and felt a bit guilty leaving our baby to the care of someone else during the night. However, this allowed us to be well rested to have better engagement and quality time with our baby throughout the day. If what I have just described hasn't sold you on Carte Blanche, perhaps this may be one of their most compelling value propositions. The Carte Blanche method is to facilitate all newborn babies to sleep through the night (at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep) by the end of the 12th week. This almost sounded too good to be true but was a huge selling point for my wife and I. In our case, the first night we had our baby overnight without the Doula, he slept 13 hours straight through. Our baby is now just over 8 months old and has continued to sleep 8-12 hours every night since our Doula has left. In addition, our baby has been an incredibly easy tempered baby who rarely cries, and is always smiling and laughing. Some may call that luck of the draw, but I believe the Carte Blanche method of setting up a predictable structure, minimizing stress within the household, and anticipating and preempting our baby's needs is what helped him develop and grow with as little stress as possible. Lastly, I don't want to fail to mention what I found to be the most valuable and priceless part of having a Doula with us for those crucial early months. Our Doula fell in love with Hudson as we fell in love with him. She instantly felt like family and became family. She not only had the knowledge, expertise, and experience we needed to help two totally clueless first time parents; but more importantly, she loved our baby boy to such a great degree, that we could trust her in every capacity to love him, to protect him, and always have his best interest at heart (even above her own). And to this day, even though she is no longer living with us, we still consider her a part of our family, we speak regularly, we see each other regularly, and she is always invited to holiday gatherings and family functions. There is no substitute, comparative, or alternative service that I would ever recommend for such an important and critical time in your child's life. I'd give them 100 star rating if that existed

I never knew a 24 hour a day live in doula existed until I met Carte Blanche Parent Services. They…read morewere able to set me up with the most fantastic Doula. If you are looking for a very well experienced Doula I would recommend you reach out to them they can even travel with your family to care for your child.

Owner teacher superb one on one lessons because their heart and soul each child. My kid at…read moredifferent places, but advanced so rapidly under Nancy really happy.

Mermaid Nancy is a gifted, wise, and wonderful swimming teacher. If you want your child to learn to…read moreswim FAST -- bring them here! After 3 lessons my four year old son was swimming completely on his own. After 8 lessons, he is doing advanced stuff in the water I don't even know how to do. We had tried multiple group swim schools before finding Mermaid Nancy's. I cannot recommend it enough. She has been teaching kids since the 1960s & has a total gift. We are so grateful we found her!

My husband and I took Lisa's class this fall. It was great to have a community of parents to talk…read moreout parenting strategies and issues. Much more useful that just reading a book. She is a great resource and we continue to follow up with her. I feel confident now that I have more tools to address parenting struggles.

My husband and I took Lisa's Positive Discipline course together and we both found it to be…read moreinvaluable. I have a four year old son and I had read "Positive Discipline for Preschoolers." The theories resonated with me, but I was having a hard time putting the theory into practice. When I heard about Lisa's class, I was apprehensive about the time commitment (seven 2-hour sessions), but I decided to give it a try. I think that was one of the best decisions I've made as a parent yet. The 7 weeks flew by and by the end, I found myself craving even more. Through role playing and a series of really powerful demonstrations, Lisa taught us about parenting with kindness and firmness (as opposed to being authoritarian or permissive). We covered a wide range of options for non-punitive solutions to common parenting/behavior challenges. We also learned about teaching our kids self discipline, problem solving skills, responsibility, self-reliance and cooperation, among other things. Some of the concepts that most resonated with me: "Asking vs. Telling" ("Where do your shoes belong?" instead of "Put away your shoes."); "Connect before Correct"; and especially the idea that children do better when they feel better. I hate role playing, but it was unbelievably powerful to role play being my child and also to practice different parenting techniques. The classes have transformed the way that my husband and I interact with our son. We all enjoy each other so much more now and there's a lot less conflict. This doesn't mean that we're letting him get away with more. We're just involving him more in problem solving and making him feel like he's a contributing part of the family. Things certainly aren't perfect and we certainly still experience non-compliance and temper tantrums, but we feel more much prepared to deal with these challenges now and we're less likely to get angry. I'm really appreciating the progress we've made and I'm enjoying the journey of parenting much more now.

I have taken several classes with Early Childhood Matters including "Introducing a Sibling" and…read more"Your Willfull Three Year Old." I find the organization's approach to its courses welcoming, informative and actionable. I always walk away with specific tools I can use right away. I appreciate the team's commitment to teaching the science behind why things are happening with our children and then addressing these developments with great REAL LIFE examples. I have never felt like I was being talked down to or indoctrinated with a specific agenda. Rebecca specifically, is very kind. Having three children herself, she understands where parents are coming from and provides great solutions no matter the situation. I have yet to stump her with a problem. I'd like to add these classes are also a great way to meet other families going through similar challenges as yourself which can be very refreshing when you feel like you are in the weeds alone. I find the classes reasonably priced and appreciate that they rotate around the city so there is always one close to me to enjoy every now and again. I also like that they do their classes later at night for working parents.

I had Rebecca come to observe me and my daughter (4 1/2) twice. I have to admit, I only signed up…read morebecause I was required to as part of my custody agreement, but I'm so glad I did. Her observations were spot on, and she was able to communicate her thoughts clearly and gently, along with very practical advice for how to do things in a better way. My daughter can be a handful, to say the least, and Rebecca's strategies are already yielding fruit. I definitely recommend her to anyone who wants to be a better parent.

When faced with the heaps of information out there about giving birth, it can feel pretty…read moreoverwhelming. I read lots of websites, books, and even attended two births myself. I knew I needed more to be fully prepared and ready to partake in this life changing and sacred event. Susan's class filled that void and thensome! Books (& hospital courses) can only get you so far. The Birth Journey course gave me plenty of opportunities to look deeper into my fears, expectations, hopes, and appreciation of the birth process. The course helped me get in touch with the psychological, emotional, and spiritual sides of birth --that are sadly so often ignored. It also gave me practical tools to use while birthing...dealing with pain and the awareness of what my body and baby were going through. I highly recommend this experience. It was also very valuable to interact with and hear from the other participants. Susan managed to jam-pack those 9 sessions with lots of useful information. She is a gifted, highly experienced, teacher. We had a wonderful home birth and I know this course and Susan's guidance helped us do so.

I took this course in the summer of 2010. It was an ideal natural birth course. All 8 students in…read morethe course left happy. The course goes far beyond the basic physiology of birth, and works on a psycho-emotional level to connect the parents with the birth process and their unborn child. While alternative, at no point did the instructor disparage traditional medicine. As for the negative reviewer below: Admittedly, the course is not designed for someone who is seeking to only learn how to undergo "modern techniques" such as pain killers and C-section. As that reviewer recommends: those are taught in his ascribed "hospital based" courses. I also encourage readers discouraged by that negative review to read his other reviews...which are mostly 1 stars of local business. I sense a troll looking for make-it-right handouts and refunds...

I am so very thankful to work with Clare because I know I can "go there" with Clare…read more "There" is exploring all of the parts that comprise who I am. "There" is bringing her the stories and thoughts that I don't share with my friends or family. "There" is living out an on-going grieving process for my father, ambitions for my life, disappointment in relationships, stresses in career, existential angst about death, etc. And when I'm "there", Clare is walking me through it all with no judgment, and riding my emotions alongside me. Once I'm done getting it all out, she'll help me unpack the message and we'll come back from "there" to "here", together. "Here" is where Clare encourages me to be, even when I don't want to believe it. "Here" is where I'm compassionate to myself, others and living in flow. I'm sure Clare will help bring you back to "here" as well. I, like you, was once looking for a therapist on Yelp. I found Clare and didn't need to look again.

I previously gave Clare a review and am editing out some personal details. Clare is an excellent…read moretherapist. She has a rare ability to listen while actually being able to respond and provide good insights from her experience to help you grow through what you're going through so to speak. I was experiencing major emotional roller coasters and found her at a particularly good time to help me sort out my thoughts. I believe in her cause for anyone trying to improve themselves or speak about things in a private setting.