About Sheryl

Together, let's create a community of parents who are mindful about mental health in their parenting approach.

My Purpose

My purpose is to create a community of parents where everyone feels included in raising their families. To do this, I work with large platforms that allow for wider audiences of parents to be able to access important resources. I work with kids and teens to help them identify where they want to belong in the world, treat them with mental health resources to get them there, and then support them on their path.

Parents often say that ‘kids aren’t born with a manual’ but really, there are many manuals, people, elders, and professionals along the way that can help. I want to help parents clear the noise and identify the research-backed, evidence-based guidance they can trust.

I am motivated every day by my 5 pillars of work: Mental Health, Motherhood/Parenthood, Digital Wellness, Preteen Girls & the transition to puberty and middle school, and Chronic Stress/Burnout.

How I Do It

I use current events in the news to give parents an understanding of what is happening with today’s youth. I use my book to promote the need for self-care, maintaining friendship and connections with others even while raising a family. I use my podcast as a medium to give every parent access to the great thought leaders of today on a variety of relevant topics related to mental wellness, self-care, and parenting. I use the concerns I hear from kids and parents in my private practice to discuss important topics in my speaking engagements and media contributions. I also speak further about what is actually happening in people’s homes and in kids’ lives online and offline in my biweekly news segment Mental Health & Me, and I write about them in my blog post Notes From The Couch.

I like to give back to my community through the sharing of my time and talents. Non-profit boards I have currently or previously sat on include: Mt. Saint Vincent Home for Children, a leader in trauma informed care and a care site of SCL Health, Tennyson Center Christian Home for Children, treating neglected and abused children since 1904, and Bright by Three, a text messaging platform that provides parents curated information about the development of their child as well as learning materials, resources and events. I am also an advisory board member to Detach, an organization with the mission of leading youth to digital balance through teen and parent education. In addition to being an active board member, I have been a Girl Scouts troop leader, Girls on the Run coach, cross country coach and overall advocate for children.

Therapist

I am the founder and managing director of group private practice, The Child & Family Therapy Center at Lowry, established in 2004. I hold a Doctorate in Psychology and am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Colorado, as well as a member of the American Psychological Association and the Colorado Association for Play Therapy.

I have treated thousands of children, tweens, teens, and their families with a broad range of issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, bullying, self-harm, divorce, social skills, and overall life adjustments.

Author

I am the author of Mommy Burnout: how to reclaim your life and raise healthier children in the process. Touted as the “must read handbook for the modern mother,” I used my years of counseling overwhelmed, exhausted and lonely mothers to put together the top issues that I see mothers suffering from and created a prescriptive plan to address these common issues that plague women today from their efforts to “do it all.”

Mommy Burnout is the recipient of the International Latino Parenting Book of the Year award and is published by HarperCollins. Mommy Burnout has been translated in multiple foreign languages including Romanian, Polish and Hungarian.

I also write about the latest topics for parents in my blog, Notes From The Couch, and am a writer on The Today Show Parenting Community, Harvard Business Review, The Tot, YourTango and my work has been syndicated to numerous print and online outlets. An adaptation of my article on Working Mom Guilt for The Harvard Business Review will be included in the forthcoming book Advice for Working Moms, due to be released in print and e-book formats in 2021.

Media Contributor

I have appeared as a mental health expert in 100+ news related shows including The Today Show with Megyn Kelly, The Katie Couric Show, The Jenny McCarthy Show, The Doctors, CNN, Headline News Weekend Express with Lynn Smith, Morning Express with Robin Meade, and more.

I am also a Parenting Expert at 9NEWS in Denver, Colorado for the segment Mental Health & Me, where I work to reduce stigma and increase access to care for highly treatable conditions such as Anxiety, Depression, Suicide, and Trauma.

In Dr. Sheryl’s PodCouch, a biweekly podcast, I host conversations with mental health experts & professionals about stress, depression, anxiety and burnout. Dr. Sheryl’s PodCouch has completed 34 episodes within 3 seasons.

Instructor

In 2013, after a friend told me about a class that she and her 10 year old daughter took in San Francisco about puberty, I said, “I do that all the time!” But at the time I was talking about these things 1:1 with girls, I loved the idea of scaling that and creating a class. So, I created and have been teaching a class called Start with the Talk®, a mother-daughter course that I developed to help mothers and their daughters prepare for the social, emotional and physical changes to come in middle school and puberty.

Girls are typically 10-13 years of age in 4th through 8th grade. And while over the many years I have been teaching it, it has typically been moms who attend, dads and other caregivers are welcome too. It’s the guide to all you need to know, and all the answers you need to hear about the moods, emotions, changes, friendships challenges and key transitions of preteen girls and they become teenagers.

When COVID-19 hit in March of 2020, one of the first things that I thought of was this class that I love so much. It is a class I teach every spring so I knew I would have to pivot. It challenged me to create it as an online platform. I went to work and pre-recorded the talk into modules that are available anytime for parents and their kids to watch in the comfort of their own home, anytime, anywhere, and as many times as you want. It is also effective to watch it in small groups in someone’s home. So, while I hope to eventually get back to teaching it live, for now, it brings me comfort to know that this beautiful class, taught with humor and love, is available now to all those who want it.

International Speaker

I have been speaking around the country for years now, sharing stories, research and data about burnout, mental health, managing anxiety, parenting, bullying, raising boys in the post #metoo era, and more. Recently, I have had the honor to present to international groups in countries such as Kenya, Lagos, Tanzania, and more about pandemic parenting, resilience and adaptation to stress.

As a digital wellness advisor at schools and more, I use the Common Sense Education curriculum to lead 2nd, 3rd and 4th-grade students in becoming responsible humans online.

I also advise company leaders about digital wellness, and am an advisory board member for Detach, a non-profit organization centered around helping teens achieve digital balance.

Podcast Host and Producer

In an effort to level the parenting playing field, I started Dr. Sheryl’s PodCouch in 2019. This has been a fun endeavor that has allowed me to invite on guests, typically authors, who are thought leaders in their respective fields. We talk about all things mental health, parenting, self-care, screen time, racism, sustainability, stress management, resilience and more.

In 2021 we will be starting season 4 and I can't wait to keep sharing with my audience great books and people as well as having you get to know my personality a bit more too!

Highlights

Dr. Ziegler has appeared as a mental health expert in 100+ news related shows including The Today Show with Megyn Kelly, The Katie Couric Show, The Jenny McCarthy Show, The Doctors, CNN, Headline News Weekend Express with Lynn Smith, Morning Express with Robin Meade, and more. Articles she has contributed to have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, TIME, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Real Simple, Huffington Post and more. Her book has been translated into several different languages. She is an international speaker in countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Australia.

For more speaking engagements, check out Press & Media.

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