Nan Kurz, PhD, LPC

I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor in New Jersey with a PhD in Education, and I spent 25 years working in education before I moved into clinical practice. I'm also the parent of a middle schooler and a high schooler, which means I've had my own version of most of the conversations that happen in my office.

Who I work with:

My work runs along two tracks that look unrelated and aren't.

• Parents and families, particularly parents of children with special needs: learning differences, emotional and behavioral challenges, and the long negotiation with a school district.

• Performers and high achievers: athletes, musicians, dancers, actors, students, and professionals who are technically excellent and stuck anyway.

Parents and families

Those 25 years in schools came before my clinical practice, so I have sat in those meetings from both chairs, and I know how isolating the parent's chair gets. Most parents who come to me aren't looking for someone to tell them what their child needs. They already know. They're looking for someone who can help them be heard, and help them stay steady while it happens.

Many are also relieved to find that the conversation doesn't open with a list of deficits. I start from what is already working, in the child and in the family, because that is the material you actually build.

How I work

My training is grounded in positive psychology and a strengths-based approach, which means I am less interested in cataloguing what has gone wrong than in finding what is intact and putting weight on it. Difficulties are real, and I don't talk around them. But they are rarely where the leverage sits.

The distance between what a person is capable of and what they can reach on a given day tends to close by building on genuine strengths rather than by repairing faults, and it closes faster once someone can say plainly what they are for. A good deal of my work is helping people find those words.

Practical details

• Performance coaching is an educational, skills-based service, available online anywhere in the world.

• Clinical therapy is available to clients in New Jersey, where I'm licensed.

• If we start on a performance block and something clinical turns out to be underneath it, I'll tell you plainly and help you find the right care.

I also keep a library of free worksheets, guides, and interactive tools on the Resources page. Take anything useful. Nothing is tracked, and no email is required.

Whatever brings you here, you're welcome to start with a conversation.