Dr. Jill Thurber, Child & Adolescent Psychologist

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Nurture a relationship with your child that is unique and deeply rewarding.


Dr. Jill is a board-certified Child and Family psychologist. Through her compassionate approach, she not only supports young individuals but also helps their families navigate challenges such as anxiety, ADHD, and emotional stress.

Logo for American Board of Professional Psychology
American Psychological Association
Texas Psychological Association
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Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psycholog Division 53 of the American Psychological Association
San Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies, Local Chapter of APA Division 39

Therapist Insights &
Parenting Tips


How do we create the best fit between parent and child? To begin with, we start by understanding the current research on child development, including what to expect from our child at each stage and how to build on their innate strengths. Next, we combine that knowledge with a clear understanding of who we are as unique individuals so that we can also build on our strengths as parents. At first, this may sound like a huge undertaking, or perhaps even one you believe is too late to try. However, it’s important to remember that it’s never too late in your parenting journey. Nurture yourself with the information and tools I have curated for you. Your relationship is worth the work!

 So why wait? Sign up to get my tips right to your inbox. —Dr. Jill

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Child & Adolescent Therapy


With Dr. Jill’s expertise and over 20 years of clinical experience, you can learn to create a more attuned relationship with your child. No matter whether your child is highly intense, neurodiverse, or easy-going, Dr. Jill provides tools to help you nurture a bond that is both unique and deeply rewarding. Moreover, the key to developing a strong relationship with your child lies in understanding how to create the best “fit.” Are you interested in a space where you can explore how to adopt a relationship-centered approach to parenting?

Nurturing Workshops & Retreats


Nurturing yourself is the first step toward building a more integrated approach to your child. Dr. Jill’s parenting retreats offer the perfect opportunity to do so. 

Whether you feel stuck in a negative cycle with your most intense child, or perhaps you’re looking to refresh yourself before returning to daily parenting, this learning intensive offers the tools you need. 

Dr. Jill’s approach combines current research on child development, neurobiology, and parent-child temperamental match. It also integrates the proven teachings of The Nurtured Heart Approach®. Additionally, you’ll connect with like-minded parents. Together, you can invest in yourselves to nurture stronger, more rewarding relationships with your children.

Parents sitting in a circle connecting at a parent workshop

Jill R. Thurber, PhD, ABPP

Speaking Engagements


Dr. Jill is a child and family psychologist with extensive experience presenting on topics relevant to child and adolescent mental health. Some of her most sought-after presentations include:

  • The Rise in Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents
  • Addressing the Problem of Bullying at Home and in the Classroom
  • Understanding the Highly Sensitive Child
  • Gender Differences in the Neurodiverse Child

Are you interested in having Dr. Jill present at your school, hospital, or organization? If so, contact us to explore options and scheduling.

Parent Coaching


In addition to her therapy services, Dr. Jill offers virtual parent coaching. 

Unlike therapy, which focuses on meeting treatment goals for a psychological or medical diagnosis, parent coaching provides education and support tailored to your child’s needs.

Dr. Jill’s approach to parent coaching uses an integrated model. Specifically, she combines her expertise in child development, neurobiology, and attachment theory with tools from The Nurtured Heart Approach®. This holistic method ensures the best fit for both you and your child.

A Young father helping his daughter with homework

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Parenting tips and other therapist-approved insights by Dr. Jill Thurber,
board-certified child and adolescent psychologist.

  • Illustration of a happy adult with an arm around a smiling child, engaged in a positive and supportive conversation.

    How Connected Parenting Can Build Lifelong Connection with Your Child

    Parenting is a lifelong journey; it is not a destination. Just as in life, parenting has ebbs and flows. There are moments of joy and heartache and there is plenty of the mundane and boring when one is a parent. To truly be engaged and at peace with parenting, one must accept that the experience…

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  • Illustration of young parents holding their child between them, with Dr. Jill Thurber’s logo in the upper left, symbolizing family unity and compassionate care.

    Improve Your Parent-Child Relationship with Nurtured Heart Parenting

    Over the years I have helped many parents work on improving their relationship with their children. My approach has always been to build positive connections while reducing negative interactions. Recently, I became certified in Howard Glasser’s Nurtured Heart Approach to parenting. This approach resonated with not only my instinct about parenting but also with the…

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  • Illustration of two diverse families with their babies, one family playing with their baby and the other holding their baby, symbolizing love, bonding, and family care.

    8 Tips for Disciplining and Connecting with Your Emotional or Intense Child

    So often when parents ask about how to best discipline their child it comes from a place of desperation. “Nothing works with this kid “is a typical refrain. I believe them. I’m sure their kids are difficult to discipline. It might be that they have a child with an intense, sensitive, or neurodiverse make-up that…

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  • Illustration of two students talking outside a school, with a tree and blue sky in the background, symbolizing connection and support among peers

    Ideas for Balance: Coping with Your Child’s Social Struggles

    As with so many of my blog posts, I was inspired to write about coping with your child’s social struggles after a particularly emotional session with a parent whose child was entering the middle school years. She tearfully described how gut-wrenching it felt watching her tween daughter struggle to be accepted for who she is…

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  • Illustration of happy, diverse children jumping and having fun, symbolizing joy and emotional well-being.

    Ages and Stages of a Child’s Social Development

    Parents often worry about whether their children are behaving in ways that are “normal”. Although normal is a relative term, we do have general guidelines from child development and pediatrics to help us navigate this aspect of parenting. I lean on the work of Erik Erikson (1956). According to Erikson, the socialization process consists of…

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  • Cartoon illustration of children displaying various emotions, including frustration, surprise, anger, and sadness, representing the diverse emotional challenges addressed in child and family psychiatry.

    What Does Anxiety Look Like in Children?

    Over the last 25 years of private practice, I have seen the rates of anxiety grow exponentially for children and adolescents. There are many reasons for this increase in rates which include the rise in environmental stressors, daily exposure to news and events through social media, and a deterioration in the sense of community and…

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  • Helping Children Manage Intense Negative Emotions

    I think the term tantrum has gotten a bad rap. When anyone thinks of the word tantrum, most see a toddler falling to the floor as she wails at her caretakers to give her what she wants. Every human has tantrums. We never grow out of them. Tantrums allow us to release the emotional valve…

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  • Mother holding an umbrella to protect her daughter

    How can I become more attuned to my child’s emotions?

    Attunement is a key concept in the world of child and adolescent psychology. When our child is born, we define attunement as those subtle interactions we have with our infant that communicate with him/her that we feel their emotions.

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  • Mother doing chores with child and taking out the trash

    What are age-appropriate chore expectations for my child?

    My answer to this is emphatic: YES! This won’t surprise anyone. What might surprise you is the best answer to these questions is that kids should have chores without expecting any sort of allowance. Don’t get me wrong, I think allowance is a great idea, but it should be completely independent of performing chores.

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  • College kids on campus

    How can I help my teen deal with college-application stress?

    If you are reading this NurtureNook entry, you are likely a parent of a teen who is approaching the end of her/his high school experience. This also means that you are negotiating the “next step” with your teen. The first decision is whether the next step is college, the workforce, or perhaps taking a gap…

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