By Cindy Adams

When the visits first started, the room was sheer chaos. Kids fighting, not listening. A mother shutting down, overwhelmed, unsure what to do.

That was six months ago.

Now, as parent coach Tanya Glanzman describes it, that same mother barely needs direction. Her children don't test her the way they once did. They know there are boundaries and they feel safer inside them. Mom feels steadier. And in her own words: "I am so grateful for parent coaching. I've learned so much."

She calls it a privilege to witness this quiet shift from crisis to confidence. She's seen it before. She's been walking alongside people in hard seasons for decades. She has worked with adolescents in intensive counseling, people seeking outpatient mental health services and women in prison longing for children they could no longer be with.

"I sat with these mothers while they cried," she said. "I grieved with them."

Tanya is part of enCircle's child and family services division in the Richmond and Tidewater areas. Her goal is to serve all parents who seek this kind of support. She is collaborating with enCircle's Spanish-speaking staff to ensure Spanish-speaking parents also have access.

There are a host of reasons why she is good at her work. She holds a master's degree in professional counseling and has been a CEO at a Richmond maternity home. She has had opportunities to work with people in all stages of life and in different seasons.

"What I've gleaned from those experiences has provided me the skills I can now share with others," she says.

But she first points to her personal life as her primary learning ground.

"I'm the mama to adult children and Gigi to three grandbabies that are two and under," she said smiling.

She also taught kindergarten through second grade. That's a great start.

Tanya is a helper and a teacher at heart. She created trauma-based, evidence informed curriculum that she uses to teach parents who have lost their children to the Department of Social Services. The parents she serves are working hard to try and get their children back. They are meeting with Tanya for hours each week, learning skills they may never have seen before.

"A lot of our parents are giving what they got," she said. "And you can’t give what you don’t have."

So, Tanya gives them something different. She does not judge but simply helps. She's not there to condemn, but to say, "you deserve a second chance." And then watch them take it.

In some ways, she says, she is parenting the parents. Giving them what they never had.

The mother whom Tanya helped would likely agree. Six months ago, she couldn't find her footing. Now she confidently sets limits and graciously guides her children. They are happier. So is she.

That's the second chance Tanya believes everyone deserves. She's just the one helping them find it.

Cultivate Parenting is a class designed to support caregivers with practical, research-based tools that foster healing and growth.

Our foundational course, Rooted: Parenting Foundations & Safety, helps caregivers strengthen their parenting skills while deepening their connection with their children.

This class is ideal for parents and kinship caregivers.

To learn more about how you can cultivate a home where children can heal and flourish, contact Tanya Glanzman at tglanzman@enCircleAll.org.