About River

A detective alongside you, not a lecturer.

I work with parents who are doing everything they can think of and still feel like they are getting it wrong.

On this pageUnderstand River’s working relationship and decide whether her way of thinking fits what your family needs.

My work starts from the premise that all behavior makes sense. We slow down enough to understand what is underneath a child’s outbursts, shutdowns, or refusals, so that a parent’s response can come from their own values rather than from feeling cornered.

Who this is for

When you have read the books and it still is not landing.

You do not need to arrive with the problem already figured out.

Your child is often described as strong-willed, deeply feeling, or hard to bring back down once upset.
Everyday requests turn into power struggles, and the blow-ups have started to feel too big.
You hold high expectations for your family and are unsettled by how far the reality is from them.
You have read some of the books, searched online, and maybe tried a therapist who was not the right fit.

Your therapist

Meet River Johnson.

Founder and therapist

River Johnson

I work with parents who are doing everything they can think of and still feel like they are getting it wrong.

My work starts from the premise that all behavior makes sense. We slow down enough to understand what is underneath a child's outbursts, shutdowns, or refusals, so that a parent's response can come from their own values rather than from feeling cornered. Sessions are collaborative — I work as a detective alongside you rather than handing you a list of techniques.

Power struggles and listening
Emotional regulation
Anxiety in children and teens
Parent and child mismatch

Request a free consultation

How the work feels

All behavior makes sense.

We start by naming the goals that matter to you, then work out together what is driving the moments that keep going wrong. Expect a lot of validation and very little lecturing: I work as a detective alongside you rather than telling you what to do.

Focus on what is driving the behavior rather than a script of techniques
Work with the parent and the child, not the child alone
Collaborative sessions built around goals you name