Lisa Spiegel and Jean Kunhardt founded Soho Parenting in 1987 after they met working at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. There they ran parenting groups for adolescent mothers and provided play therapy for children. After leaving Bellevue to have their first children, they began, in what today’s parlance is called, a start-up; a practice to offer parent guidance, mother’s groups and play therapy. They partnered with a pediatric practice called Soho Pediatrics and began in earnest to build the city’s first parenting and psychotherapy center, providing families and individuals with sound advice and therapeutic support.
Over the next decades, Soho Parenting grew into a nationally recognized practice where thousands of people of all ages have benefited from the expert guidance there. Continuing education has always been a hallmark of Soho Parenting. All therapists who worked at Soho Parenting had trained in modalities such as Internal Family Systems Therapy, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Life Force Yoga, Relational Life Couples Therapy, Theraplay, The Safe and Sound Protocol and divorce mediation. In addition, Jean and Lisa led parenting support groups and offered their expertise in children’s sleep.
Many wonderful therapists have worked for and been trained by Jean and Lisa. But now, almost forty years after its inception, Soho Parenting is going back to its roots. The practice is now the original duo of Jean and Lisa, offering therapeutic support and sound advice on all aspects of living this human life. Jean and Lisa’s unique combination of information, insight, empathy, and humor continues to enrich the lives of many families.
Jean Kunhardt, MA, LMHC
Jean Kunhardt has her graduate degrees in Early Childhood and Special Education from Bank Street College. Jean combines her training and experience with her pragmatic and supportive style to provide invaluable guidance to adults, couples, and families. She has continued her postgraduate education in EMDR, Internal Family Systems Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and couples’ counseling at the Relational Life Institute. Jean has led parenting support groups for families and their children from infancy through the college years. She is an expert in children’s sleep and provides individual psychotherapy as a trained trauma therapist. She welcomes extended family members into the treatment to offer a comprehensive healing experience. Jean has helped thousands of families regain balance in their lives. She and her sister, Sandra, co-author of A Mother’s Circle, are the granddaughters of Dorothy Kunhardt, the author of the beloved children's book, Pat the Bunny. She is a proud mother and grandmother, a knitter and gardener. Jean still works with a number of clients but is not accepting new referrals.
Lisa Spiegel, MA, LMHC
Lisa Spiegel received her BA from Vassar College, and has a Master's degree in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University. From her four decades of working with adults and children she has developed an approach that draws from an eclectic array of disciplines - talk therapy, trauma work, yoga, mindfulness, and parent coaching. Her post-graduate education includes certification in Internal Family Systems Therapy, LifeForce Yoga®, and couples counseling from the Relational Life Institute. Lisa is a Level III trained EMDR practitioner and has used this modality since 2000. She is the author of Internal Family Systems Therapy with Children, published in 2017, and is the co-author with Jean Kunhardt and Sandra K. Basile of A Mother’s Circle. Lisa serves on the board of directors of Healing Justice, an organization dedicated to restorative justice for all who have been impacted by a wrongful conviction. In her free time, Lisa is active in political causes and enjoys yoga, needlework, being in nature, and spending time with her adult daughters and her four grandchildren. Lisa offers consultations for families, teaches Internal Family Systems Therapy to clinicians working with children and families and is available for supervision.