Chris McNeill Bivins has been helping children and families navigate challenging life events for over 20 years.   Chris has a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, an M.S. in Child Life and Family Centered Care from Wheelock College in Boston and is a nationally certified Child Life Specialist and Certified Trauma Professional.  She has worked with children and families dealing with a wide variety of concerns in children's hospitals, hospice programs, schools and under child protection orders in the court system.  Chris is the co-author of several articles and a textbook, and recently completed the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Certification, Mandt System Instructor training and CCAR’s Recovery Coach Trainer’s Academy.  She enjoys sharing her knowledge individually with clients as well as in larger groups; presenting to diverse audiences from local seminars to international conferences.  Chris utilizes her knowledge of medicine, anatomy, child development, stress & coping, therapeutic & expressive play activities, as well as resilience & recovery to teach clients of all ages and their family members successful and healthy ways to understand and cope with difficult situations.