About Katharine Leslie

Katharine P. Leslie, Ph.D., CFLE, has a doctorate in developmental psychology, and certifications as a family life educator through the National Council on Family Relations, a TLC specialist through the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children, a parent educator through NCPEN, and a family mediator. Also, Dr. Leslie has been married to Steven Case since 1985 and they are the adoptive parents of four special needs children.

Dr. Leslie’s areas of expertise include child development, parenting education and coaching, parent-child relationships, abnormal socio-emotional development of abused and/or neglected children, and treatment of children with emotional and behavioral symptoms/disorders as they relate to early exposure to trauma and developmental processes such as attachment. As owner of Brand New Day Consulting, Dr. Leslie provides curricula, training and program development, and research and technical assistance to a variety of agencies and organizations throughout the US.

Dr. Leslie is probably best known for her unique model of in-home parent coaching, and her lively and provocative workshops and seminars in which she weaves her personal, academic, and professional experiences to expand our understanding of parent-child relationships and to introduce a novel approach for activating and creating social and emotional skills in attachment-challenged children.

Her publications include:

• "When a Stranger Calls You Mom": A child development and relationship perspective on why traumatized children think, act, and feel the way they do.
• "Coming to Grips With Attachment": the guidebook for developing mutual well-being in parent-child relationships.
• "What I Love About You": a child’s storybook photo album.
• "Parent Tip Strips": educational cartoon bookmarks.

• “Studying Foster and Adoptive Relationships” spotlight for The Sourcebook of Family Theory and Research.
• A supplemental curriculum for the National Fatherhood Initiative on engaging fathers in children’s lives.
• A training curriculum on the NC Domestic Violence Policy as it pertains to Child Protection Services.
• Parenting curriculum for Wake County Women’s Prison (MATCH: mothers and their children).