TESTIMONIALS
"[Your ability to listen and be present without judgement] allows a safe space to explore any and everything.... I feel like I'm the one in charge of my body and mind now, not the other way around."
My anxiety was the biggest thing I was dealing with and had been for several years of varying severity. I was
dealing with panic attacks over what was seemingly nothing.
Your ability to listen and be present without judgement is so helpful. You truly let me set the pace of everything. I feel like a different person mentally. I finally feel awake for the first time maybe ever. I finally feel conscious again and like I'm the one in charge of my body and mind not the other way around.
You really allow a safe space to explore any and everything and that is one of the best parts of this!
Emma A.
Emerging adult client
New York, NY
"Anastasia is a wealth of knowledge! ... Her expertise with gut health has helped me as a dietitian when meeting with seniors about their own gut health issues."
Anastasia is a wealth of knowledge!
I met Dr. Galanopoulos during the height to the COVID-19 pandemic when all business was being done remotely at the Lexington Human Services Department. As the registered dietitian for the Lexington Human Services Department, I present monthly nutrition talks. During the COVID-19 shutdown, I presented my nutrition talks remotely via Zoom.
Dr. Galanopoulos started to present a monthly cooking class via Zoom also. Many months we would try to coordinate my nutrition talk with the meal that she would prepare for her class. I would join the cooking class via Zoom and during these Zoom cooking classes, I could see how knowledgeable she was about nutrition and especially gut health and how important food is as medicine.
During her cooking classes she would share her wealth of knowledge about the health benefit of the foods that she was cooking and it was clear how well researched she was about the information that she was sharing. Her expertise with gut health has helped me as a dietitian when meeting with seniors about their own gut health issues. Seniors have told me that the information that I have shared with them or the information that they learned during any of the cooking classes given by Dr. Galanopoulos has helped them improve their own gut health.
Barbara Collins, RDN,LDN
Lexington Human Services Department
Lexington, MA
"...The [cooking] demonstrations are pleasant and enjoyable... and the recipes are delicious!"
I am so appreciative of Anastasia, her cooking and knowledge of nutrition.
Her comprehension is impressive, demonstrations are pleasant and enjoyable. Anastasia's warm and inviting personality is refreshing! The recipes delicious.
Thank you so much for introducing her to me.
Vivian Mackey
Lexington, MA
"Her work as the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant to the school really helped us to create the foundation of our new family. She always emphasized the importance of relationships as the basis of everything we do."
I always appreciated Dr. Galanopoulos's sessions at Little Halos, which was like an extension of our little family. I never missed any of her talks because they were all so helpful, from play, to positive parenting, to emotion regulation and resilience.
She always emphasized the importance of relationships as the basis of everything we do. She engaged with us in open, accessible, and relatable ways and empowered us to do the hard work of reflecting on who we wanted to be as parents. To this day, I remember her telling us that you have to define for yourself who you are and who you want to be as a parent and as a family and then you can teach it to your children. That has stuck with me and I’m still doing it today because it’s worked great for us.
She asked us to always remember that we are experts on our own children too. Our kids are now in 7th and 5th grade and we’ve known her since they were 3 and 1. The research she presented in her workshops and the way she ran the discussions provided new tools for me and made me step back and reevaluate my perceptions of certain situations that happened in the house. How I approach certain things or how I see certain behavior. She encouraged us to make meaning. What is the function of the child’s behavior? Are my expectations appropriate? Are the consequences logical? I felt I could handle situations better as a parent, with more confidence, even where conflict was involved.
Her work as the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant to the school really helped us to create the foundation of our new family. In establishing stable and predictable routines and expectations we built strong relationships with our children and with each other, even in the challenging context of a bilingual and bicultural family raising children in the United States, in a third language and culture.
Katharina Kalamatianos
Former Little Halos and Greek School Parent
Interior Designer, K2Design Interiors, LLC
Arlington, MA
"Her holistic approach to parenting and whole health connecting the role of food and relationships to our mental health and wellbeing is something I highly value, as it's helped me and my family thrive."
I’ve known Dr. Galanopoulos for more than a decade. My first interaction with her was at Little Halos Bilingual Preschool, in her capacity as Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, where I was an assistant teacher. She provided professional development and parenting workshops focused on relationships and social & emotional development, coached the teaching staff and spent time in and out of the classroom getting to know the children and families.
She really cares about both parents and children, and is very warm, friendly, well-versed and informative. Every time I have a conversation with her, she inspires me and gives me confidence that I can create the solution that’s necessary for the challenge at hand by keeping children in mind.
When I became a parent myself, I joined her 6-week workshop for new mothers with some of my friends. Her holistic approach to parenting and whole health connecting the role of food and relationships to our mental health and wellbeing is something I highly value, as it’s helped me and my family thrive. I feel so lucky to know her.
Vaia Siarkos, B.Ed.
Former Greek School Teacher and Little Halos Preschool Assistant
Hopkinton, MA
"The parents loved Anastasia for many reasons, but her sincere and honest rapport with them was an immeasurable asset.... Throughout Anastasia’s work with the Parent-Child Home Program, she maintains a deep respect for all of the administrators, colleagues and families she has come to know and continues to offer insight and perspective to help us offer home visits that are positive and healthy."
I’ve been contracting Anastasia’s services for five years now and each year I am more thankful that I received her name from a colleague. As the Coordinator for the Parent-Child Home Program in Stoughton, I contacted Anastasia to help present a few workshops to parent groups in the Stoughton. The parents were dealing with obstacles with limit-setting, clear communication, and what they described as an overall lack of resources for handling challenging behaviors.
The first workshop went great and parents asked if they could check back in with Anastasia in the future. We did plan a follow-up session and every parent returned with feedback about what had worked and what hadn’t, as well as, more questions about how to develop trusting relationships and healthy communication within their families. It continued the second and third years much the same way.
The parents loved Anastasia for many reasons, but her sincere and honest rapport with them was an immeasurable asset.
During the third year, I opened up about some staffing issues that were causing some problems within our group and she readily helped me put into action a professional development workshop to address the many stressors that were impacting the teachers.
In the past year and continuing to this current school year, Anastasia is now working with our Statewide PCHP Coordinators to facilitate discussions and offer advice for the myriad of obstacles we encounter in our PCHP sites across the state. Throughout Anastasia’s work with the Parent-Child Home Program, she maintains a deep respect for all of the administrators, colleagues and families she has come to know and continues to offer insight and perspective to help us offer home visits that are positive and healthy.
Maryann Dawson, M. Ed.
Parent-Child Home Program Coordinator
Stoughton Public Schools
Stoughton, MA
"She gave us new mothers the tools and confidence we needed to take care of our newborns well. We are beyond grateful for her kindness, her professionalism, and her wisdom from her years of experience—I couldn’t recommend her more!"
When my son was just a few weeks old, I had the good sense to sign up for Anastasia's class for new mothers. She gave us new mothers the tools and confidence we needed to take care of our newborns well. She helped me beyond measure, and I will always be grateful for the part she played in helping me raise my son in those first two months.
A few years later, we were lucky enough to encounter her again at Little Halos preschool, where both my sons attended. She served as a Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, offering workshops, parent meetings, and observations. I remember that she observed my oldest son one morning, and based on her guidance, we had him see an occupational therapist. The experience was amazingly successful, and all of the related issues were resolved within months.
We are beyond grateful for her kindness, her professionalism, and her wisdom from her years of experience—I couldn’t recommend her more!
Cheryl Pappas, MFA
Author
Editor at Harvard Art Museums
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
"Dr. Galanopoulos was my professor while I was an undergraduate student at Wheelock College, and she became my mentor in that time as well. She is a rare professional who brings an incredible amount of passion and commitment to her work."
Dr. Galanopoulos was my professor while I was an undergraduate student at Wheelock College, and she became my mentor in that time as well. As a professor and an early childhood expert, Dr. Galanopoulos brings deep expertise to her understanding of early childhood learning and development, the development of parenting skills and competencies, as well as support for cross cultural perspectives in raising and caring for children.
Dr. Galanopoulos has always demonstrated the highest integrity in her work. She is respectful, reflective, competent and incredibly knowledgeable regarding her subject matter. As a professional development consultant, she brings adult learning theory to life, empowering parents, teachers, and other trainees in their pursuits. I highly recommend Dr. Galanopoulos as an advisor, Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, trainer or coach. She is a rare professional who brings an incredible amount of passion and commitment to her work.
Lindsey Allard Agnamba, Ed. D.
Executive Director
School Readiness Consulting
Silver Spring, MD
"Anastasia has a style that is warm and nurturing and always met families 'where they were' to help them get to where they wanted to be! Her work was professional, evidence- and research-informed and very well received by our community of parents and other client organizations."
Dr. Anastasia Galanopoulos worked as a consultant for the Freedman Center at William James College for over 5 years. In her capacity, she led parent support groups, designed and presented specialty workshops and other materials on various child and family topics for client distribution, and provided professional development as well as child observation and consultation to our educator partners and community at large.
Her work was professional, evidence- and research-informed and very well received by our community of parents and other client organizations. Anastasia has a style that is warm and nurturing and always met families “where they were” to help them get to where they wanted to be! I was honored to have Dr. Galanopoulos as part of our consulting staff and recommend her highly.
Margaret Hannah, M.Ed. GCEC
Executive Director
William James College
Freedman Center for Child and Family Development
Newton, MA
"I hold Anastasia in the highest esteem, both professionally and personally. I soon came to view [hiring Dr. Galanopoulos] as the best decision of my 40-year career in social services. Anastasia’s breadth of content knowledge, her experience in curriculum development and project management, and her extraordinary personal gifts combine to make her an asset to parents and other professionals alike."
I hold Anastasia in the highest esteem, both professionally and personally. As the Executive Director of WarmLines Parent Resources, a private, not-for profit organization founded in Newton, MA since 1978, I felt an obligation to further the organization’s reputation as the provider of programs and services of the highest possible quality. One prime example is the PESP grants we were awarded by the Children’s Trust Fund for more than a decade. In my leadership role and within this historical context, I hired Dr. Galanopoulos in 2006 to facilitate our support groups for new mothers and to present parenting seminars to our community and corporate clients. I soon came to view this as the best decision of my 40-year career in social services.
Anastasia became an immediate favorite among diverse audiences, from seasoned early childhood professionals to anxious parents to corporate employees. I began to receive positive feedback with certain reoccurring themes: Dr. Galanopoulos was prepared, informative, organized, creative, engaging, and responsive. Her perspective was consistently strengths-based and she routinely emphasized resilience, especially regarding special needs. She determined what a specific audience most needed/expected - and then delivered it in a thoroughly professional yet accessible manner.
As time passed and Dr. Galanopoulos’s popularity as a presenter only grew, clients began to inquire if she could deliver other workshop topics, such as self-esteem, positive discipline, and work/home balance over the lifespan. On occasion, they asked for sessions focusing on a unique issue or customized subject. After WarmLines was acquired by MSPP in August 2008, Dr. Galanopoulos was also asked to deliver Continuing Education programs to mental health professionals. She unfailingly received the same overwhelmingly high ratings and positive comments.
Anastasia’s breadth of content knowledge, her experience in curriculum development and project management, and her extraordinary personal gifts combine to make her an asset to parents and other professionals alike.
Beth Basnight, M.Ed.
Former Associate Director of Continuing and Community Education, William James College
Former Executive Director, WarmLines
Newton, MA
SAMPLE OF ANONYMOUS EVALUATIVE COMMENTS FROM PAST WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS
- "I have enjoyed Anastasia's cooking classes. I learn something new every class!"
- "Great program! Great discussion! Great and knowledgeable instructor!"
- "Presenter is very knowledgeable and explored the subject in depth. I gained a great deal of insight as well as strategies to use in caring for and teaching the children in my program."
- "Very organized presentation."
- "Great workshop and great presenter as always, thank you very much! Very comprehensive workshop!"
- "Anastasia is excellent! The question and answer discussion was so important and in-depth."
- "I loved to hear the real-life examples by the presenter. They brought the material to life."
- "I gained new perspective on the dynamics within a family."
- "The presenter did a great job helping me to understand the importance of creating relationship with the families of the children I serve before trying to recommend anything to them."
- "Anastasia described the “dance” between parents and children in a thoughtful and understandable way"
- "Excellent instructor"
- "Best training I have been to since grad school!"
- "My first lecture here- very impressed by the level of material. Felt treated as professional"
- "Great lecture, very informative, great facility"
- "Good balance of presentation and discussion"
- "Very happy with my learning experience from this program"
- "The instructor was a wonderful presenter"
- "Great as usual. Three hours fly by with such an informative and wonderful presentation by Anastasia."
- "Anastasia did a wonderful job presenting she was warm and engaging and made it comfortable to ask questions"
- "I believe the program helped me gain better insight on myself as a person and the ways in which self-esteem/self control apply to me. Will be helpful for interactions with children."
- "Personal and directed creativity"
- "Reminder of how important our modeling is and gave me some renewed fuel and vocabulary for discussions with families"
- "Great pairing of real life examples and literary research"
- "Great format"
- "Wonderful presenter – well prepared and clearly engaged with attendees"
- "Anastasia presents the content of the program in an open minded set which allows for all to participate"
- "Kept my interest all 3 hours"