I've been there
July 28, 2026
Why I Created KinThrive—and What You’ll Find Here
Why my next chapter is about helping parents do their own healing alongside their children.
I’ve been there.
I know what it feels like to love your child with everything you have and still have no idea what to do next.
I know the fear that comes when your child is struggling with their mental health, substance use, an eating disorder, self-harm, or something you cannot yet understand or name.
I know what it is like to search for answers, question every decision, and wonder whether you are helping, hurting, holding on too tightly, or not doing enough.
I also know what it feels like to become so focused on saving your child that you slowly lose touch with yourself.
That is one of the reasons I created KinThrive—and why I am beginning this newsletter.
Who I Am
I’m Casie Fariello. I am a mother of three, and my family has lived through years of mental health challenges, substance use, eating disorders, self-harm, treatment programs, difficult decisions, and the kind of uncertainty that can leave a parent feeling incredibly alone.
For years, I believed that if I could find the right program, the right professional, the right words, or the right plan, I could somehow make everything okay.
I believed it was my responsibility to hold my family together and find the solution.
I have made decisions from fear.
I have tried to control outcomes that were never truly mine to control.
I have stepped in too quickly, held on too tightly, and sometimes said the wrong thing while desperately trying to say the right one.
I have also learned to apologize.
I have learned to repair.
I have learned to listen differently.
And I am still learning.
Over the years, I have spent countless hours listening to and supporting parents who are trying to find their own way through complicated family relationships.
I co-founded Other Parents Like Me because I believed parents needed a place where they could speak honestly without being judged, fixed, or told what they should do. I remain deeply proud of the community we created and the parents who trusted us with their stories.
Peer support taught me the tremendous power of being in a room with someone who can say, “I understand. I’ve been there too.”
It taught me that sometimes the first thing a parent needs is not advice. They need to feel less alone.
But as my own work and healing continued, I began to recognize that I wanted to go deeper.
I wanted to work more closely with parents—not only by creating a place for them to share, but by helping them explore the patterns, fears, wounds, and relationships underneath what was happening in their families.
I wanted to move from peer support into one-on-one and group coaching for parents like me: parents who love deeply, have tried everything they know to do, and are beginning to realize that their own healing may be part of the path forward.
Leaving my former role was not simply a professional change for me. It became part of my own healing.
It asked me to listen to myself in a new way.
It asked me to consider what I wanted to build next, what kind of work felt most honest, and how I wanted to show up for families now.
KinThrive grew out of those questions.
Why KinThrive?
The word kin speaks to family, relationship, and belonging.
The word thrive does not mean everything is easy or that our families never struggle.
To me, thriving means learning how to remain connected to ourselves and one another, even when life is painful, uncertain, or complicated.
KinThrive is rooted in the belief that healing ourselves changes how we show up for the people we love.
When we begin to understand our own fear, shame, grief, anger, and unmet needs, we create more space to see our children clearly.
We can become less reactive and more curious.
We can begin to recognize when fear is driving the conversation.
We can learn the difference between supporting someone and trying to control their outcome.
That does not mean we stop setting boundaries.
It does not mean we ignore unsafe behavior or pretend everything is okay.
It means learning to respond from a more grounded place.
It means learning how to remain in relationship without abandoning ourselves.
It means learning how to repair after conflict and say:
“I didn’t handle that the way I wanted to.”
“I was scared.”
“I want to understand.”
“I want to try again.”
Our children do not need us to have all the answers. They need us to be willing to do our own work alongside them.
That is the heart of KinThrive.
Together, we mend and connect.
What You’ll Find Here
Every week, I will share honest reflections about parenting, relationships, communication, boundaries, self-regulation, and repair.
Some weeks, I will tell a personal story.
Other weeks, I will explore a framework or an idea that has helped me understand myself, my children, or the patterns within my family.
We may talk about what happens when fear takes over.
We may explore how our own childhood wounds show up in our parenting and relationships.
We may look at the difference between setting a boundary and trying to control someone.
We will talk about rupture, repair, disconnection, and what it takes to find our way back to each other.
I will also share more about the one-on-one and group coaching work I am creating through KinThrive—spaces where parents can look inward, practice new ways of communicating, and receive support as they make meaningful changes in their relationships.
I will not write or coach as someone who has mastered all of this.
I will show up as someone who has lived it, made mistakes, learned, repaired, and continued to grow.
Who This Is For
This space is for parents whose children are struggling.
It is for people who love someone and do not know how to reach them.
It is for anyone who has wondered:
“How did we get here?”
“What am I supposed to do now?”
“How do I stay connected without losing myself?”
It is for parents who have spent years focusing on their child and are beginning to ask, “What is happening inside me?”
It is for people learning to set boundaries without completely shutting down connection.
And it is for anyone who longs for deeper and more honest relationships—with their children, their partners, their families, and themselves.
You do not need to have the right words.
You do not need to have everything figured out.
You can simply arrive as you are.
A Place to Land
My hope is that this becomes more than a newsletter.
I hope it becomes a place where we can slow down, tell the truth, learn from one another, and practice new ways of staying connected.
I hope you find language here for things you have felt but have not known how to explain.
I hope you feel challenged at times—but never judged.
Most of all, I hope you remember that you are not alone.
I’ve been there.
In many ways, I am still there—learning, healing, repairing, and figuring out what it means to show up with courage and authenticity.
I am grateful that you are here.
Welcome to KinThrive.
A place for people to land.
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