Exploring Life & Business with Katie Greenleaf of Anchored Unbound Counseling, Coaching & Consulting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Greenleaf.

Hi Katie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a licensed professional counselor, and honestly, the moment that shaped my entire career was becoming a parent. When my son was born (he’s 16 now!), it became clear pretty quickly that a lot of the “traditional” parenting advice passed down through generations and recommended by ‘the experts’ just doesn’t work for a lot of kids. Leaning on rewards, consequences, stickers, “Be more firm,” “More structure!”, etc. were all just completely useless (laughable, really) when I had an impulsive, emotionally dysregulated 4 year old completely losing it in the middle of the toy aisles at Target. And parents who were coming to me for help with their own kiddos were in the same position as I was.

I started asking deeper questions about what really drives behavior and why so many well-intentioned approaches fall flat for a lot of families. When I dug past all the fluff and into the actual research, I finally got my lightbulb moment: families weren’t failing because they didn’t care or weren’t trying hard enough. They were missing two key pieces—a clear understanding of the developing brain, and the relationship foundation to support success. That insight shaped how I built my practice, Anchored Unbound, and eventually led me to create coaching programs and tools that help families strengthen connection while building real-world skills like follow-through, impulse control, and independence.

At the core of my work is a simple idea: when the relationship is strong and we understand what a child is actually capable of in the moment, parenting becomes more effective and much more rewarding.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not even close. Building a career in this field means constantly holding two realities at once. You’re trying to help people in very real, emotional moments of their lives while also building a business that has to function, grow, and support your own family. That alone comes with a steep learning curve and can be really scary. Taking risks, building programs from scratch, and trusting your own voice before there’s proof things will work takes a lot of courage. You also have to learn how to fail well.

One of the biggest struggles for me has been challenging long-standing assumptions about kids, parenting, behavior, and motivation. Much of mainstream parenting advice is built on outdated ideas about compliance and willpower, so when I start talking about executive functioning, emotional capacity, skills, and the role of relationships in behavior change, it can take time for people to fully understand what I mean. Parenting is deeply personal, and people often hold tightly to fear-based beliefs. That “kids these days” and “back in my day” mentality can be a major roadblock. Many of us are also walking around with unrecognized baggage that affects how we show up for our kids, and those can be difficult conversations to navigate.

Another ongoing challenge is the reality that many kids struggle in school while school systems are bound by policies that can’t accommodate the needs of a large portion of students. Behavior is frequently treated as a character or parenting issue rather than a needs issue, and influencing larger systems can be slow and complicated work.

But those challenges have also been some of the most meaningful parts of the journey. Every time I hear a parent share the wins they’re experiencing as a result of our work together, it reminds me why the work matters and gives me the energy to do it all over again tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My work focuses on helping parents and students figure out what’s actually getting in the way when things just aren’t going well. My practice in Lakewood, along with my coaching programs and proprietary tools, help me work right at the intersection of the brain, human development, and relationships. None of those pieces operate separately in real life.

I think what sets my work apart is that I don’t treat behavior as the main problem. I help families look underneath at the skills, capacity, and relationship dynamics that are driving what they’re seeing day to day. Many parents I work with have already tried every chart, consequence, and strategy they can find, and they’re exhausted. When they finally understand what’s actually happening beneath the surface, things start to make a lot more sense.

What I’m most proud of is building frameworks that help families understand not only what to do differently, but why nothing seemed to work before. That moment of “Oh… this explains so much” often brings a huge sense of relief, hope, and direction. Everything I create is designed to help families feel more connected, more capable, and a lot less alone in the process. I’ve always said that I’m an advocate for struggling kids more than anything else.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorites is going for walks with my dad at night. Sometimes we would stop at this idyllic donut shop downtown and sit at the bar with all the ‘regulars’ while we ate our donut. All of my favorite childhood memories involve spending time with my dad.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katiegreenleaf.com / www.anchoredunbound.com
• Facebook: @executivefunctionplaybook /@anchoredunbound