
Vashti Summervill, MM, Therapeutic Consultant, PCI Certified Parent Coach®
Vashti is based in Boise, Idaho. She primarily works with families of young adults and older adolescents. She regularly tours and evaluates therapeutic programs for young adults to gain a deeper understanding of who they best serve.
She understands how challenging it can be to find the right services, both in times of crisis or after years of being very stuck. She also understands that it can difficult for a young adult to choose to go to treatment. Vashti’s areas of expertise include:
- Assisting parents in looking at ways they might inadvertently be allowing the young adult or adolescent to remain stuck.
- Guiding parents to create conditions that will help their young adult or adolescent make healthier choices. This includes setting and holding life-giving boundaries and communicating in ways that foster greater capability and resilience on the road to independence.
- Vashti is also skilled at building rapport and trust with the young adult and adolescents as she helps them consider opportunities that could have a lasting impact and help them shift their current trajectory.
Vashti recently published the book Letters From The Wilderness of Modern Parenting, (in collabration with visual artist, Wendy Blickenstaff) with the goal of helping parents and teens/youngs adults see one another and the challenges they face through fresh eyes. She also produced the podcast “Teen Connectivity” - a show dedicated to helping parents navigate the wilderness of the adolescence as well as created a free online parenting course. Both can be found HERE.
Vashti currently serves as co-chair of the St. Luke’s Pediatric Family Advisory Council representing families with children hospitalized due to a mental health crisis and has served on the Idaho Suicide Prevention Coalition Board. She is trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid, ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), and is a QPR Instructor (Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training). She is currently in the process of becoming a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher through the Mindfulness Center at Brown University.
Vashti is a Professional Member of the Therapeutic Consultants Association and and Associate Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association
Vashti is also a musician. In her spare time, she is composing, rehearsing, recording, performing and occasionally still mentors young musicians. She is also the proud mom of two girls who are navigating the young adult years.

“I don’t know what we would have done without Educational Connections. My daughter is alive and functioning because of them.”
