Princess Cotton Fairy
If you’re feeling tired and overwhelmed, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Do you ever wonder how they let you raise children when you still don’t even feel like an adult yourself? Here at Princess Cotton Fairy, we understand that parenting these days presents different challenges than it did for our parents’ generation. First off, we’re tired. And not just physically tired, because that’s probably always been there. But we’re mentally and emotionally drained. The world is moving faster, technology has nudged its way into every aspect of our lives, and most families need two incomes to survive financially. In the midst of all of this, how are we supposed to prepare our children without losing ourselves (and our minds!)? Well, we’re here to help make that part of the journey a little more enjoyable.
Meet Kristin
Kristin Ruane, PhD, BCBA, LBA
Kristin is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and a Licensed Behavior Analyst. She has been working with parents and children as a behavioral therapist for almost twenty years. Born in New Jersey, she currently resides in Manhattan, New York. Along with travel, teaching is a passion of hers, and her career has centered around making the field of psychology and behavior analysis more accessible to parents.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
As a Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst with training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), I help children develop the skills to understand themselves and the world around them with confidence and clarity. My approach combines evidence-based CBT techniques with compassionate, individualized support—helping children recognize, identify, and make sense of their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and bodily sensations, and how these experiences are deeply connected.
Through guided exploration, children learn how their thoughts can influence emotions and actions, and how to replace unhelpful patterns with more balanced and effective ways of thinking. Sessions are engaging, interactive, and focused on teaching real-life coping and problem-solving skills that children can use at home, school, and in relationships.
A central part of my work also includes helping children understand and build trust—with themselves and others. We explore what it means to have healthy boundaries, to be reliable and accountable, and to act with character and integrity. These lessons help children form secure relationships, increase self-respect, and navigate social interactions more confidently.
My goal is to provide a safe, supportive space where children feel heard, valued, and empowered to grow. By strengthening both self-awareness and interpersonal understanding, CBT helps children not only manage challenges such as anxiety, frustration, and low self-esteem, but also build lifelong emotional and social resilience.
Applied Behavior Analysis
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a scientifically validated approach to understanding human behavior - the things we say and do. In almost everything we do, we engage with the people, places and things around us, known as our environment. ABA studies how the environment shapes our behavior. More specifically, we investigate why people engage in certain behaviors, how behaviors can change, and how learning takes place.
In the context of working with families, we help parents identify why their children might be engaging in certain behaviors, and understand different methods they can use to increase desired behaviors (e.g. following directions) and decrease undesired behaviors (e.g. shouting) so that their home can be a place of joy and peace.
