About Annette
Annette Perlmutter is a counsellor, life coach and author. She has dedicated much of her time trying to decipher the role of emotions, and why they seem so complex to navigate. She believes that this knowledge will improve the wellbeing of children and young people and enhance the relationships between them and their caregivers.
Drawing on research, lived experience and observing patterns while working with clients, she has developed a practical framework which reveals how moments of emotional disconnect often subtle and unintentional, can quietly shape long term outcomes for young people.
These early ruptures appear to activate anxiety, depression, aggression or toxic positivity. They also seem to prompt patterns of self criticism that follow children into adolescence and adulthood.
Her approach is rooted in prevention. She offers clear accessible insights that elevate emotional understanding in ways that protect and preserve their natural emotional expression. By helping caregivers recognise what a child’s behaviour is communicating, she empowers them to respond in ways that help children feel important and loved.
Her commitment to exploring emotional dynamics has shed light on the specific role that shame can play. Rather than being solely a negative experience, shame serves as a safeguard for young people, helping to shield them from the onset of depression, anxiety and aggressive behaviours.
At the heart of her work is a simple belief: Children thrive when they feel emotionally secure. When they feel seen, valued and understood, they develop the resilience, confidence and self-belief they need to find fulfilment in life.
To support this, she has created a practical framework that helps parents, teachers, and caregivers understand children’s emotions in their natural form, before they become tangled, supressed or expressed through challenging behaviour.
Her approach offers clear insights on the specific responses that protect children’s emotional integrity rather than override it.
Annette has a passion to build strong emotional connections between caregiver and child, not through perfection but through awareness, curiosity and presence.
When we respond to children with attuned understanding, we don’t just manage behaviour, we nurture identity, belonging, and long-term emotional health.
Every child deserves to feel visible. Every adult deserves to feel confident in how they support them. Her mission is to bridge that gap.
Mission Statement
My mission is to enlighten parents teachers and caregivers about the vital role emotions play in the development of children and young people.
By understanding how emotions function, we can ensure that the children of today learn to utilise these vital qualities as nature intended.
Vision Statement
My vision is to see the subject of emotions formally incorporated into the national curriculum.
By equipping students with the knowledge and skills to understand the workings of emotions, I hope to empower them to protect their own children and minimise the chances of them experiencing toxic emotions in the future.
This commitment supports the creation of a safer and more emotionally aware society for generations to come.
Annette’s Story
Annette was born and raised in Dublin. At the age of 22, she decided to move to London. A few years later she met Steve and they married in 1998.
In 2000 their child was born. However, during the pregnancy she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. This marked a turning point in her life as she struggled to navigate motherhood and the daily challenges of a chronic health condition.
Annette began to notice her own emotions becoming erratic, she was eventually diagnosed with post natal depression and was prescribed anti-depressants. She also struggled to understand how to effectively respond to her young child’s emotional outbursts. These experiences sparked her curiosity and interest in the workings of emotions.
After several years, when life became more manageable and she no longer required medication for depression, Annette decided to train to become a counsellor, to make sense of why she felt so ill-equipped as a mother.
Since qualifying in 2016, she has worked with adults in private practice. Her specialism lies in childhood trauma and the process of ‘Healing the Inner Child’.
She has a keen interest in ‘The ACE Score’ and would like to make caregivers aware of the consequences that trauma can have on the health and wellbeing of young people. This knowledge could help to prevent non-hereditary chronic health conditions from surfacing in adulthood. https://pinetreeinstitute.org/aces/.
Availability
At present, Annette has a limited number of morning and afternoon spaces available for online counselling. If you are interested, please message her through her contact page and she will get back to you.
