Roots Expert Spotlight: Meet Anna Sasser-Christian & the Little Dove Counseling Team
At Little Seeds, we believe that supporting families means caring not only for children, but for the relationships that shape them. Our Roots Expert Spotlight series highlights professionals who walk alongside families during pregnancy, postpartum, and the early years—helping parents build connection, confidence, and resilience.
Today we’re honored to introduce Anna Sasser-Christian, founder of Little Dove Counseling, and the dedicated team of therapists who work alongside her to support families throughout the East Bay.
A Little About Little Dove Counseling and Their Work
Little Dove Counseling is a tight-knit team of child- and parent-centered therapists who believe one of the most powerful ways to change the world is by celebrating and deeply valuing the family unit.
Their work focuses on strengthening understanding, connection, and resilience within families through attachment-focused therapy and anti-oppressive parent support strategies. Using evidence-based play therapy and family therapy models, the team works directly with children and caregivers together to support meaningful change.
Each week, Little Dove proudly serves over 100 families who are working to better understand their child’s needs—and their own. It’s a responsibility the team holds with great care and humility.
What Drew Them to This Work
Little Dove Counseling was born from a deep passion for helping people build their families on genuine connection and relationship.
Founder Anna Sasser-Christian grew up with nine siblings connected through adoption, foster care, and biological family. Early in life she learned that it isn’t the path that created a family that matters most—it’s the quality of the relationships within it.
As a young therapist working with children in the foster care system, Anna found herself continually circling back to the caregivers. Again and again, she saw that lasting change happened through relationships with the adults raising children. Over time, she began working with younger and younger clients until she eventually arrived at the caregivers themselves—realizing they were the true agents of change.
She left her position to start Little Dove with a simple but powerful idea: create a space where both caregivers and children are welcome in the room together.
Within two weeks, the practice had outgrown its initial space. Anna began building a team, and Little Dove quickly grew into the thriving community practice it is today.
This work has also reinforced a core belief: the earlier families are supported, the greater the impact. Because young children are biologically wired to co-regulate with their caregivers, supporting parents during the vulnerable early years can transform the entire family system.
Family Life in This Season
Family life looks a little different for each member of the Little Dove team—and they believe that’s exactly how it should be.
What unites them is a shared commitment to reflective practice, ensuring their own families remain front and center.
This past year, Anna welcomed her first baby, and she says it has been everything the families she’s supported over the years said it would be. She’s deeply grateful for the wisdom parents have shared with her along the way.
In true Little Dove fashion, the team has rallied around her—maintaining the practice’s structure so Anna can also be present at home with her child.
It’s not uncommon for team meetings to include babies on Zoom calls, toddlers running through the room, or therapists chasing Anna’s little one down the hallway. They wouldn’t have it any other way.
Little Dove strives to honor family life not just in theory, but in the everyday rhythm of work and home.
What Parents Need More Support Around in the Early Days
One of the biggest areas parents need support around is emotional expression—understanding the role that feelings, tears, and repair play in both parenting and the postpartum experience.
Research suggests that caregivers only need to respond accurately to their baby’s needs about 30% of the time. The rest involves misses and repairs—and that’s simply part of being human.
Parents don’t have to be perfect. Their presence is enough, and that connection grows alongside their child.
How They Hope Families Feel After Working With Them
The Little Dove team hopes families walk away feeling confident in their relationships with one another and grounded in their purpose as a family unit.
One Small Piece of Advice for New or Expecting Parents
The Little Dove moms on the team share this advice:
Don’t give too much weight to the first month or two—it’s a little funky.
And don’t do it alone. Find other parents in the same season so you can move through it together. Sometimes what you need most is someone to share a laugh (or a postpartum pee-laugh) with.
Favorite Rituals During Busy Days
The Little Dove moms agree on one thing: parks save both sanity and coffee.
A Tool They Often Recommend
One of Little Dove’s favorite practices is something they call Special Play Time.
The concept is simple:
Set a timer for 5–30 minutes
Put your phone away
Follow your child’s lead
No questions, no instructions, no opinions—just presence.
Children get to take charge while parents simply observe and engage. This practice works for children of all ages—from infants to teenagers—and research shows it strengthens attachment while helping children process emotions.
And in many cases, parents gain something meaningful from it too.
What Support Looks Like in Their Own Lives
For Anna, support right now looks like partnership.
Sometimes that means her husband taking their baby out on Saturday mornings so she can sleep. More broadly, it’s meant learning how to build true partnership with the key adults in her life—a central part of her own transition into motherhood.
Something They Do Just for Themselves
As play therapists, the Little Dove team takes play seriously.
Recently:
One team member went line-dancing
Another performed in a musical
One even created a board game centered around a bar crawl
Finding moments of play in their own lives is something they actively practice.
Why Community Matters During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Pregnancy and postpartum are among the most socially charged transitions in life.
Social media, movies, and books often present a curated version of parenthood—where babies are always peaceful and everything unfolds smoothly. When real life doesn’t match that picture, parents can easily feel like they’re falling short.
The truth is that this season is both beautiful and hard at the same time.
Community reminds parents they are not behind, not broken, and not alone.
This is also why Little Dove strongly supports the work of Little Seeds. Spaces like Little Seeds ensure families do not have to navigate this season without connection and support.
Connect With Little Dove Counseling
Website: www.littledovecounseling.com
Instagram: Follow Little Dove Counseling on Instagram
Phone: 415-578-0203
Location:
1901 Olympic Blvd, Suite 240
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Founder:
Anna Sasser-Christian, LCSW #113642
Hours:
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays
8:15am–12:45pm
