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About Us

Our Story

 

Your Cultural Guide began when our founder, Caren Diane, realized how difficult it is for parents to navigate the mental health care system. After years of searching for the right diagnosis for her oldest child and feeling unheard along the way, she saw firsthand how many families face the same confusion, frustration, and lack of clear guidance.

Drawing from her work in psychiatric nursing, and childhood education, she created YCG to give parents what she wished she had at the start — simple, practical support that helps families understand what’s happening, take the next steps with confidence, and feel less alone in the process.

Our Mission

 
At YCG, we provide accessible, easy-to-digest parenting tools that help families navigate their children’s mental health needs. We offer support that combines professional expertise with lived experience, humor, and inspiration — giving parents knowledge, confidence, and a sense of community.

Our Clients

 
Parents of Newly Diagnosed Children:
 
We support parents who are overwhelmed after receiving a new diagnosis.
 
We provide:
  • Courses explaining conditions, causes, treatment options, therapies, and medications
  • Guides on navigating healthcare, insurance, and school supports
  • Books, workbooks, and videos with practical strategies and personal stories
     

Our Clients

 
Parents who suspect something is wrong:
 
We support families who see signs but don’t know
where to start.
 
We provide:
  • Clear explanations of mental health conditions
  • Symptom breakdowns for home, school, and social settings
  • Guides explaining roles of different mental health professionals
  • Step-by-step navigation of the behavioral health system
  • Roadmaps for accessing care, working with schools, and seeking evaluations
  • Communication strategies to describe symptoms clearly to professionals

Our Team

Caren Diane
BA, MA, MSN — Founder of YourCulturalGuide LLC.
 
 
Caren is a medical anthropologist, public health and child/adolescent psychiatric nurse, educator, and mother. She has been featured in Many Pathways by Stephanie Greer, PhD, as well as in Authority Magazine. 
 

Caren’s passion for helping families is deeply personal: her oldest child was diagnosed with severe mental illness at age 12 after years of misdiagnosis. Navigating the lack of effective parenting resources, she and her son learned together through trial, error, and perseverance. 

This experience, combined with her clinical work with patients, sparked her lifelong mission to provide parents with accurate, practical, and compassionate guidance for raising children with mental health challenges such as ADHD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and autism spectrum disorders.

Scott David, MD
Medical Consultant, Specializing in Child, Adolescent, and Forensic Psychiatry. 
 
 
After a distinguished 34-year career, he retired as the most senior psychiatrist in the U.S. Army.
 
He provided care for children, adolescents, and adults in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and served as Program Director of a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Training Program.
 
Recognized for his expertise, he has testified as an expert witness in both military and civilian courtrooms.
Iz
Patient Advocate Consultant
 
 
 
A lifelong learner living with Bipolar 1 Disorder, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), C-PTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), Anxiety, and DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder).
 
His lived experience provides unique insight into childhood through young adult challenges. Alongside extensive personal research, particularly on bipolar disorder, he shares perspectives on prodromal symptoms and techniques for reducing episodes in addition to traditional treatments. He is working toward a degree in neuropsychology.
Aedrian Buison
Marketing Office Coordinator / Client Relations Specialist.
 
 
Aedrian brings creativity and fresh perspectives to our team. With a background in Multimedia Arts and experience in both marketing and customer support, he helps keep our projects running smoothly while making sure our message reaches the right people. 
 

Before joining YCG, Aedrian worked as a Virtual Digital Marketing Assistant for over two years, managing social media content, designing marketing materials, and building strategies to attract and engage clients. He also spent nearly three years in customer support, where he developed strong communication skills and a deep understanding of client needs. 

At Your Cultural Guide, Aedrian combines his eye for design, marketing know-how, and people-first approach to help parents connect with the tools and resources their families need.

Elliot “Axiom” Miley
MAT SpEd, QMHP, QDDP — Copy/Content Editor and Special Education Consultant
 
 
Elliot brings extensive hands-on experience in mental health and special education, with a career spanning classrooms, inpatient psychiatric facilities, correctional settings, and leadership roles. 
 
He holds a Master’s in the Art of Teaching Special Education and a BA in Psychology and has served as a Qualified Mental Health Professional and Qualified Developmental Disabilities Professional. His work includes counseling in alternative high schools, supervising youth in group homes and day schools, and directing student services. 
 
He co-founded a youth male mentoring program that gained statewide recognition and is trained in P.L.A.A.Y. (Preventing Long-Term Anger and Aggression in Youth) by Dr. Howard C. Stevenson, as well as Nonviolent Crisis Intervention and Crisis Prevention.
 
In addition to his clinical and educational expertise, Elliot is a nationally acclaimed spoken word and teaching artist, as well as a champion slam poet, utilizing creativity and expression as tools for understanding and healing.
Xio
Executive Assistant/ Researcher/ Spanish Translator
 
 
With roots in Colombia and experience living in Italy and the United States, Xiomara brings a rich international perspective to our team.
 
Fluent in Spanish and English, and with working knowledge of Italian, she has traveled widely and adapts easily to diverse environments.
 
Before joining YCG, she worked in real estate and the food service industry. Her efficiency, dedication, and proactive mindset make her an invaluable part of what we do.