Parent Support

I have worked with many parents who have described my guidance around parenting as supportive, helpful, and productive. I have experience helping parents while in the settings of private practice, while working as a program therapist for a virtual behavioral health company, and as a clinical director for an agency serving foster youth and families. In addition, prior to becoming a therapist, I worked in elementary school education with an MA in Education. My approach for supporting parents includes teaching techniques from The Nurtured Heart Approach founded by Howard Glasser and Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS), which was developed at Massachusetts General Hospital, a top-ranked Department of Psychiatry in the United States. Parents seem to appreciate my experience and empathy, and that I admit being constantly humbled by my own parenting journey.

Here are some example topics we may cover:

1.      Skill building and self-compassion: Every parent struggles and makes mistakes, because we are human, and as our children move into new developmental stages, we continuously find ourselves in unchartered waters. I’ll help remind you that parenting is never about perfection. It is about learning new skills and having the willingness to reflect, brainstorm, learn, and adjust.

2.      Expressing validation and empathy: I can help you to grow in these skills and utilize them, especially when your child is experiencing intense emotions. Through our validation and empathy, our children learn emotion regulation—how to calm down from these feelings, rather than spiraling out of control.

3.      Engaging our child in problem-solving. We can talk about what it looks like to brainstorm solutions with our kids and how to be open-minded to their suggestions. This willingness to problem-solve with our children communicates our respect and belief in their capabilities. Often, our kids rise to the occasion and surprise us with a creative compromise or solution.

4.      Setting and maintaining consistent boundaries. I can help you to practice setting age-appropriate family rules and sticking to them. This helps reduce confusion for our children and teaches them the importance of respecting other people’s boundaries and taking responsibility for our actions.

5.      Scheduling time together without distractions or demands. This can be harder than it sounds, and we can brainstorm around barriers to be sure this time is happening. When we spend time with our child without an agenda besides delighting in their company, they learn that they are deserving of our full attention, we value spending time with them, and that they are loved unconditionally. This builds the secure roots for them to believe in themselves, and therefore better manage stressors out in the world.

6.      Practicing self-care. Being a parent can be extremely emotional and overwhelming at times. I can help you to explore positive coping strategies and healthy boundaries to help you stay centered, grounded, and strong - so you can maintain a peaceful and stable home for your child to thrive in. Self-care may sound simple, but as parents, we are often so harried and used to focusing on others, that we often need encouragement to slow down, look inward, and explore ways to recharge.

If some of these ideas sound helpful, reach out and schedule an appointment with me!