You may feel like you don’t know what to do because you hear conflicting information about the best way to parent. Parent and family therapy can help explore this and a wide range of family issues.
You may dream of going back to work even though you love your kiddos. Or if you work full time, you feel the guilt or disconnect from being apart. And, raising kids puts a toll on a marriage at times so you may be dealing with that too.
Being a Parent Today
Raising children in the modern world requires unremitting evaluation, and perpetual questioning of our decisions. Let alone the unrelenting number of things to balance, such as homework, activities and dinner with simultaneous bath time meltdowns and bedtime negotiations.
“If I could just take a week off by myself to recharge. If I could just go back to work, let someone else parent my child, then I would regain myself,” you may secretly think.
My Parent & Family Therapy Approach
I like to provide a safe and compassionate environment for parenting and family therapy clients, so they feel heard, seen and felt, perhaps for the first time in their life. By doing so, this type of environment allows clients to freely open up. Parents and families seek therapy because something in their life is not working and they want a change, relief or a shift.
It’s no fault of your own that parenting hasn’t felt the way you thought it would. You were raised certain ways and that impacts how equipped you feel to be the kind of parent you want to be.
After getting to know you, I’ll be able to help you work toward becoming who you want to be as a parent and getting the kind of results you want with your kids.
Therapy for Parents Can Help
In parent and family therapy, we’ll work on creating healthy boundaries and improving your kiddo-communication skills. We’ll also work on you getting your own needs met, while strengthening the relationship with your child. We’ll have some individual sessions and then play therapy where we get on the floor and play with your child, which will help me get to know your child in ways that’ll help you.
Therapy can help you manage your needs as an individual, parent and in relationship with a partner. Starting therapy will help you feel supported and creates a special space to process issues and challenges with an expert who can guide you in ways that are healthy and growth-producing.
Parent & Family Therapy FAQs
With help and support, what do you think is possible?
Think of the phrase, “You have to put on your oxygen mask first,” as if you were in an emergency on a plane. Therapy provides that oxygen mask, helping you be more effective as a parent. We need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others.
What qualifies you to help me with my parenting struggles?
I have 10 years of professional experience counseling parents and families. I’m also a parent of three young adults, and learned along the way and through classes what they needed and how to be effective with them. I also worked as a parent volunteer for seven years in my children’s pre-school which focused on developmental play. This time was not only a time about learning how to parent, but more so, about learning about myself as an individual and parent. Through these experiences, along with my education and training as a Marriage and Family Therapist, I have a strong foundation to help you raise a healthy, happy family.
Won’t it make me feel worse if I talk about my struggles?
Some parents think talking about their problems will make them feel worse. Although it’s true you may feel more sad or down when talking about the struggles in your life, the process of doing so actually leads to feeling lighter, more grounded and peaceful. When we avoid talking about difficult aspects of our lives as parents, it leads to us feeling worse in the long run.
What happens if I become overly dependent on therapy?
My approach is to establish a warm and supportive relationship that will help you to grow and overcome obstacles in your life. Developing a healthy dependency with your therapist can help you work through interpersonal and relational issues and does not necessarily mean you will become overly dependent.