Parental Challenges are Normal and Understandable

Do you feel that you are missing something in your understanding of your child or teen’s behavior? Despite your best intentions, do you worry that the way you react to them may be making things worse? I understand that all parents and children encounter strains in their relationship at some point. Having a child or teen with difficulties can be very challenging for most parents. Understandably, parents will often find themselves experiencing a range of emotions including, anxiety, stress, frustration, guilt and sadness.

Parents’ Involvement is a Key to Successful Child Therapy

While the primary method for treating disorders is by directly treating the person who struggles, there is growing body of literature that suggests that working directly with parents can make a big difference. We now know that focusing only on the child is often not enough. This can be provided to parents even without a child participating in therapy.

Consultation Empowers Parents

For parents seeking guidance and empowerment, consultation sessions can help. I will work with parents to better understand and to even-more-skillfully respond to their child’s emotions and behaviors. Some common goals of parent consultation include the following:

  • Figuring out how to help to relieve a child’s distress
  • Reinforce new, more-effective behaviors and extinguish unhealthy ones
  • Strengthen the relationship between parents and children.

In addition, parent consultation can be helpful in dealing with differences in parenting styles and approaches between the parents.