Parenting Counselling
Being a parent can bring feelings of joy, happiness, sadness, overwhelm, frustration and so much more. Nothing can prepare us for being a parent until it's happening. It usually isn't until we experience challenges that we realise, maybe something needs to be done differently. However, a lot of the time parents can't quite work out what that 'something' is and that is where parenting counselling can help.
Whether it's improving communication skills with your kids or helping you have a better understanding yourself as a parent, these are some of the things that we can explore during parenting counselling.
We aim to take a scientific and compassionate approach to parenting, by having an understanding of children's brain development and their emotional needs.
“As children develop, their brains "mirror" their parent's brain. In other words, the parent's own growth and development, or lack of those, impact the child's brain. As parents become more aware and emotionally healthy, their children reap the rewards and move toward health as well."
― Daniel J. Siegel
How does parenting counselling work?
We begin your first session with an assessment that gives us an understanding of your history and anything else relevant. We discuss your goals for parenting counselling. Once we have done this, we go through the process of therapy. This can include gaining an understanding of yourself as a parent, how you interact with your child, what your concerns are and the best way to support your child.
During parenting counselling, we will teach you about your child's brain development, how this impacts them (and you!) and the valuable skills to nurture connection with your child. Skills can include improving communication, how to support and nurture who they are, how to deal with sibling rivalry and how to work collaboratively as a family.
Do both parents have to attend parenting counselling?
In order to get the most out of parenting counselling it is ideal if both parents can attend. However we understand this is not always possible. One parent can be reluctant to try counselling, some separated parents would prefer not to go through the process together or a lack of extra support can mean only one parent can attend. Whatever the reason is, we get it! If you attend parenting counselling you will still be able to learn valuable skills. Whether you are doing it for yourself, or taking it home with you to teach the other significant people in your childs' life.