Parenting Counseling
WHAT IS PARENTING COUNSELING?
Although rewarding, parenting can sometimes be more painful that pleasurable. Parenting counseling provides a safe zone to build on what's working and restructure what's not working in raising and/or engaging with your child. Parents will gain an in-depth understanding about their parenting style and how to adapt it to effectively meet the needs of their child. The work of parenting counseling hinges on equipping parents with the knowledge, tools, and support to work through past and present experiences that have shaped the way in which they parent their child. While dealing with problematic and behavioral changes in your child may be necessary, parents have the ability to influence the change that is needed and have a positive impact on the dynamics of the family.
HOW DO I KNOW IF PARENTING COUNSELING IS NEEDED?
Parenting counseling is a helpful resource for you and your family, particularly if you identify with any of the following:
- feeling as if you're walking on eggshells around your child just to avoid their resistant nature, temper tantrums, or other big emotions.
- inadequate feelings about parenting because you cannot control your child's behavior.
- anxiety that's triggered from addressing child's lack of motivation to learn new things and follow through on homework and other important tasks.
- fear about your child's ability to grow, mature, and launch into adulthood in healthy ways.
- challenges associated with being a single-parent.
- stress brought about by financial struggles, health issues, grief and loss, and other life hardships.
HOW WILL PARENTING COUNSELING HELP ME WITH MY CHILD?
- New perspective on old issues. The unbiased lens of the therapist helps to reframe parenting issues in a way which deepens the parent's understanding about the struggles with their child, and creates new ways to respond to lingering issues.
- Adapt your parenting style. Most parents tend to fall into a style of parenting based on how they were parented. Understanding and intentionally tailoring your parenting style can have a positive influence on your child's behavioral, emotional, and social wellbeing.
- Manage conflict better. Conflict in relationships is inescapable. Depending on how it's handled, it can be the catalyst for either healthy or unhealthy development in children. Parenting counseling teaches parents how to better manage their own conflict and utilize self-regulation skills that enhances the child's development and self-efficacy.
- Set limits and be consistent. Many parents struggle to establish and maintain boundaries and consequences either because of guilt, self-doubt, or just downright exhaustion. Parenting Counseling works to help you figure out what obstacles are preventing you from being more consistent, staying committed to what you'd like to change, and becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable things that can't be changed.
- Reevaluate your expectations. Parenting Counseling focuses the quality of the relationship with your child, mutual respect, and reframing how you connect with your child.