The Reasons Parents Begin Parenting Therapy
Kids don’t come with an instruction manual. Every child and teen has their own unique personalities, their own mental health struggles, and their own needs.
Although advice from friends and family can sometimes be helpful, it can be hard to turn to them without worrying about judgment or their possible lack of discretion.
Parenting books can be enlightening and helpful, but they certainly cannot prepare parents for every obstacle that may come about when raising children. They also cannot predict the results of your many efforts of trial and error, forcing you to turn to different books for advice, which can become just downright dizzying.
Some behaviors that your kid or teen may be displaying, whether it is concerning, challenging, or confusing may be adding tension to your family dynamic.
It’s possible that parenting coaching may be the best next step.
Here are a few of the reasons a parent may be interested in parent coaching therapy:
You want to break generational cycles, but realize this is harder than it sounds.
Maybe you had parents who struggled in their own ways, and they instilled habits or behaviors in you that you wish to not pass on to your kids.
You are a human first, with your own history and mental health struggles.
Expecting yourself to be perfect is not sustainable; there is no perfect parent.
Your child or teen is displaying behavior that you find concerning, and may be out of your area of familiarity.
Perhaps your child is showing symptoms of depression, self-harm, or another mental health struggle that you feel you need help managing.
As a parent, it is normal to want to shield your child from all potential problems they may encounter, but this is not possible.
Maybe you want to receive your own therapy because you feel that your child deserves their sessions to be their time, but you’re rightfully concerned.
Your child or teen is displaying behavior you find difficult to manage, defiant, and it’s causing conflict in the family.
Kids and teens do commonly go through rough patches where their behavior may be more challenging to endure.
Just because it’s common does not make it any less stressful, and your patience may be wearing thin.
You are human, you are allowed to be stressed out, and you are allowed to reach out for support when dealing with behavioral problems with your child.
Your family or child has experienced trauma, grief/loss, or another challenging experience and you want the extra support.
When a child experiences trauma, it can (knowingly or unknowingly) remind you of something you, yourself have been through in your past.
Traumatic experiences and grief can make parenting so difficult, because you often forget to take care of your own feelings when you are so worried about your kids’ feelings.
It may be helpful to be provided specific tools to cope with your own feelings following trauma or loss.
You’re dealing with something else specific that you feel requires tools to make changes, but have found no perfect, cookie-cutter advice for in your research.
Small, sustainable changes can make big impacts.
Every family dynamic is different, set up with many different personalities and a lot of different relationships within the family system.
It could be helpful to have a professional by your side every step of the way while you implement such changes, to help you make new changes when necessary or to see what is most helpful for your family system.
If any of these points resonate with you, and you feel that it may be helpful for you and your family to receive parenting therapy, Amel Counseling & Consulting has a team of therapists that can help you. We provide parent coaching for parents who fit any of these descriptions, and more! We will help you set goals, make a plan for implementing the changes, and provide tools to cope that will assist you in your parenting journey. We also provide a warm, compassionate, and judgement-free space for you.
Reach out today for a free, 15-minute phone consultation and ask for either virtual or in-person parent coaching sessions with Amel Counseling & Consulting.
