Therapy – Parents

I believe that the role of parenting our children is one of the most important, challenging and valuable ones that we take on in our lives. Unfortunately, most of us are not given any formal education, training or mentoring for this job.  I offer counselling and coaching for parents with children from toddlers to teens. My approach includes; education around parenting principles, a framework for establishing family values, support to identify specific challenges, and appropriate strategies and skills to manage these challenges.

My role is to help parents build a supportive partnership to guide and inspire their children to become the ‘best version’ of themselves.  I also work with single parents to support them in either parenting on their own or in conjunction with their former partner as they find their way with co-parenting after separation and divorce.

I offer principles for handling your children’s misbehavior that include setting clear and firm boundaries, providing understandable and logical consequences, and learning how to side-step power struggles.  As an Adlerian trained parent educator, I believe that effective parenting requires a firm and consistent approach rather than an arbitrary, punitive one. The choices we make in how we discipline our children will directly affect the kind of relationship we develop with them over time. I guide parents to choose and implement considered and effective parenting strategies. This then allows parents to meet the long-range goal of building a loving and respectful relationship with their children that can strengthen with the test of time, and provide true value and meaning to their role as parents.

I also work with parents who are struggling in relationships with their adult children.  The issues are often the same; clear boundaries, good problem-solving strategies, and open respectful communication.  It’s important to understand what healthy support with our adult children looks like. This then assists us in determining when to push forward and challenge, and when to pull back and support. 

I believe that parents are doing a valuable and meaningful job when their children are developing into self-confident, independent, curious and kind people, who value a sense of belonging and connection that comes from being in their family.