Parenting can be challenging and stressful, especially when faced with a child, teen or young adult with emotional difficulties. In these instances, many parents will feel uncertain about how to most effectively handle their child’s behavior. Understandably, parents will often find themselves experiencing a range of emotions including, anxiety, stress, frustration, guilt, and sadness. A consultation can help parents feel emotionally supported while they learn new strategies for better communication, cooperation, and connection with their children.

The Importance of Parental Involvement

While the primary method for treating psychological disorders is by directly treating the person who suffers with the disorder, there is a growing literature that suggests that working directly with parents of children, teens or young adults who are suffering with emotional difficulties can make a big difference. We now know that focusing only on the child who is suffering is often not enough. The Counseling Collective offers parent consultations services to parents who have teenage or young adult children who are experiencing emotional difficulties. This can be provided to parents without a child participating in therapy with us or to parents who have a teen or adult involved with one of our counselors.

What To Expect

Parent consultations are less often traditional therapy sessions and more a way to help to develop and promote effective parenting. We work with parents to better understand and to even more skillfully respond to their child’s emotions. This may involve learning specific CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) skills around tolerating distress, mindfulness, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Some common goals of parent consultation include:

• Figuring out how to help to relieve a child’s distress

• Reinforce new, more effective behaviors and decrease unhealthy ones

• Strengthen the relationship between parents and their child

In addition, parent consultation can also be helpful in dealing with differences in parenting approaches between parents. At any age, a Parenting Consultation can provide you with answers to your questions, resources in your community, effective parenting strategies, and emotional support and guidance. If you have questions, please reach out to Libby Marler at libby@thecounselingcollectivefw.com