"Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around." ~Sofia in Vanilla Sky
Parenting and Our Kids
Do you want more skills to help manage your child's behaviors? Do you feel like your child is out of control and you don't know what to do? Do you want to improve your relationship with them? Are you seeing yourself parent in a way that you don't like? Do you want to take steps toward being the kind of parent you want to be? Are you repeating patterns from the past but want to stop?
You are in the right place.
Parenting
While parenthood has the potential to be the most fulfilling, heartwarming, pride-filled, and enjoyable experiences of our lives, it also might be single-handedly the most challenging endeavor we will ever do. Parenting is the intersection of the past, present, and future. It can come with the weight of painful, troublesome, or burdensome experiences of our past, the anxiety and rush of the present, and the pressure, expectations, and hope for the future. Parenting, life, and our kids will push us to our limits and can make us snap or feel completely inept, hopeless, and helpless. Sometimes we find ourselves re-living and repeating our own childhood experiences without the ability to stop ourselves. Sometimes the challenges of raising young kids can get in the way of us enjoying being around them or even disliking our own children!
Let me start by saying I have been there!
Even as an expert on humans and their development, I still wanted and needed more when I became a first-time parent and especially when I became a second-time parent. My own decades-long work into myself evolved and deepened; after all, I had just gone through a metamorphosis - expanding, evolving, and deepening as a human. I devoured books on parenting and completed certification in two parenting therapies (PCIT and PMT) with the hopes of expanding my own toolkit and sharing those skills with other parents. With greater insight, compassion, and understanding for yourself, your past, and your role in what is happening at home, along with a wide variety of skills in your parenting toolkit, you will be better equipped to handle what your kids and life with throw at you. I hope to help you on your journey to be the parent you want and hope to be and feel ready to take-on and wholeheartedly embrace the next chapter of your life. Whether you are pregnant with your first baby, thinking of becoming pregnant, or your children are already adults, it is never too late to make a change!
How I help parents...
In general, I help parents in two ways:
1) Unpacking the way they were parented to deepen their insight and understand the current context and make any changes (Please see following section "Understanding ourselves in order to change the present and the future" for more information.)
2) Help them learn concrete skills to manage common and challenging childhood behaviors (Please see section titled "I want to learn how to better manage my child's behaviors" for more information on adding skills to your parenting toolbox.)
Understanding ourselves in order to change the present and future...
We all were parented one way or another. The way we were parented can impact our thoughts, feelings behaviors, roles, and identities as parents. Sometimes these help us and sometimes they hinder us. It can be difficult to shake our pasts even when we want to. When we are put into stressful situations (like having a child), we naturally revert to previously learned and habitual behaviors. Have you ever had the startling revelation, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe that just came out of my mouth... My parent used to say that! When did I turn into my parent/s?!" I sure have - too many times to count. The good news is that it is normal and you can change it! I help parents explore and unpack their past experiences to help them become the parents they want to be.
In-Office Sessions and Virtual Home Sessions
Sessions are every week for 45 minutes in duration (depending on how many caregivers attend the session). However, additional supportive and coaching sessions can be scheduled based on scheduling availability to assist you in mastering the parenting skills you are learning in sessions and improving the interactions between you and your child/ children at home.
If appropriate and feasible, sessions may be held in the comfort in your own home via in vivo or video/ phone feed.
** Due to COVID, all sessions are currently held via Live Video. **
I want to learn how to better manage my child's behaviors...
Whether it is aggression, defiance, not listening, nagging, power struggles, or simply getting your child to complete their homework, our children can test our patience and we may feel totally inept and incapable as parents. I have 2 great options (PCIT or PMT) for caregivers who are looking to learn additional skills around managing challenging behaviors, increasing positive behaviors, decrease nagging, decrease power struggles, improving child's self-esteem, and improving the parent-child relationship.
The first is PCIT, or Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, is a highly effective, evidenced-based, short-term treatment for caregivers and their children. PCIT is best for caregivers and their children ages 2 - 7 years-old. Click Button below to learn more about PCIT.
The second is PMT, or Parent Management Therapy,. It is a versatile, highly effective, evidenced-based, short-term treatment for caregivers whose children are 2 - 16 years-old. Click button below to learn more about PMT.
Look below to learn why I searched for PCIT, PMT, and hope to share it with you!
Why I searched for PCIT and PMT and hope to share it with you...
By the time I became a parent, I already had my Masters in School Psychology and a Doctorate in Child-Clinical Psychology. Up until that point, I had been providing individual play therapy for children and individual therapy for adults. I often found that parents brought their children to my office and wanted me to fix the child with no thought or expectation of looking at themselves and how they may be contributing to the issues at hand. Understandably, I found the children were feeling anxious, depressed, helpless and hopeless about ever truly being heard, seen, and understood by their parents. Everyone was disconnected from each other and progress was not happening in the ways the parents, children, or I wanted! Something was missing... the parent/s! At this point in my professional life, I decided to focus on interventions with parents knowing that they were integral for any meaningful and lasting change!
By applying short-term treatments of PCIT and/or PMT, I support and actively teach caregivers to improve their relationship with their children, be more effective as parents, transform negative interactions into more positive ones, and increase caregivers confidence by developing their skills to handle even the most challenging situations and behaviors.
Let's dig deep and get you closer to the family you want.
COVID Notice
Due to the COVID pandemic, all sessions are currently being held virtually via live video feed. I offer telepsychology to residents living in the following states:
AL, AR, AZ, CO, CNMI, CT, DC, DE, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, ND ((effective 8/1/23), NE, NH, NJ, NV, OH, OK, PA, RI (effective 7/1/23), TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY