Why Parents Need Therapy
Parenting is HARD.
Becoming a parent is the single hardest thing most people will ever do. In fact, I have never met a parent that didn’t tell me it was the hardest thing they had ever done, but also the most rewarding. From potty training to dealing with teenage antics, parenthood is a lifelong commitment that can drive us to the edges of sanity at times.
It’s interesting though, that more people do not see a professional for parent support.
Every parent has had moments where they feel they aren't good enough, that they can't go on and that they are failing. Speaking with a therapist who has been there can help alleviate these sometimes pervasive thoughts and help you plan to be the best parent possible.
The most likely reason more parents don’t seek out mental health support for parents is that insurance doesn’t reimburse for it.
While I hope that changes in the future, for now, we are stuck with it. But it doesn’t mean that you cannot seek out a therapist outside of your insurance provider to help you.
Read my article here on how to pick a therapist that is right for you.
Parents need a space to vent and talk it out.
When parenting is at its hardest moments, talking about it can be the only thing that helps. Sometimes I speak with parents who know they need to talk but don’t even know where to start. That’s okay too. Therapy is not linear. Talking is the first step in identifying how and what will help.
We weren't meant to raise children alone, and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe these services are needed now more than ever.
No matter what your circumstances are in parenting, you should have support. Whether you are trying to conceive or looking to adopt, in the thick of infants and toddlers, or grappling with how to live your life as a soon-to-be empty-nester, the act of processing life with a professional can make things more bearable. And talking with a therapist who has been there can make all the difference.
Talking with an expert can help with specifics.
We have all had moments where you call a friend or family member looking for advice, and then they say something ridiculous. When you talk with an expert, you get helpful and calculated advice.
Working with me gives parents actionable advice about how to handle situations with their children, and their own thoughts and feelings. My suggestions are rooted in empirical evidence, rigorous training, and tested in my own three children, and clients beyond.
We all need family and friends, but we can also need a professional.
I can be a shoulder a cry on, a fellow parent to vent to, and a parenting expert who has helped hundreds of families find solutions to behavioral problems with their babies to teens. I am also trained in a variety of interventions for adults to help ease anxiety, depression, and other mental health diagnoses in the context of parenthood and beyond.
Working with me provides parents the space to care for themselves and identify the root cause of problems, rather than continue to use coping skills that may be making problems worse.
Parenting goes beyond books.
Conventional western wisdom would have us believe that if we read a couple dozen parenting books we’re good to go. This of course is not true, and most of the time the answers we need right away are not found in the index of a book.
Plenty of parents have looked to Dr. Google in the wee hours of the morning for advice. Plenty of us have sifted through internet boards about advice for how to get our kids to sleep or behave. We use the tools available to us, and this is a good thing, but it misses the human connection we so desperately need.
More and more parents do not reach out to friends or family for answers. More and more parents also find themselves isolated in homes, without lunchroom chatter to hear about sleep training methods, or commiserate with colleagues about teenage antics. We learn from those around us, our children included, and without adequate social supports — we can find ourselves depressed, lonely, and defeated.
So there’s never been a more important time to get in with an expert and sort it all out. Below are just a few questions I address with parents:
What may be triggering you as a parent that happened to you as a child?
What family dynamics are playing out and how does that affect your child and you show up as a parent?
What has you feeling most stressed as a parent, and how can I help you solve this?
We need to normalize therapy. And normalize help for parents, too.
Everyone should have access to a therapist or guiding mentor to help them through life’s tough moments, and parenting is amid the hardest. I hope this post helps normalize therapy and normalize that parents need help too, not just kids.
Asking for help is one of the greatest signs of strength.
It is an honor to work with parents along their journey, and a passion to help to see others parent in their best, most confident self.
Together, we are all in this to raise amazing humans and hopefully laugh along the way.
The information and resources contained on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to assess, diagnose, or treat any medical and/or mental health disease or condition. The use of this website does not imply nor establish any type of therapist-client relationship. Furthermore, the information obtained from this site should not be considered a substitute for a thorough medical and/or mental health evaluation by an appropriately credentialed and licensed professional.
