• Are you finding yourself snapping or getting overwhelmed more often that seems reasonable?
• Are you at a loss for how to get your children to listen?
• Are you pregnant or a new parent wanting some guidance and support?
• Are you struggling to find your own parenting style or finding that you and your partner’s styles don’t seem to mesh?
• Do you find yourself stuck at times?

We generally go into parenting with the best of intentions and then at some point find ourselves at a loss with how to deal with our children’s or our own emotions.  Parents and children alike often find themselves struggling with how to communicate and get their needs met without stress and tension.

Being a parent is one of the most difficult jobs we can take on as adults, especially as we are often also juggling various other tasks or work.  Transitions, such as a move or a new job, can also impact the usual routine and make life even more challenging.  Parents don’t always have the support we need in our society to care for ourselves and our children at the same time.  We often find ourselves wondering:

• How will there ever be time in the day for me?
• Why can’t my partner and I be a team with parenting?
• Why isn’t parenting more intuitive?

Challenges are normal

Because children are constantly growing and changing, even when we think things are working for a time, they can hit a new milestone and new struggles at any moment.  Most parents struggle with some aspect of parenting at some point.  As our children grow, we may find ourselves reminded of our own childhood experiences and our parents’ approaches to parenting, which can both bring up feelings of anger or even inadequacy.  

In addition, parents today are coping with technology, school shootings and new struggles that are difficult to navigate.  When under extra pressure, most people will experience themselves blaming others and being critical of themselves in some way.  At these times, it can be hard for anyone to feel supported.

Parent Counseling can offer focused time and attention to talk through the issues arising at home and to collaboratively consider new perspectives and tools.  The therapists that offer Parent Coaching and Counseling at The Louisville Family Center are also parents themselves and can understand and relate to what you are going through.

Parent Counseling can help you feel more confident and supported 

Parent Counseling at the Louisville Family Center is not another set of strategies that will tell you how you “should be” better parents. Instead, relationships are viewed through a holistic lens, seeing the family as an important learning container.

Parenting is a uniquely challenging task in which we are often asked to face our deepest fears while at the same time caring for a newly developing human being.  Being a parent can invoke shame and second guessing, and can bring out angry or depressed parts of ourselves that we didn’t even know existed.

Getting support with your particular parenting challenges, either as an individual or as a couple, can help you regain your own sense of confidence and strengthen your ability to connect with your child and significant other.