parent support
what to expect
If you are finding yourself in a place where you are drowning in well-intentioned parenting advice, endlessly scrolling through social media posts about the oodles of parenting styles, and feeling stumped on how to support your child's complex emotional world, you are not alone, and you've come to the right place.
I am trained in and utilize Filial Therapy, a model of family therapy that I deeply believe in. Throughout our work together, you can expect to spend time building your own skills in conducting weekly 20-30 minute “special play time” sessions with your child or children at home. These special play time sessions are full of therapeutic skills that you will be a master at in no time. Through our work together, we will explore the explanation and rationale of the skills, you will watch demonstrations of the skills, do some experiential skill practice, and receive individualized feedback as you engage in the skills with your child. The hope is that you leave our work together with a robust set of skills that set you up for success for the long game of parenting.
Filial Therapy in its truest form takes place over 18-20 sessions and each family member is involved. While this is the ideal, I recognize that there may be barriers to accessing this type of support. There are adapted forms of Filial Therapy that we can explore if you are experiencing time, participation, or financial constraints. I am a believer that some is better than none, and I would love to support you in an adaptation that works for your family.
who I work with
I utilize Filial Therapy with parents who are navigating the challenges of parenting 3-10 year olds who have big behaviors, big feelings, or big sensitivities.
how it works
Filial Therapy is a form of Family Therapy where parents are trained in a set of skills to inhabit the role of therapeutic change agent in their child's life. Whereas in traditional Play Therapy the Play Therapist is providing therapy to the child, in Filial Therapy the parent is offered education and guidance for how to meet some of those very same needs at home.
Filial Therapy has been shown through 50 years of research and clinical experience to be an effective intervention for children and families experiencing a variety of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. This unique therapy involves parents as the primary agents to resolve child-related problems, to encourage children's healthy psychosocial development, and to strengthen entire families. Filial therapists train and supervise parents as the parents conduct child-centered play sessions with their children, an approach that not only helps eliminate presenting problems but also strengthens parent-child and family relationships.
— VanFleet, 2014
The originators of Filial Therapy, Louise and Bernard Guerney, noted that when parents play with their children in a therapeutic way, children are offered the opportunity to communicate thoughts, feelings, and needs that may not be expressed in the family's typical day-to-day life. Filial Therapy may be the right fit for your family if you are wanting to:
- Build a better understanding of your child's emotional needs
- Deepen communication with your child
- Help your child develop self-control
- Regain confidence as a parent
- Find new strategies for discipline, consequences, and limit setting, while remaining regulated and respectful towards your child
- Be the change agent in your child's life
- Support all the children in your family system without navigating the financial and time burden when each child has their own therapist
- Experience a more sustainable way to provide therapeutic support for your child