Parents & Caregivers
Invest in Your Kids
We can imagine that this might be an uncertain time for you. You know your child is struggling and want to help them. You've tried the things that have worked in the past, but its not helping this time. You may come to realize that you need some professional help-and that's okay!
We believe you are doing the best you can with the knowledge you have. It's not possible to be be EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME for your child. That's where we come in-we have studied child and youth development and LOVE working with kids, So, you can feel safe temporarily passing the reins to us. You want the best for your child and so do we! Our alliance and collaboration will be very important as we move through the counselling process.
Parent-Counsellor Alliance
We are very compassionate and non-judgemental therapists and are here to support you. We provide objectivity that many parents can't while emersed in the parent-child relationship. Therapists at Kindred Counselling have significant knowledge in child and youth development and have been working with children and youth for many years.
Although we do not do individual counselling with parents/guardians, or traditional family therapy, we can refer you to another clinician or support program if you feel you are in need of those services. There are many therapists and family counsellors in the field that specialize in this area if you are seeking your own support.
We Offer Parent-Counsellor Support Sessions (for current clients only)
Sessions may address:
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Giving psycho-education (information about the psychological issue your child is dealing with)
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Consulting about ways you can connect with your child to enhance your parent-child relationship. We believe that having a healthy relationship with your child will go miles to help them adjust to current and future challenges.
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Assigning homework-typically activities to support your child, track behaviour, or for parenting development
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Parent coaching, sharing tips, giving referrals, progress summaries and resource suggestions
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Targeted EMDR services for “parenting triggers”. Often times your child will trigger you and you might find yourself overreacting, or acting in a way you aren’t proud of. Doing this starts a negative back and forth between you and your child. That’s when EMDR for parenting triggers can be helpful. As you desensitize these triggers you will begin to react differently toward your child and start re-patterning the interaction you have when they are dysregulated. You will begin to role model self-regulation and play the co-regulator role competently.
Parents/guardians play an important role in the counselling process, as they are an integral part of the child's world and have much more influence than the therapist. Therefore, it is important for parents/guardians to support their child throughout their therapy process to maximize therapeutic results.
We also believe self-care for you is important. Often times we are too hard on ourselves and do not allow time for personal care. We often “should” ourselves. “I should have done this; I should have said that”. Beating yourself up is not helpful for you or your child. Be gentle with yourself and prioritize your needs the way you likely do with so many others.