Family counselling is the most common choice of therapy when adolescents or kids are having psychological issues. When younger children are involved, therapists often use a mixture of parent, individual and family counselling sessions.
Family counselling can help a family identify issues and resolve them. Kids are encouraged to voice their problems to parents. Siblings can also take part in the sessions if necessary to air their views and help fix relationships within the family. When it comes to stepfamilies or blended families, the therapy process can include step-parents, half-siblings and step-siblings as needed.
Often, family counselling sessions serve to address other problems affecting family dynamics instead of only focusing on one child’s behavior. Not only does this help a family make necessary changes, it’s also critical for helping the known “problem-child” improve their behavior and rebuild self-esteem.
How family counselling helps
- Decreases conflict as a family understands each other’s needs and perceptions
- Creates a safe environment that will encourage sharing in an honest, open manner
- Creates connection and support between one another
- Changes harmful communication patterns and develops healthier ones
- Brings out each family member’s strength
- Increases a sense of belonging and acceptance
Parent coaching
Parent coaching helps parents to create their own solutions to parenting issues based on their values. Through the coaching process, parents will boost their knowledge of parenting techniques, increase their self-awareness, and build a more balanced approach to structuring and nurturing parenting skills. Parents will also improve their confidence and have a better idea of when and where to apply different skills.
What to expect during parent coaching sessions
In parent coaching, parents are helped to identify what’s working and what’s not working in their family relationships. Then they are supported to find realistic and practical ways to reduce stress and apply strategies to create effective and mutually beneficial relationships.
A family counselor will help parents to:
- Reduce their feelings of exhaustion and stress
- Identify what’s working and not working in their family or extended family
- Understand their teens/ kids behavior, emotions and attitudes
- Learn effective parenting and relationship skills
- Set practical boundaries in their relationships
- Provide solutions to relationship issues
- Negotiate agreements in their relationships
- Know how and when to put aside problems and move on
- Build healthy and strong family relationships
- Enrich and enjoy their relationships with their immediate as well as extended family
- Balance their parenting and family roles with other demands and roles in their lives
Benefits of parent coaching
Parent coaching is extremely beneficial for parents or guardians of children of any age. It’s even beneficial for parents-to-be! In fact, parent coaching is about the parent, not the child. Parents who participate in parent coaching often rediscover their love for parenting, create deeper connection with their kids, and create more time for themselves.
Through parent coaching, parents can:
- Increase awareness of problems that are behind their children’s behavior
- Increase social interactions and positive feelings in their children
- Improve self-esteem and self-control in their children
- Learn new, more effective parenting strategies
- Build healthier and happier family relationships
- Increase confidence in their parenting roles