Therapy for Parents
in Agoura Hills and Encino, CA
Looking For Parenting Support?
When children and teens experience challenges with their mental health—and even when they’re just going through the normal growing pains of development—negative patterns can begin to occur at home. Often, these patterns look like a back-and-forth of reactivity, leading to reduced trust, an inability to bond, and ruptures that can cause serious relationship barriers if left unresolved.
As a parent, it can be very frustrating and hopeless to feel like you can’t help your child. You may be experiencing anxiety, overwhelm, and the worry that you’re ill-equipped to handle some of the more challenging aspects of parenting. It may seem like you’ve exhausted all of your skills and that nothing you’ve tried is working.
You Are Not “Doing It All Wrong”
In a world where parents are expected to be “perfect” and able to handle everything themselves, it can be very isolating to feel like we aren’t doing the right thing when it comes to our kids.
Our practice uses clear, practical, and responsive parenting approaches that can help restore communication and foster a strong parent-child attachment. There is a solution for slowing down the patterns of conflict and reactivity that are getting in the way of effective parenting, and you can learn about what it is in therapy.
Children’s Growing Pains Can Cast A Ripple Effect Into The Whole Family
There are so many reasons why your child may be struggling, and it’s very normal for parents to go through periods of worry and concern with each developmental phase that introduces new questions, challenges, and opportunities for relational discord. After all, children and teens are consistently undergoing the process of individuation as they strive for more independence and freedom. This is always a delicate balancing act for parents.
On top of that, when new stressors are added to the mix, it can intensify difficult symptoms and patterns that aren’t working.
Therefore, when children experience disruptive changes or transitions at home—including a divorce, a death, or the blending of families—the cycle of reactivity often worsens as emotions run high and many parents feel overwhelmed by stress, guilt, and confusion. In some cases, these stressors may trigger symptoms of anxiety and depression in children and teens. And learning or academic difficulties, including ADHD, can also intensify.
As therapists, our job is to help clients build awareness around these cycles while also adapting to new parenting approaches that will reduce conflict and increase connection. We want to help you replace the feeling of powerlessness in your life with a sense of hope. Your relationship with
your child can improve, and counseling is the first step.
You Can Learn To Change Your Parenting Approach Through Therapy
Our parenting therapy philosophy revolves around the idea that truly hearing your child is the most important part of communicating with them. That’s why we put a strong emphasis on teaching parents how to curtail communication that conveys anger, frustration, and disappointment.
When these skills are implemented at home, you are likely to see yourself move away from a punitive role in your child’s life to one of support and encouragement. As communication with your child improves, they can feel safer to explore their choices and learn from consequences—eventually replacing the reactive cycle with a mutually respectful relationship dynamic.
what to expect
Our work with parents is designed to:
● Help build self-awareness and positive parental self-esteem
● Nurture flexibility and regulation skills
● Teach age-appropriate boundaries that balance parents’ expectations with their child’s agency
● Slow down responses to effectively assess the child’s needs in real time
● Replace reactive, stress-based behaviors with behaviors that are empathetic and nurturing
● Encourage validation while also making room for children to grow and learn lessons on their own
Ultimately, the aim of counseling is to enhance your self-compassion in the process of accepting that your child’s struggles are not at all a reflection of bad parenting.
We know that you may be focused on the things that are going “wrong” in your relationship with your child, but remember all the things you’ve done right. You have already resolved so many conflicts and developed so many parenting skills on your journey—therapy can expand your capacity to create a new dynamic at home and with your child.
Frequently Asked Questions About Parenting Therapy
How much experience do you have working with parents in counseling?
Our clinicians are experts in child and teen development, and our work has given us many
opportunities to work with parents in therapy. We know what works and what doesn’t not only when treating kids but also when working with their parents—and we are passionate about supporting a whole, harmonious family unit in therapy.
Additionally, many of us on the team are parents ourselves, and we’ve been given a lot of personal experience when it comes to raising children. Coaching crucial communication and boundary-setting skills is part of this process as we help you adjust your parenting approach.
I have a busy work and parenting schedule—will I be expected to attend therapy weekly?
We try to be as collaborative as possible when it comes to scheduling therapy sessions, and we will determine frequency together.
That said, we typically find that beginning therapy with weekly sessions helps build momentum and yields quicker results. Once you start to see some progress, we can talk about changing the session frequency to every other week or once a month.
Is counseling online or in person?
While some clinicians prefer in-person parenting support, the format of sessions may vary from therapist to therapist. We will try to pair you with someone who offers what you’re looking for, whether that’s in-person or online counseling.
Learn What It Takes To Reconnect With Your Child
If you’re struggling with parenting stress as a result of conflict or reactive cycles at home, counseling through Child & Family Therapy Center can offer you the skills and support to create new patterns. For more information or to schedule a session, contact us.
