Parent Coaching: Learning to Work With Your Children to Reduce ConflictBy Vanessa GonzalezParent coaching is different from psychotherapy which is specific to mental health conditions. Parents coaches meet with a child's parents(s) or primary caregiver(s) to provide support for various parenting issues. The coach offers psychoeducation, skills, and support to help the parents to improve the overall family functioning.Parent coaching can be highly beneficial for any parent or caregiver who may need support navigating their child's mental health or developmental needs. In addition, it is helpful for any parent or caregiver who needs support to navigate their child's specialized mental health and developmental needs.Typically, the coach will provide psychoeducation to further educate the parents on their child's needs, offer skills for support, and learn communication and coping skills to improve the family dynamic.The coach and the parent will create mutually agreed-upon goals. These goals will be accomplished through smaller goals suck as interpersonal communication skills, self-respect, and self-confidence, solution-focused thinking approaches, learning new parenting strategies,What is Parent Coaching Used for? A parenting coach can be beneficial if you are experiencing any of the following issues:
- Stress-related parenting issues: managing your time between parenting and individual time
- Child behavior issues: The parent can learn strategies to address issues f the child or children in the home are expressing aggression or defiance of authority.
- Learning Disabilities like attention hyper deficit disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia
- Adolescent substance use
- LBTQA+ support
- New parents
- Suicidal ideation or attempt
- Trauma of abuse or domestic violence
- How to navigate challenging conversations with a child, such as sex or adoption
- Parenting Practices: learn research-based practices to support the child's homework, how to implement and encourage regular exercise, and limit screen usage.
- Developmental Activities: Learn strategies to support a child's overall development
- Parenting during transition or a crisis: Can help parenting skills during events such as homelessness, divorce, the grief of a loved one, or adoption
- General parenting questions/problems
Parent coaching can be done in person, online, or over the phone. It can include both parents or one parent/caregiver alone. The coach can meet with the family in the community in the home or through telehealth services.Services are often brief and directive, focusing on the mutually agreed-upon goals. However, if more complex long-term work needs to be done, the coach will refer to support groups or other community resources.Parent Coaching Techniques & ModelsSome of the most researched and well-known models are the following:Hanen Centre Model – clinically-based model based on parental engagement to perpetuate long-term success. The coach provides the parents with resources and new strategies, introduces them, offers support and feedback, and works with the parents to create an implementation plan.Gestalt Parent Coaching Model – this model is rooted in Gestalt therapy. This approach emphasizes that the client's current situation, social factors, and environmental factors influence the family's ability to handle and regulate conflict. This model allows parents to explore maladaptive behavior and illicit positive change by modeling more adaptive self-regulation techniques.Parent Coaching Institute Model – this curriculum is a strength-based approach thatfocuses on viewing the parents and children in the family as a specific system with their strengths to shape their relationship. It also focuses on understanding the parents within the context of their socioeconomic system and understands that everyone in the family should be understood as having unique needs.It's essential to find a coach you feel comfortable working with. Find a coach with whom you are okay to be vulnerable, and remember that being open and honest is the best way for the coach to assist you. Luckily there are many coaches out there, and they all work to foster support and understanding to help improve family functioning. Call us for parent coaching in Palm Beach County, FL.
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