How Parent Coaching Can Help Parents Be Better Leaders for Their Kids
Aimee Solis, LPC, LCPC, LMHC
Often, we get calls from parents who feel stuck with their kids. They express needing support for how they, as parents, can respond differently to improve their relationships and target their child’s behavior without making the child the center of the problem.
When this happens, as a licensed therapist and a coach, I am thrilled that the parent is self-aware that they have the most power in that relationship and can change it by changing their interventions, interactions and responses to their child. It takes the blame away from the child with the underdeveloped brain (in comparison to the parent, of course) and puts that responsibility (and power!) where it should be, in the parent’s hands. Don’t get me wrong, kids can be frustrating and overwhelming, but if we as parents want family dynamics and children’s behavior to change, we have to focus on our own ability to 1) regulate our emotions 2) respond intentionally vs reactively 3) be a sturdy leader.
Now if you are struggling with out of control family dynamics and behavior at home and this is sounding overwhelming and yet too simple, keep reading.
Through parent coaching, parents get the support they need to:
1) feel heard (parenting is hard!)
2) learn emotion regulation skills
3) get hands on examples and opportunities to experience co-regulation so they can repeat this with their children
4) learn real skills and interventions to respond intentionally and establish yourself as a leader vs. the reactive parent
What Can I Expect During Coaching?
During a typical parent coaching session, our clients will share what is going on and how they want it to be different. They will collaborate with their coach to make a plan including goals and objectives and will begin to introduce parenting skills that focus on connection before correction, shying away from strategies that only focus on behavior or only focus on emotional validation and that take a more balanced approach to parenting. Our coach will be direct, will provide feedback, and will create strategies that parents can implement immediately and adjust in future sessions, depending on the results and responses that their kids and family are having to the interventions. Each session will follow up on progress or barriers from previous sessions to ensure the work is effective.
At Mindful Springs, parents in coaching can expect:
- To develop better emotion regulation and to provide this to their children through modeling, co-regulation and teach opportunities;
- To develop and leave with a set of tools and interventions to use with their kids;
- To understand the difference between being reactive and being a leader in their home;
- To improve their relationships with their kids by following through on the plans that they develop in their coaching sessions
- To unveil blocks and barriers that are mental health or trauma related
- To utilize therapy along with coaching to help them move through these barriers to achieve their goals
If you are ready to get started with a coach, give us a call at (833) 379-5206.
Aimee is the owner and executive director of Mindful Springs Counseling, a nationwide 100% independently owned and operated mental health center specializing in non-traditional therapy services like Brainspotting, EMDR, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. Mindful Springs has locations in Colorado, Washington and Illinois.