Therapeutic Parenting/Caring

What is therapeutic parenting/Caring?

Therapeutic Parenting/caring is a psychoeducational model where I work collaboratively with parents through a combination of education and psychological support. I identify and aim to enhance existing positive skills, while supporting parents/carers to adapt their approaches, where these skills do not serve the family or are negatively impacting on parent-child relationships.

What Does a session look like?

Parents/carers are listened to empathically, without judgement. I meet them at their comfort level, helping them to manage appropriate and realistic expectations. I offer insight into basic neurobiology, the impact of trauma, child development, social/emotional and behavioural needs at the relevant milestones, and attachment styles and strategies, with a parallel process of connecting it to practical real-life situations both in the child’s past, and their here-and-now.

What are the key components?

Focus on Safety — including
“felt safety”.
Due to past circumstances, 
traumatised children often
do not feel safe, even when in current safe conditions. 

High Structure/High Nurture in careful balance. 

Connected 
Therapeutic parents/carers look under the behaviours to begin to recognise 
what they’re communicating. 

Intentional 
Being purposeful about what they do and knowing why they are using a specific tool or strategy. Being intentional means having a plan in place and makes it easier to respond rather than reacting to behaviours 

Keeping a long-term perspective and practicing self-care.