Southern Highlands
Parenting is one of life's great challenges
As an holistic counsellor, pyschotherapist, qualified physiotherapist and also a mother myself, I understand that parenting can be one of life’s great challenges. Particularly when a family member has additional needs, challenging behaviour, or when the family experiences trauma, grief or loss.
What do we cover?
- Parenting issues
- Children
- Developmental issues
- Special needs and disability
- Grief and loss
- Trauma
- Relationship issues
- Group work
Who is it for?
- Parents
- Families
- Children
What are our services?
- Counselling
- Psychotherapy
My key areas of focus
Parenting
Parenting is one of the most challenging tasks in an individual’s life. Parenting can be exhausting, and many of us are just hoping for the best, or are riding on a roller coaster from crisis to crisis.
It has become increasingly clear by the plethora of research conducted, that the way we were parented impacts deeply on our development at all levels; physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. Who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know about parenting ( Brown, 2015). Knowing this, many parents wish to parent as consciously as possible. Unfortunately, there is so much conflicting parenting information from our families, communities, media and our “never enough” culture. It can be hard to find what we need, and hard to trust that we have what we need.
Some struggle with parenting as their child may not ‘fit’ the mainstream parenting methods. They may have a challenge such as an intellectual disability, language delay, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Oppositional Defiance Disorder or Sensory Processing Disorder. They may be just sensitive and feel very intensely. They may experience anxiety, anger or sadness more than others, or have challenges expressing themselves appropriately. Children with additional needs can have challenging behaviour that is not easy to understand or predict.
Children
Engaging children in a counselling process is very different to working with adults, as play is the language of the child. A child expresses much of their world through stories, drawings and playful re-enactment with toys. Play therapy helps to create a safe space for children to process difficult emotions. Through externalising emotions and re-enactment of problematic situations in play, emotional issues can transform and symbolic solutions can be found. Expressing emotions, and changing past experiences in this way often helps children find their voice and build their natural self esteem. The therapeutic process with a child may also involve sessions with the parents. It is distressing to know our child may be experiencing pain, and as a parent, we are in the most powerful position to make a difference to how our child meets and processes the challenges they experience in life.
Disability
Living in relationship with an individual with a disability, for example as a parent, spouse or sibling, has its own unique set of losses, challenges, frustrations and rewards. The growing recognition of the importance of the family context into which a child is born and raised, and the interactions between a disabled child, parents and siblings and extended family, have made it imperative not only that support and interventions be provided for the disabled within the family setting, but also that support and interventions be provided for those most directly concerned with the raising of a child with a disability (Bubolz and Whiren, 1984). The impact left by disabilities is far reaching for all involved and both immediate and long lasting support can be hard to find. Families and carers can find themselves alone and isolated at critical times.
Why counselling?
All of us have times in our lives when we feel that we’re in a fog and can’t seem to find our way out. This can be especially difficult if you’re usually the one that others rely on. If it’s the first time you’ve felt like this, it can be really confusing – and frightening.
For some, it can be an all too familiar pattern. It happens again and again and you start to wonder if it’s all your fault. Since ups and downs are an inevitable part of living, the challenge is to find a way to be present for the peaks, and to find a way to fall well.
How can it help?
When we are in a place of not coping as well as we would like, we could talk to partners and friends, but at times like this, most of us don’t. Seeing a counsellor or psychotherapist gives you the chance to share the problem with someone who can provide a caring and safe environment in which to explore your options.
Counselling and psychotherapy can also assist at other times. For example when you want to make a change; resolve a problem; challenge your thinking; find peace in your life. Seeking help from a counsellor or psychotherapist is not a sign of weakness or an admission of failure. It’s actually the opposite. It’s a sign that you have the strength and good sense to get help when you most need it.
What’s the difference
between counselling
and psychotherapy?
Although counselling and psychotherapy overlap considerably, there are also recognised differences. While the work of counsellors and psychotherapists with clients may be of considerable depth, the focus of counselling is more likely to be on specific problems, changes in life adjustments and fostering clients’ wellbeing.
Psychotherapy is more concerned with the restructuring of the personality or self and the development of insight. Psychotherapy involves working intensively with you to help you gain a deeper understanding of what makes you uniquely you and to overcome core issues or blocks which might be persistently disrupting your ability to flourish in your world.