Online Family & Parent Counselling in Vancouver, BC
Children are such a blessing and every parent wants to give their child the best upbringing possible. It is extremely challenging to not let our own issues negatively affect how we respond to our children. This is because children internalize the responses of their parents. This causes a pattern of relating that can go from one generation to another. This is called the intergenerational transmission of parenting responses. This means that the way your parents related to you can form an ‘internal model’ that creates automatic impulses to respond the same way to your child.
Improving your parenting skills will inevitably involve ‘re-parenting’ yourself in order to increase your self-understanding of maladaptive internalized patterns of relating that you grew up with, and address the unmet needs you have from your upbringing. Without this step, just learning parenting skills would be like swimming upstream against the current. This is not to say that parenting skills are not useful – they are, indeed – and sometimes this is all that can be done if re-parenting and therapy is not feasible (or possible). Re-parenting oneself is often a significant part of psychotherapy in one form or another, and can be addressed in individual counselling sessions too.
The way that a parent relates to their child during early development is particularly impactful at this stage. Learning parenting skills for how to relate to a child that fosters their self-esteem, self-agency, competence, and motivation are essential. Core parenting skills that Wellspring teaches can be applied to many situations, so you can use these at any stage of your child’s development providing that you change up your style in how you deliver it to match their age.
In Parenting sessions at Wellspring, some of what you will learn includes:
- How to better deal with misbehaviour;
- How to connect with your child so that your child ‘feels felt’;
- Gain an experiential understanding of your child’s point of view so that you can have greater authentic and natural empathy when they ‘misbehave’;
- How to ‘talk’ your child’s emotional brain through the difficulty that they are experiencing so that your child develops a better self-understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and forms the ability to walk themselves through their own challenges in the as they develop. This will serve them greatly in the years to come because the basic skills learned early on will be applicable at a fundamental level no matter what the situation is.
Suggested Reading:
- Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive, by Daniel J. Siegel
- No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, by Daniel J. Siegel
- The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, by Daniel J. Siegel
Vancouver Parent Counselling
If you’re a parent looking for support, Wellspring Counselling can provide the resources and guidance you need to become a more confident and effective parent. Our specialized parent counselling services are focused on helping parents understand their children’s behaviour and emotions so they can respond in ways that promote healthy development. We help parents with all types of parenting challenges, from managing difficult behaviour to navigating interactions between siblings.
Our parent counselling sessions are tailored to each family’s unique needs, providing compassionate guidance and support in a safe and non-judgmental environment. We believe that all parents have the strengths they need to be successful, but sometimes they need extra help, which is why we’re here.
Schedule an online appointment today
We understand that parenting is not always easy, but we are here to help you on your journey. Our team of experienced counsellors at Wellspring Counselling provides compassionate support to both parents and children so they can all reach their goals in a healthy, informed way. Contact us today to get started on your parenting journey. We offer online appointments so you can connect with us from the comfort of your own home.
Take that first step and book an appointment today!
