PARENTING

We believe that the parent-child relationship is the most important one in early childhood and throughout life. This relationship builds the foundation for all future relationships. We strive to provide a safe environment for parents to explore their parenting style and learn new strategies to enhance their relationship with their children.

Our approach

Our approach is rooted in attachment theory, which explains how the emotional bond between a parent and child shapes the child’s sense of safety, trust, and ability to form healthy relationships. When children feel consistently cared for and understood, they develop a secure attachment. This gives them the confidence to explore the world and return for comfort when needed. We believe that attuned parental communication and interactions with children are key to a positive atmosphere at home and beyond, and lead to strong bonds between family members.

Our work focuses on:

Helping parents understand their children's developmental needs and learn to communicate expectations and set limits appropriately.
Facilitating emotional regulation, in which parents learn to identify their children's emotions and sensory regulation needs, learn to talk with their children about them, and learn how to respond in a way that is adaptive to the situation.
Collaborative problem solving, in which parents learn to really listen and understand their children’s perspective and their social-emotional needs, and learn to reach solutions that integrate both the child's and parents' perspectives.

How do we work?

We begin with parent guidance sessions that focus on the current parent-child relationship and the parents' history from their own childhood experiences. Sometimes, this is followed by an invitation for the parent and the child to play and practice together while the therapist facilitates the interactions. We provide a fun and creative setting wherein parents can learn how to use play as a vehicle to enhance their relationship with their child and learn how to facilitate positive social-emotional interactions between their child and others.