What To Expect When You Book A Therapeutic Parenting Intensive
Often booked when parents/carers feel like they’ve tried everything friends and family have suggested, they feel like they’re defeated or they feel like they are in crisis with parenting their child; a Therapeutic Parenting (TP) Intensive is a one-off appointment, which often leads to subsequent ones.
A Therapeutic Parenting Intensive is also often accessed to help parents/carers manage transition periods that they and their children are experiencing. Having a professional to explore their way of getting through challenging times can help with confidence and a parents/carers ability to remain connected to their child and regulate their own emotions.
Useful Blog: What Is Therapeutic Parenting?
A Therapeutic Parenting Intensive isn’t part of an ongoing course of work, but it can lead to that if what you explore and discover sounds like it can benefit you and your family.
There are limited appointments available for Therapeutic Parenting Intensives, when you inquire, I can send you a link with what’s available.
Useful Blog: How Can Therapeutic Parenting Help Me?
Frequently asked Questions:
What Happens When I’ve Booked The Appointment?
Once you have booked your TP Intensive, I will email you an inquiry form which gathers some personal details and also ask questions about what you would like to use the session for and why i.e. what is happening at home? The reason I use an inquiry form is so that we can make the most of your hour; I process it before our appointment, which often creates some more questions that I’ll ask you, to get a better understanding of what’s happening, and what your needs are.
Where Do We Have The Appointment?
Your first TP Intensive can be held either online or at my office.
On occasions, in order to manage the area of work safely and effectively, I request that subsequent TP Intensives are held at my office - we will discuss this as and when it arises. I will always be 100% transparent with you and will not agree to work with you if I feel that the conditions we’re working in (i.e. online), do not work.
Who Should Attend The Appointment?
Depending on the nature of what you would like to explore, one parent/carer or both can attend the session.
If a parent/carer has concerns about their own ability to parent effectively, how their own history impacts their parenting or wants some individual time with me - one parent/carer is OK to attend.
An example of this would be “I experienced domestic abuse when I was younger and this impacts my confidence in parenting my 3 children, especially when emotions run high. I find myself withdrawing and losing my voice and potency as a parent”.
If parents/carers feel like the reason of the session is due to their child’s needs and behaviours, then it’s a good idea that both parents attend.
An example of this would be “My 9 year old boy is extremely anxious, I try and be gentle whilst my partner says I am not doing him any favours and could actually be making his anxiety worse. I’d like to know more about how I can parent to his needs, so I am making things better, not worse”.
These recommendations are in the specific context of a one-off intensive. Should the work flow into other sessions, the likelihood is, I would request attendance from both parents together, and if that’s not possible, individually. This would be another area that I would practice complete transparency; if I believe both parents need to attend but both can’t make it or are not willing, we will have to discuss how to move forward.
How Much Are The Appointments?
Therapeutic Parenting appointments are 60 minutes in length and are currently £60 (the fee will increase in 2020).
What Happens During The Appointment?
The process involves the following:
Establishing the Contract - I share what I understand your needs to be and we confirm or develop the outcome you desire.
Further Inquiry - following your submitted inquiry form, I will ask you any questions that have been triggered by your original responses i.e. I may inquire about medical intervention or a family loss you mentioned, if I think it’s relevant.
Psychoeducation - parents/carers are regularly asking to understand their children’s needs. More often than not, parents/carers are very aware of behaviours but find it a challenge to interpret these into needs i.e. understanding anxiety, controlling behaviours or angry outbursts. I will help you understand what is happening internally for your child and what can facilitate change.
Strategies - when the need is named, we can explore how best to parent with these needs at the forefront. The need is the most important thing for us to identify, as solely focusing on behaviours creates further challenging behaviours and further needs.
Self Awareness - sometimes what I suggest can be feel a real struggle for parents/carers to foresee being able to do. When this happens, we look at why this is, what is contributing to the block and we discuss what’s needed to support you through this.
If you have further questions, please contact me via email or give me a call.
To facilitate this service, I also run a free Facebook group for Parents & Carers and a Newsletter - please join us on either platform.
Book your Therapeutic Parenting Intensive
Once you have submitted your inquiry, I will email you with a link to my online calendar and the short inquiry form (as mentioned above).
