Parenthood is a very enriching yet challenging time. When a child experiences significant emotional or behavioural issues, parents or carers can feel helpless, guilty, stuck and unable to move things forward.

 

Parent work or work with carers aims to help the parents/carers to reflect on their experience of parenthood, as well as to think about the feelings  that may be underlying their child’s behaviour. Usually, alongside their child’s psychotherapy, the parents and carers are offered their own sessions, where they have the opportunity to meet with a separate psychotherapist. At other times, some sessions with the parents / carers can be recommended as the main intervention, without the child being in therapy.

 

In parent work, parents and carers can feel supported and can gain insight into their child’s developmental needs, emotions and difficulties, helping them find more helpful and adaptive ways of responding to their child’s communications. This may include helping parents and carers to reflect upon the link between their own emotional state and life experiences and their child/ children’s emotions, behaviours and developmental needs.