If you’ve been experiencing any of the challenging behaviours outlined in the introduction and are at your wits end then these sessions may be for you. The aim would be to help you to develop healthier patterns of relating and communicating so you and your child feel more connected. I would help you have a better understanding of your child’s emotional life so that you make deeper emotional connections with each other. This would help your child recover from trauma and hence lesson the behaviours that have been troubling you both. These sessions are informed by the Dyadic Developmental Parenting approach and in these sessions I would:
SUPPORT
you on an emotional level and encourage you to self care so you are better able to care for and support your child or young person.
LISTEN,
empathise with and encourage you so that they you feel more confident about helping your child or young person with their difficulties.
PROVIDE
you with a greater understanding of the psychological impact of trauma, abuse and/or neglect on your child or young person.
EMPOWER
you and build up your confidence so you are able to initiate change where needed.
IMPROVE
relationships and attachments within your family so that it feels stronger and more resilient.
THINK
about your own attachment history to gain a better understanding of how your child may be triggering this history
PREPARE
you, if appropriate, for dyadic sessions with your child.
ENCOURAGE
the use of therapeutic, empathic parenting approaches that are more suited to developmentally traumatised children or young people than traditional approaches and include:
Parent/Carer Mentoring
ACTIVE LISTENING
TIME IN (RATHER THAN TIME OUT)
SPECIAL TIME
Parenting with PACE (PLAYFULNESS, ACCEPTANCE, CURIOSITY, EMPATHY)
ESTABLISHING ROUTINE AND STRUCTURE
KEEPING CALM WHILST BEING ASSERTIVE
REWARDING POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR
ESTABLISHING SAFETY
EMOTIONAL CONNECTION BEFORE CORRECTION
"Every abandonment, every betrayal, every hateful act towards children returns tenfold a few decades later upon the historical stage, while every empathic act that helps a child become what he or she wants to become, every expression of love towards children heals society and moves it in unexpected, wondrous new directions"
Lloyd de Mause