Parent Counselling & Consultation
I offer parent counselling and consultation in Wheelers Hill, Melbourne, and online across Australia. I work with parents who are navigating their child's anxiety, big emotions, challenging behaviour, school difficulties or struggles within family relationships. I help parents to understand their child more deeply - and to feel more confident in how they respond.
You know your child better than anyone. And yet there can be moments - or whole seasons - where nothing you try seems to help.
The behaviour keeps happening. Big emotions take over. You find yourselves caught in the same patterns, the connection feels strained, and you're no longer sure what your child needs from you - or what to do differently.
Parent consultation and counselling offers a space to step back, make sense of what may be happening for your child, and work out how you can support them in practical ways that fit your child and your family.
We can look at strategies for the things you're dealing with right now, while also building a deeper understanding of your child, their development and emotional needs, and what's happening in the relationship between you.
The aim is not simply to stop a behaviour, but to understand what's driving it and find ways of responding that are practical, connected and workable for your family.
Understanding your child
There's no shortage of parenting advice, strategies and information. What's much harder is working out what applies to your particular child.
Every child brings their own temperament, development, experiences, relationships, strengths and vulnerabilities.
Anxiety, neurodivergence, sensory needs, trauma, family experiences and the environment around them can all shape how they respond.
In parent consultation, we might talk about practical ways to manage a difficult situation, while also becoming curious about what might be sitting underneath it.
What is your child communicating?
What feels difficult for them?
What do they need from the adults around them?
Parent consultation can include practical strategies, psychoeducation about child development and emotional regulation, and support with boundaries, connection and difficult moments at home. More than just a set of strategies, it's about understanding your child's story and experience, and considering what might be most helpful and why.
This kind of work is sometimes described as parent coaching. My approach is grounded in child and family mental health, attachment, trauma and child development. We think together about what makes sense for your individual child, your relationship and your family.
This doesn't mean doing away with limits or expectations. It's about finding ways to hold them with warmth and connection, while taking into account what your particular child is able to manage.
Sometimes the work starts with the parent
Children develop within relationships, which means supporting the adults around a child can be a powerful way of supporting the child too.
Parenting can also bring up parts of our own story that we weren't expecting. The way we were parented, how our emotions were responded to, and the ways we've learned to manage stress can all influence how we respond to our own children.
Sometimes a child's behaviour touches something in us quickly - frustration, anxiety, helplessness or rejection - and we find ourselves responding in ways we hadn't intended.
Parent counselling gives us space to become curious about these moments without judgement: what's happening for your child, what's happening for you, and what happens between you when things become difficult.
Your child doesn't need to attend therapy for this work to be valuable. For some families, working with parents is the most appropriate place to begin. We may also identify changes at home, at school or within your child's wider support system that could better support their needs and developmental stage.
The aim isn't to become a perfect parent. It's to have more understanding and more choice in how you respond, with greater opportunity for connection and repair.
What Parent Counselling & Consultation can help with
Parents come to consultation for many different reasons.
You might be looking for support with:
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Behaviour, anxiety, big emotions or emotional regulation
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ADHD, autism, giftedness or sensory needs
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School difficulties, avoidance or friendships
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Boundaries, routines and age-appropriate expectations
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Conflict or disconnection with your child
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Grief, trauma, family change or changes in your child
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Understanding how to respond and whether further support might be helpful
Or you might simply feel that something isn't working and want help making sense of what's happening.
What to expect
Parent Counselling & Consultation sessions are $240.
50 minute sessions, either in person in Wheelers Hill or via telehealth. Medicare rebates may be available for eligible clients with an appropriate referral.
Parent consultation can be a one-off consultation or ongoing. Your child does not need to be seeing me for you to access support.
If your child is already seeing me for play therapy or child counselling, parent consultations can also form part of their therapeutic work, giving us space to share observations and think together about how best to support them in everyday life.
Not sure where to start?
You don't need to know exactly what kind of support your child or family needs. We can talk through what's happening and think together about what might be most helpful.
Parent consultations are available in person in Wheelers Hill, Melbourne, or online via Telehealth across Australia.