Counselling - Parents
(0ish to12ish years old)
Dr Matt O'Connor
Clinical Psychologist
Debbie Green
Psychologist
Michelle Pullen
Educational and Developmental Psychologist
Emily Coote
Educational and Developmental Psychologist
Angela Bromfield
Educational and Developmental Psychologist
Tracey Beck Gude
Psychologist
Dobby
Therapy Dog (and Good Girl)
Lauren Keating
Psychologist & Educational and Developmental Psychologist Registrar
Our philosophy
Being a parent is one of the singularly most mentally, physically, emotionally and socially rich activities we will ever do – rich in great ways and not-so-great ways! The juggle is real, whether that is balancing work and home, meeting your child’s needs and your own, having multiple children, being a single or separated parent.
At ConnectEd, we want to provide support to you that recognises your expertise in your children and combine that with our knowledge, to create a partnership that empowers you to be a parent you are proud of (bonus tip – that does NOT mean being a perfect parent! An imperfect parent who is trying to do better is a much more human reality). We believe that all parents benefit from some extra support on their parenting journey – to learn, un-learn or re-learn about themselves, as an individual, and as a parent.
What approaches do we use?
For some parents, the work will focus on helping grow your parenting knowledge and skills to better align with your young person. For others, it will mean working with you on some of your personal challenges that might be impacting on you being the parent you would like to be.
We use a range of approaches depending on your concern and preferences. These include thinking- and behaviour-based strategies (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – CBT), strengthening your relationship with your child and others (attachment-based, Interpersonal Therapy -IPT) and exploring your identity and values (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy – ACT). The most important strategy we will use though is that we will do this work as a team. How you connect with your counsellor is really important to supporting you, and we will put a lot of steps in place to make sure we make a great team!
We provide a range of services to offer the most useful point-in-time care to you and your family. This includes:
Brief parent consultations (1-2 appointments to discuss an issue of concern and to access some initial advice)
1-on-1 support for ongoing concerns (this can also include with a partner/co-parent)
Parenting webinars (we promote these on our Facebook page – as well as write a lot of posts about parenting)
Parent presentations in educational settings (e.g. childcare, preschool, primary and high school)
Concerns we can support you with
Parenting practices (e.g. strategies for promoting positive behaviour and responding to unhelpful behaviour)
Attachment and relationships (e.g. support to improve connection and quality of relationships)
Personal concerns impacting your parenting (e.g. mental ill-health, post-partum depression/anxiety)
Role transitions as a parent and adjusting to change (e.g. an expecting/new parent, parenting a child vs teenager)
Balancing self-identity and care with family demands
Parent separation and conflict