Parenting Therapy
Heal the Childhood Wounds That Interfere With the Parent You Want to Be
You may know exactly how you want to show up with your child, patient, connected, steady, and loving, but still find yourself reacting in ways that surprise you.
"We are only triggered when we see in others what was rejected or not allowed inside ourselves." — Dr. Becky Kennedy
These patterns are often deeper than stress alone. For many parents, unresolved childhood trauma and attachment wounds can interfere with emotion regulation, nervous system safety, and the ability to respond the way you want to in the moment.
Trauma-informed therapy, including EMDR, can help you understand the roots of these reactions with compassion, not shame. It can help you make sense of your triggers, process the experiences that shaped them, and build a more grounded, connected way of parenting.
It is never too late to create healthier patterns as a parent, and EMDR is a great resource in that process of healing and change.
Anger that rises fast
You may notice anger that comes on quickly, or shame that follows right after you react.
Shutting down
Deciding whether to stay committed, adjusting to life with young kids, or becoming empty nesters, big life changes as a couple can be challenging.
Feeling helpless
Difficulty staying calm during whining, crying, or conflict, and feeling helpless when your child is overwhelmed.
The gap you feel
A painful gap between the parent you want to be and the reactions that actually show up in hard moment
How Therapy Can Help
Therapy can help you understand how attachment wounds affect your parenting, recognize triggers before they take over, and improve emotion regulation. It can help you process childhood experiences that still feel activated, reduce shame and self-blame, and respond with more choice, steadiness, and connection.
Healing doesn't mean becoming a perfect parent. It means no longer parenting from survival mode.
Raising a child is one of the most difficult and beautiful experiences in life.
For those of us raised in abusive or dysfunctional families, parenting can be tremendously triggering.
In my own experience, the newborn phase was a nightmare because each cry made me feel inadequate and out of control. Then, the toddler stage made me keenly aware that I still had work to do in my own therapy. What I now know that I didn't early on in motherhood was that much of my own childhood trauma and PTSD from being raised with an angry alcoholic parent was activated any time my child was experiencing overstimulation and overwhelm.
I had to learn how to regulate my own emotions, in order to be able to show up and be present for my child. Resources like EMDR, guided meditation, breathing exercises, prayer, and self-compassion have transformed and continue to be a lifeline for me as I raise my child.
It is no one else's job to take care of you but you.
No Bad Kids, No Bad Days
Being shamed as a child fed anxious thoughts and depression, and there are no bad kids. Each child is trying to make sense of the world, and on any given day may have no idea how to express their thoughts or feelings. Just like the rest of us, when kids are hungry, angry, lonely, tired, bored, or stressed, they don't have the capacity to show up as the best version of themselves, no matter their age. Learning to first care for yourself is the starting point, because no one can pour from an empty cup.
If you're stressed, tired, and triggered by your past as you're parenting, reach out today.
You don't have to find your way through this season on your own.
You Don't Have to
Find Your Way Alone
If you're stressed, tired, or triggered by your past as you're parenting, now is the time to reach out. Co-parenting is hard, even for the strongest couples, and an objective third party can help you and your partner hear each other, so your kids have parents who are aligned and steady.