Supporting Parents to Parent

Parenting is often spoken about as joyful and fulfilling, yet many parents experience it as exhausting, confusing, and at times overwhelming. If you find yourself doubting your choices, feeling triggered by your child’s behaviour, or worrying that you are not doing “enough,” you are not alone. Many parents who come to therapy do so not because they are failing, but because they care deeply and want things to feel easier and more connected.

Research in developmental psychology consistently highlights the importance of secure attachment. Children thrive when caregivers are emotionally responsive, predictable, and attuned. Secure attachment is associated with better emotional regulation, stronger relationships, and improved mental health across the lifespan. Importantly, this does not require perfect parenting. Studies show that what matters most is being “good enough” and being willing to notice, reflect, and repair when things feel out of sync. In therapy, we explore how everyday interactions can support secure attachment in realistic, achievable ways.

Parental stress plays a significant role in how parenting feels day to day. Ongoing stress activates the nervous system, making it harder to stay calm, patient, and reflective, especially during challenging moments. Research links high parental stress with increased emotional and behavioural difficulties in children. In our sessions, we help parents understand their own stress responses, develop tools to regulate their nervous system, and create more space between feeling overwhelmed and responding to their child.

Neuroscience also helps reframe common parenting struggles. Children’s brains are still developing the ability to manage emotions, impulses, and frustration. Emotional outbursts are not signs of defiance, but signals of an immature nervous system needing support. Many parents feel relief when they understand this. Therapy offers a space to learn how co-regulation works, how to respond with empathy while maintaining boundaries, and how to reduce cycles of conflict and guilt.

For children and young adults, feeling emotionally understood has long-lasting benefits. Research shows that when parents acknowledge emotions rather than dismiss them, young people develop stronger emotional awareness, confidence, and resilience. As children grow, parenting naturally shifts. Sessions can support parents to adapt their approach, maintain connection during transitions, and navigate independence without losing closeness.

In our work with parents, we draw on evidence-based approaches such as emotion focussed therapy and positive parenting, tailored to your family, values, and lived experience. Therapy is not about telling you how to parent “correctly.” It is about helping you understand yourself, your child, and your relationship more clearly.

Therapy can offer understanding, practical support, and a place to think without judgement. You do not have to do this alone, you are not alone, and change does not start with perfection, but with support.