After several inquiries from providers and parents in our community, as well as my own desire to run a therapy group for parents, I am excited to announce that it is happening! Starting this Friday, July 8th at noon, join me and other parents of children under 10 for this virtual group.
You may ask, why am I passionate about this group? First, I absolutely love facilitating groups. Our Pregnancy and Postpartum group is my favorite hour of the week. We have been meeting weekly since 2015 and over the years I have noticed that clients enjoy the community and support given and have a hard time leaving. We joke that sometimes parents stay in this group until they conceive another child. The Parenting with Littles Group will be a place that parents can graduate into when they no longer consider themselves postpartum and have entered into a new phase of parenthood. This will provide a space for you to learn more as your parenting skills grow with your child in a supportive, therapeutic environment.
Second, these last two and half years have been so challenging for everyone, but especially for parents with small children. As a mom of two littles, I wanted to facilitate a group to support parents as we have all faced unique challenges. I hope to create a community where we support each other, process our struggles, and learn together to have a wonderful relationship with our children and support their social-emotional development.
Third, parenting is really hard. Parenting often stirs up our own areas of struggle as we do our best to support our children. Our kiddos are rapidly changing and so are their needs. Work-life balance is such a challenge in America, in particular, with the pressures we are under as parents both societal and self-imposed, we can feel frustrated and insecure. I believe all parents would benefit from a place to process their experiences, brainstorm around solutions to struggles and challenges, have a place to feel connected with other parents, celebrate our good days, and feel less alone on the hard days.
Fourth, group therapy is a modality that offers unique opportunities for growth.
- Hearing different perspectives and experiences from group members
- Having feelings validated by other group members who are also struggling can help you feel less alone
- Learning about other difficulties ahead of time as other topics may be brought up that you are currently not struggling with, but can now feel more prepared to handle
- Being able to laugh and cry with a group can be more powerful as members are simultaneously in the role of giving and receiving support
- Learn more about yourself and your relationships and how to communicate. Group can be a safe practice space for clients to speak up and advocate for their needs.
To learn more about the unique benefits of group therapy see this article https://catalystcenterllc.com/group-support-vs-individual-support-during-pregnancy-and-postpartum/
Here are a few topics that will be addressed in the parenting group:
- Figuring out your parenting philosophy
- Supporting sleep issues
- Understanding behavior and ways to set boundaries
- Building strong attachment through attunement
- Facilitating resiliency by building coping skills
- Creating strong sibling bonds
- Maintaining a strong co-parenting relationship
- Understanding parenting anxiety and stressors
- Anticipating upcoming changes for our children and ways to support them
- Learn about societal and familial impacts on our experiences as parents
While individual therapy can be helpful when struggling with parenting, cost and scheduling can be obstacles. This is why we designed our group to be drop-in and donation based. We want clients to be able to attend regardless of finances or scheduling difficulties. You may attend group when your schedule allows. Regular attendance is most helpful, but the ability to have a place to check in with a therapist, feel supported, and receive guidance when needed is also important. Many of our clients in group may already have an individual therapist but are wanting group support for this transition in their lives. Research indicates that there are benefits of individual and group support. All donations go to the Ardent Grove Foundation, our sister non-profit mental health clinic, which provides high-quality, low-fee therapy services to the community.
Group is held online on Fridays from noon to 1 pm- parents please join us from home, work, or with kiddos nearby.
Please let us know you are coming by calling or sending a text to 720.675.7123 or email the front office at admin@catalystcenterllc.com.
Photo credits:
Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash
Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
