In parent coaching sessions, Matt helps families address a variety of topics depending on their interests and needs. Examples of these include:
Transitioning From Wilderness
For families transitioning from a wilderness program to our long term residential program, parent coaching helps support families as they navigate the changes that take place between two different treatment programs and processes. Parent coaching sessions help families embrace the work they did in wilderness therapy while shifting into a long term treatment setting.
Coaching Parents Through Uncertainty
The treatment process may feel like a roller coaster at times. Initially many families head into treatment hoping for a smooth predictable process, but an effective program pushes for self-reflection and growth. This is uncomfortable at times for the young adult child as well as their family. Parents may feel pushback from their child and the genuine feeling to “rescue” them. Parents are coached on how to navigate the challenges, their ups and downs, and even some unexpected turns that present themselves during treatment and how to support their child through this journey.
Addressing Shame and Guilt
For some families, there is a lot of shame and guilt around the self-judgment that their young adult child is experiencing. In the past, the language that they used to communicate with their child was intended to provide support, but their child may not have received it that way. In parent coaching, we help focus on moving away from those feelings. We also talk with families about how to communicate with their young adult child so they minimize inadvertently reading anything into what parents are saying.
Navigating Communication With Your Young Adult Child
When some young adults are going through the treatment process, they may want to distance themselves from their parents and stop communicating with them altogether. In parent coaching, we help parents embrace that their child is trying to discover who they are. This may mean giving their child the space they need to experience growth while encouraging appropriate communication. When their child is ready to open up communication, we can help support that process so that it can grow and deepen.
Failure vs. Learning Mindset
When young people think of themselves as failures, it pushes them down and makes them feel like they can never break out of old patterns. In parent coaching, we focus on reexamining a child’s past behaviors and reframing the conversation towards learning from past mistakes while moving forward.
Control
Underlining much of a student’s work is helping them find a healthy sense of control over their lives. Matt works with parents on how to support their child to develop a sense of control that is healthy and not self destructive. Helping parents take a step back to help put their child in the driver’s seat. This may include support in language to help redirect their child when they ask or demand for their parents to “fix things”or “rescue” them, essentially relinquishing control rather than reflecting and developing appropriate self-advocacy skills.
If you’re interested in learning more about parent coaching, please reach out to our admissions team at 1-877-302-5022 or you may book a session with Matt using the link below: