Parent Coaching
Parenting can be incredibly rewarding, but it also comes with unique challenges. Parent coaching sessions are designed to support you in navigating those challenges with confidence and compassion. These sessions provide a collaborative space where you can gain practical tools, strategies, and insights tailored to your family's needs.
Whether you are seeking guidance for managing difficult behaviors, fostering stronger connections, or supporting your child's unique developmental journey, parent coaching offers personalized solutions grounded in evidence-based practices. Sessions also focus on enhancing communication, creating effective routines, and building skills to address specific needs tailored to your child and family.
Parent coaching includes evidence-based approaches, such as:
RUBI (Research Units in Behavioral Intervention): RUBI is a structured parent training program specifically designed for parents of autistic children. It provides step-by-step strategies to address behavioral challenges, improve social skills, and increase engagement with following daily routines. RUBI focuses on empowering you with practical techniques you can apply at home to create positive changes.
SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions): SPACE is a parent-based treatment program designed to help children and adolescents with anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Rather than working directly with your child, SPACE focuses on teaching parents how to reduce accommodations (changes parents make for their child) that may inadvertently reinforce anxiety while increasing your ability to support your child's independence and emotional resilience. SPACE was started at the Yale Child Study Center where I received training on this approach.
Parent Management Training (PMT) – The Kazdin Method®: The Kazdin Method® is a highly effective approach within Parent Management Training (PMT) for addressing challenging behaviors in children and adolescents. Developed by Dr. Alan Kazdin, this method emphasizes positive reinforcement, effective praise, and skill-building techniques to promote lasting behavioral changes. You are guided on how to encourage positive behaviors and set clear expectations while fostering a strong parent-child bond. The Kazdin Method® equips you with practical tools to manage difficult situations with clarity and confidence.
PEERS® for Preschoolers (and Kindergarteners) Parent Groups: As a certified provider of the PEERS® for Preschoolers Parent Groups, I teach parents evidence-based social skills to support their 4-6 year old children with autism, ADHD, and other social challenges. This program focuses on equipping parents with strategies to help their children develop and maintain meaningful friendships, improve social communication, and navigate social settings with confidence.
Parent Strategies for Supporting Skill Development for Young Autistic Children: Drawing from my training and experience delivering the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, I provide parents with strategies to support skill development in young autistic children. ESDM is a play-based, relationship-focused intervention that integrates behavioral techniques to promote language, social engagement, and cognitive skills in a naturalistic setting.
Attachment-Based Strategies Related to Adoption: For families formed through adoption, I offer attachment-based strategies to foster secure parent-child relationships. These approaches focus on building trust, enhancing emotional connection, and addressing any attachment disruptions that may arise, supporting both you and your child in navigating the unique dynamics of adoptive family life.
Trauma-Informed Strategies for Supporting Children: I provide trauma-informed parenting strategies that prioritize safety, emotional regulation, and resilience. These approaches help you understand and respond to your child's trauma-related behaviors, creating a supportive environment that fosters healing and growth.
Family Acceptance Project® Family Support Model: I work with families using the Family Acceptance Project® Family Support Model, which focuses on promoting acceptance and support for LGBTQ+ children and adolescents. This model helps families understand the impact of acceptance and rejection on your child's mental health and well-being, guiding you toward behaviors that foster a healthy, affirming family environment.
Strategies for Supporting Children with Selective Mutism: I provide support for parents of children with selective mutism, incorporating skills from the Social Communication Anxiety Treatment® (S-CAT®) Model. This approach addresses the underlying anxiety contributing to selective mutism and provides you with practical tools to encourage communication in a gradual, supportive manner.
Strategies for Parents of Children with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance or Persistent Drive for Autonomy) Profile of Autism: I offer specialized strategies for parents of children with a PDA profile of autism. These approaches focus on reducing anxiety-driven demand avoidance through collaborative problem-solving, flexibility, and fostering a sense of autonomy in a supportive environment. Parents learn how to adapt communication, provide choices, and create low-demand situations that help their children feel more in control and less overwhelmed.
Nonviolent Resistance (NVR) Parenting Program: The Nonviolent Resistance (NVR) Parenting Program offers strategies to help parents manage high-conflict behaviors in children and adolescents. NVR focuses on de-escalation techniques, fostering parental presence, and creating a supportive network to reduce challenging behaviors without the use of punitive measures. This approach empowers parents to remain calm, assertive, and connected to their children while promoting respectful family dynamics.
Support Around Developmental Milestones and Toddler Skills: I offer guidance to parents navigating developmental milestones and common toddler challenges, including sleep routines, toilet training, and early social-emotional skills. These strategies are tailored to meet each child's unique pace of development, helping parents foster independence while addressing any concerns with practical, evidence-based approaches.
Collaborative Work with Parents and Caregivers: In addition to parent coaching, during child therapy, I also collaborate closely with parents and caregivers throughout your child's treatment, including in evidence-based therapies such as Coping Cat (for anxiety), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Regulation Focused Psychotherapy for Children (RFP-C), Supporting Teens' Autonomy Daily (STAND), and other therapeutic approaches. This collaboration ensures that parents are equipped to reinforce therapeutic gains at home, creating a consistent and supportive environment for their child's growth.
My goal is to empower you as a parent by providing actionable steps and ongoing support, helping you create a positive, nurturing environment where your child can thrive.