Parent Coaching
Parenting is one of the most demanding roles a person can hold. The pressure to get it right is real, the stakes feel high and when things get hard, it's easy to feel like you're navigating it alone.
Parent coaching offers a dedicated virtual space to slow down, reflect and get practical. Whether you're navigating conflict with your child or teen, struggling to stay connected, working through big transitions, or simply wanting to show up more intentionally in the role, this is a space to feel heard and work toward real change.
I'll work with you to explore communication, boundaries and connection, drawing on what's actually happening in your home and building strategies that fit your family, your values and your life. My work in this area is largely guided by Non-Violent Resistance principles and attachment theory, offering an approach that is relational, grounded and focused on rebuilding connection rather than managing behaviour.
While I work with parents of children of all ages, I have a particular focus on families navigating the teenage years and the unique challenges that come with them.
Who is parent coaching for?
Parent coaching is for any parent who feels like they could use extra support. You might be:
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Feeling like you're constantly in conflict with your child or teen
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Sensing distance or disconnection and not knowing how to bridge it
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Navigating a big transition like divorce, a new school or a recent diagnosis
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Feeling reactive and wanting to respond differently
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Parenting a child with big emotions, anxiety or oppositional behaviour
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Wanting to strengthen your relationship before things get harder
You don't need to be in crisis to benefit from coaching. Wanting to show up better is reason enough.
How is it different from counselling?
Parent coaching and counselling are related but distinct. Counselling is a regulated clinical service appropriate when mental health concerns are present - such as anxiety, depression or trauma.
Parent coaching is not clinical treatment. It's structured, goal-oriented support focused specifically on the parenting role: how you communicate, how you connect and how you navigate the challenges that come up in your family.
What will a session look like?
Every family is different, so sessions are shaped around your needs. We start by getting to know your family - what's going well, what's feeling hard and what you most want to work on. From there we develop a coaching plan together that fits your life and your goals.
Sessions might include exploring the dynamics between you and your child, reviewing what came up between appointments and adjusting the approach as you go, identifying practical strategies to try at home, and processing your own experience as a parent - not just the behaviour you're responding to. I follow your lead.
Some parents want resources and tools to work with between sessions. Others want space to think out loud and feel less alone in the role. Both are valid and we'll find what works for you.
A Note from Mary
Parenting has come up throughout my entire career. As a teacher for seven years, so much of my work was parent-facing - having honest conversations about what was happening at home and at school, supporting families through difficult seasons and thinking alongside parents about how to best show up for their kids.
That thread has continued into my clinical work and honestly, into my personal life too. I'm often the person friends and family turn to when they're navigating something hard with their kids. Not because I have all the answers, but because I've spent a long time thinking about children, families and what connection actually looks like in practice.
Parent coaching feels like a natural extension of all of that. I'm genuinely passionate about this work and I'm glad to now be offering it formally.