Oakland Psychotherapy & Online Counseling

Therapy for parents

Better Parenting Using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy | Adjusting to your new life as a parent | Mom Guilt | Burnout

How therapy can help balance your life as a parent

You want to spend as much time as you can with your child.  But you know you also need to take care of yourself.  And it’s possible you have a partner, or other children, who also want your attention.  Throw a career on top of that and, it can be too much to handle!

Get help sorting priorities and setting boundaries in your new life as a parent through counseling.

If you find yourself constantly feeling guilty and stretched too thin, it may be time to seek therapy to find your equilibrium.

Discover more helpful ways to deal with the stress of taking care of your child while not losing yourself.

To be a good parent you need to be grounded yourself.  Sacrifice is necessary at times however many parents find themselves so exhausted and burned out because they’ve prioritized everyone else’s needs but their own.

Psychotherapy provides a safe space for rejuvenation.

You are a multi-faceted human.  You have your own interests.  You value your career.  You want to be there for your partner.  You miss your friends and your freedom.  And you are more than just a parent.

Find yourself again through therapy.

Supportive psychotherapy for new parents

Counseling for “I will never be good enough”

There are billions of videos. Countless articles.  Endless websites.  Millions of books.  Thousands of posts.  All containing different, and often conflicting, advice for how to be a better parent. 

Every parent has a different experience.

Comparing ourselves to other parents is impossible not to do.  Sometimes it can be helpful if we can grow and learn from it.

But most of the time, comparisons create unrealistic expectations for ourselves.

And this can lead to depression and burnout if left untreated. I will teach you how to accept what is out of your control as a parent, while energizing your power towards things you CAN do.

Therapy can help you be the best parent you can be.  Taking care of yourself is crucial.

Get supportive counseling with Chloe Demisch, LCSW today so you can let go of perfection and move towards freedom. 

Dealing with the constant transitions of parenting

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy teaches us how to build flexibility and resilience through each stage of our child’s development.  This way we can adapt more readily to each inevitable change.

Becoming more adaptable makes us stronger parents.

We know that nothing ever stays the same when it comes to kids and babies.  As soon as we settle into one routine, something else happens to mix it all up again.  If we fight these changes, it only makes them more difficult.

As a parent we are constantly in stages of transition. There’s always something new or different to work through. Learn how to do it better with counseling.

Get support with Chloe Demisch, LCSW on how to deal with things that are outside of your control as a parent.

As our children grow, the difficulties we face with them keep changing.  One minute you think you’ve got it all figured out and then BOOM! something else changes.  This kind of rollercoaster can make us feel emotionally drained and incompetent.

Build emotional flexibility using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy with Chloe Demisch, LCSW so you are ready for the nonstop ups and downs that come with being a parent.

Code-switching & role adjustments

Another area that has likely changed for you post-pandemic is needing to be able to rapidly switch between the different roles you have in life.

One moment you are dealing with a tantrum, the next you’re running a remote board meeting.

You just got off the phone with your boss and then your partner comes into the dining room.  Finishing up a day full of Zoom calls bleeds right into making dinner.

Wearing many hats throughout the day, in different locations, with different people, is a skill we start to learn as a new parent.

It can make us reflect on our identities and personalities and sometimes may make us feel confused or like something is missing.

Code-switching is when we change our tone, appearance, language, or activities based on our audience.

And it can be exhausting.

It’s tough because we wish we could be everything for everyone all at once.

But we know this is impossible.

Constantly code-switching is exhausting and can make us lose focus and doubt ourselves.

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy helps solidify our values and what’s most important to us.  It reminds us of who we truly are and strengthens our identities so we don’t get lost even when life is in chaos.  Chloe Demisch, LCSW will teach you skills to gain resiliency, security, and confidence in whatever role you find yourself in.  Strengthening your ability to be flexible and mindful will help you when code-switching is required.

Therapy can make sense of the new roles you take on as a parent. 

Perhaps you became a full-time caregiver.  Got a promotion. Or chose to take on childcare with the kids at home.  Or graduated from high school or college into a world that was shut-down. Moving in with parents or a partner during the pandemic made sense at the time, but maybe it doesn’t now and you’re struggling to know what to do next.

Get the support you need as you integrate into life with a new child.  Regain your sense of self.  Find direction and clarity.  Build your new chapter in therapy today!

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