Therapy for Parents - what is it really?

Parenting is one of the most demanding, identity-shifting, emotionally-loaded experiences a human can have. This can feel even more overwhelming when we are parenting kids with added needs (neurodivergence, trauma, adoption, foster care, divorce… you name it). .

We know the cultural narrative: parenting is supposed to be joyful, fulfilling, and instinctual. But what happens when it's also lonely, confusing, and filled with moments where you don't recognize yourself?

That’s where therapy for parents comes in.

Not Just About Your Kids

When parents come to therapy, the first thing they often say is something like, “I don’t know if I need this — my kid is the one struggling.”

We get it. Most of us were raised in systems that taught us to put ourselves last. But the truth is: you matter. Not just as a caregiver, but as a person. Your emotional world, your past experiences, your relationships — they all show up in parenting, whether you realize it or not.

Therapy for parents isn’t about learning how to “fix” your child or become a “perfect” parent. It’s about getting curious — about your triggers, your values, your hopes, and the parts of you that show up under stress.

It’s a Space for You

Therapy gives you space to unpack the invisible labor, the emotional weight, the identity shifts that come with parenting. Maybe you’re navigating:

  • The grief of having a different parenting journey than your friends

  • The loss of who you were before kids

  • Guilt or shame when you don’t respond the way you want to

  • The pressure to do everything “right”

  • Generational patterns you're trying to break

  • Co-parenting tension or disconnection

  • The deep grief of watching your child struggle

Whatever it is, we believe you deserve support — not because you’re doing anything wrong, but because you’re doing something incredibly hard.

Parenting Through an Attachment Lens

At With Connection, we work from the belief that relationships heal. That includes your relationship with your child — but also with yourself.

We use attachment-based, somatic, and emotionally-focused approaches to help you:

  • Understand your own emotional responses

  • Make sense of how your past may be showing up in the present

  • Build more connection and repair with your children

  • Reclaim your own sense of self in the process

We’re not here to hand out one-size-fits all parenting advice or judgment. We’re here to sit with the complexity of your experience, and walk with you as you create more spaciousness, intention, and compassion in your parenting journey.

You’re Allowed to Take Up Space

Parenting doesn’t come with a pause button. But therapy can be a place to exhale — to say the things you can’t say out loud, to cry without having to hold it together, to be seen not just as a parent, but as a person who’s doing their best.

If you’re curious about what therapy for parents could look like for you, we’re here. With gentleness, with curiosity, and with connection.