Counseling for Parenting Young Children
The transition to parenthood may be smooth, or it may be challenging. But one thing is certain – it is a huge rite of passage.
If you have a newborn, you may be feeling sleep-deprived, vulnerable, emotional, or overwhelmed. There can be a very steep learning curve with your first child, and lots of conflicting advice and information out there to digest. How do you find your way through these early times in a way that feels right for you?
You may have a young child who felt easy until 3 or 6 or 9 months of age, when everything shifted. As children reach new milestones, our relationship as parents with them will also change. It may be that as your child reaches new milestones, you are having mixed feelings, instead of pure excitement. Sometimes our own early life experiences, memories, and wounds can surface unexpectedly.
Are there behaviors your young child is displaying that are upsetting to you, or that you seem to unable to navigate well? Would you like to feel more ease at these times?
Counseling for parenting young children can help.
If you have a partner, how has your relationship been? Are you feeling like it’s hard to connect, or hard to find energy for your partner? Are the waters a little choppier to navigate than they were when it was just the two of you?
Perhaps you are transitioning from one child to two children. Do you have concerns about the behaviors your first child is displaying, or worry about your first child’s feelings? Are you grieving the loss of that special relationship with your first child? Are you feeling overwhelmed with a lack of time to spend with each child, or with your partner, or just by yourself so that you can recharge? Or is your experience with your second child proving to be more challenging than that with your first child? Counseling for parenting young children is a positive place to begin making changes.
Sometimes, the perspectives of friends and extended family can be helpful. Other times, you may find that they offer advice that just doesn’t work for you. It can be easy to feel unsupported or even judged by others when we are feeling vulnerable around something that is so important to us, like parenting. Sometimes, it can be helpful to have an outside perspective on what is happening. In these cases, counseling for parenting young children may be beneficial for your family.
I can help to support you in this huge life transition by focusing on your strengths as a family, and providing you with both empathy and useable tools for those pieces that feel challenging.
Don’t wait to seek support for your family.
Contact me today to schedule a free phone consultation.
My experience with Stephanie dictated and structured what health and well-being came to look like in my life. She is a master clinician. I came to her with more PTSD-type issues than I was even aware of. The somatic work, coupled with building trust, provided immense healing and restructuring for me. I'm eternally grateful.Former Client
Stephanie has done her own ‘inner work’, as a person, a therapist, and a mother, to be able to offer solid skills of deep psychotherapy to her clients. Her own children display healthy, secure attachments, exuding the safety they feel inside, and expressing empathy palpably in the world. Stephanie is well qualified to help people of all ages to thrive, bond, and care for themselves, their families, and others.Annie Brook, Ph.D., founder, The Brook Institute Somatic Attachment Trainings for Therapists Author of Birth's Hidden Legacy, and The Developing Infant
Stephanie is an esteemed colleague whom I consult when I need insight into a challenging case. I count on her knowledge and experience – particularly with pre- and perinatal psychology – and I trust her balanced and compassionate view of human relationships. I have worked alongside Stephanie for more than 15 years, and know first-hand that she is a warm, present, and gifted therapist and facilitator.Suzanne Forrester, MA, LPC
Stephanie is a warm, kind, brilliant and compassionate therapist, who has devoted her life to creating healthy relationships and healthy attachments between humans. Stephanie has more hours of study, research and practice in this area than most clinicians I know. While extremely talented and competent, Stephanie is equally humble and approachable. One cannot help but to feel her care and understanding. If you are ready to take the next steps toward healing from trauma or attachment challenges, I highly recommend Stephanie Dueger to be your guide.
Katie Asmus MA, LPC, BMP Psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, professor and EMDR trainer