Parenting is definitely rewarding and filled with lots of positives but parenting can also be one of the most difficult and time-consuming things in your life. Besides caring for an infant or child, parents are also the main teachers for their children. Kids learn basic life skills, develop social skills, and appropriate behaviors from their parents or main caregiver. Parents can easily become overwhelmed and need the support of a trained counselor, especially when faced with a difficult situation or a child’s behavioral concerns.

Some typical issues that can arise from parenting include:

  • Divorce and co-parenting, being a single parent
  • Blended families
  • Being a new parent and adjusting to the new demands and lifestyle changes that go along with it
  • Parenting a child with special needs or a behavior problem, learning disability, an addiction problem, or another mental health issue
  • Dealing with a high-maintenance or strong-willed child
  • Parenting style clashes between a couple or with extended family members
  • Balancing life between kids, spouse, and friends
  • Sexual stumbling blocks and intimacy problems
  • Developing healthy communication with children and spouse
  • Having a healthy balance in your life between family, work, and being a couple
  • Raising an adolescent
  • A recent death of a child or loved one in the family
  • Family discord
Outpatient psychotherapy can give you a place to vent and unload your frustrations. It can also help you improve your parenting skills and develop healthier family communication. Being a parent definitely adds strain to most marriages but it doesn’t have to put a wedge between you and your spouse. Therapy can help empower you and give you the courage to handle the ongoing developmental and emotional stages each of your children will experience while helping you make sure there is a healthy balance between being a parent and making sure you are also taking care of yourself and your own needs, too.