It is Parent Coaching. Have you heard of anything like it in Canada?
This is an Australian service. It provides psychologist services to people who are involved with community Services or the Children's Court, the equivalent to our Ministry of Children and the accompanying provincial court. Typical clients are parents whose children have been removed from their care. This particular coaching office provides individual counselling to parents who are involved with the child protection services of their region. It is counselling that seeks to help parents create positive changes in their lives so they can continue parenting their children. Further, while the cost is at least $100 per 60 min. session, these can be covered by the Medicare program as part of the Mental Health Care Plan, when there has been a referral to Parent Coaching by a medical doctor. Medicare covers these costs.
What do you think about this? You have picked up that in order to engage in these services, a parent must divulge to a personal physician a convincing case of mental or emotional incapacity, must accept that this will be part of the medical record, must concede significant need for change, must want to develop parenting and coping skills.
Among the benefits that proponents of Parent Coaching espouse, is the provision to such parents of the ability to deal with feelings of stress, depression and anxiety; to focus on what's important – namely, the children; to understand the child protection and court systems and how to work with them; to learn what mistakes other parents make when working with child protection workers; to develop skills to better work with one's caseworker to achieve goals; to learn new parenting skills to better manage children's behaviour.
There is even a Parent-coaching Institute offering a one-year, graduate-level, distance-learning Parent Coach Certification training program in collaboration with Seattle Pacific University's Department of Education.
1. Terry Carson works out of Toronto with her The Parenting Coach.
She can be reached at terrytheparentingcoach@theparentingcoach.ca
2. Parent Coaching is also offered by Linda Aber out of her Tactics Resource Services in Montreal
3. Proactive Parent Coaching comes from Nova Scotia offered by Greg Bland as a means to assist parents in capturing the heart of their children. Reach him at greg@proactiveparenting.ca4. Dulcie Gretton, is a certified Parent Coach with a website called Renewed Parent. Her services are $100 per session and she recommends 8-12 sessions but there is no location information. A phone number is on the website.
5. Christine Kutzner Counselling offers family and parent-coaching in Vancouver
You can reach her at... Email: Christine@ckcounsellingservices.com
Phone: 604-339-5774
Office: #210-1940 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver
