“Kids don’t come with an instruction manual!”

As parents, we’re well aware of the “nature/nurture” debate that refers to the genetic and environmental factors that dictate each person’s intelligence, personality, social skills, and behavioral patterns. When we inevitably encounter problems with our children, the advice that we receive from other parents is that our child is “just like you at his/her age”; “they’re just going through a phase” and “you JUST need to do ‘xyz.’” These statements often only make us feel inadequate as parents, as though we should naturally know how to assist our children at each developmental level — particularly as they grow up in a world that differs greatly from that of our childhood. As parents, it can be a struggle to cope with the pressures of our own lives, in additional to whatever difficulty our children are experiencing at home, school, with friends, or as part of a team or group activity.  

Parent Training is a treatment modality that combines aspects of individual and family therapy with parenting and developmental psychoeducation. This method utilizes behavioral, cognitive behavioral, and family systems techniques. Parent training is a highly individualized approach that targets improving parental effectiveness and takes into account the parents’ own emotional composition, as well as the emotional composition of their family members.

For any parents who need additional support — Dr. Schwartz is here to help.