Parent Support and Psychoeducation

Unlocking Extraordinary in Every Child

A space to understand your child - and to feel steadier as a parent

Many parents come to this work feeling confused, worried, or quietly overwhelmed.

You may be trying to understand your child’s behaviour while also carrying questions like:

  • Am I doing this wrong?

  • Why does nothing seem to help for long?

  • Why do I feel so reactive, exhausted, or unsure of myself?

Often, beneath these questions sits a deeper concern — a fear of being a “bad parent”, or of missing something important about your child.

Parent Support and Psychoeducation offers a space where we slow things down enough to make sense of what is happening, without judgment or blame.

Understanding before change

This work begins with understanding.

Together, we explore:

  • what your child’s behaviour may be communicating

  • how their nervous system responds to stress, demand, or change

  • what might be developmentally appropriate (and what might not be)

  • how your own reactions, history, and exhaustion may be shaping everyday moments

 

Many parents arrive having received plenty of suggestions, but very little help in understanding why things unfold as they do. When understanding deepens, responses tend to follow more naturally — without constant effort or self-doubt.

Neurodivergence or heightened sensitivity can shape how a child experiences the world. When a child’s nervous system processes the world differently, behaviour is often misunderstood or oversimplified.
A developmental and nervous-system-informed lens can bring relief — helping families move from confusion or self-blame toward understanding what a child actually needs.

Practical strategies that make understanding usable

Alongside psychoeducation, this work includes practical, step-by-step strategies.

I Love my family

These are developed thoughtfully, with close attention to:

    • your child’s individual sensitivities and needs

    • your family’s real-life circumstances
    • what feels manageable rather than ideal.

 

Strategies are introduced with explanation and reflection, so they make sense rather than feeling imposed. They are adjusted as we go, allowing you to find approaches that feel both realistic and respectful of your child — and of you.

Supporting the parent as well as the child

Parenting often carries a heavy emotional load.

Many parents are holding:

  • guilt or self-blame

  • fear of getting things wrong

  • pressure to cope better

  • a sense of being constantly on edge

 

This work recognises that how a parent feels matters. Feeling steadier, more confident, and less alone often creates the conditions in which children can settle more easily too.

How this work is held

Parent Support and Psychoeducation is offered through:

  • individual sessions with the parent

  • short, contained blocks of work with space to review

  • a balance of understanding, emotional support, and practical application

 

The parent is the client.

The child is held thoughtfully in mind.

This work can be particularly helpful when:

  • behaviour feels intense or confusing

  • a child is highly sensitive or neurodivergent

  • previous approaches haven’t quite fitted

  • parents feel worn down or unsure of themselves

 

Further details about session structure, booking, and fees can be found on the Session Structure, Booking and Fees page.

Why This Approach Helps

You do not need to be a perfect parent to support your child well.

Often, what helps most is being able to understand what is happening, and to feel steadier while responding to it. Parent Support and Psychoeducation offers a calm, thoughtful space to build that understanding and to find ways forward that feel humane, realistic, and sustainable.

Begin With a Free Initial Conversation

If you’re unsure whether parent support and mentoring feels right for you, we can begin with a free initial conversation — a gentle, informal meeting to clarify what you’re seeking and whether this way of working feels supportive.

You don’t have to have all the answers. You just need to bring your curiosity and your willingness to think with care.

Testimonials

Katie J
Katie J
Amazing work (Google review)
I have been a client of Ruta’s for over two years now. She has helped me in more ways I thought would even be possible! She really is amazing at what she does. Having a child when you’re not feeling your best can be really hard. Ruta has helped me navigate being a parent in a variety of ways. Examples include offering advice on how to communicate in the best way with your child, particularly if there are challenging moments. She has opened my mind into understanding children’s emotions and child development. We’ve also focused a lot on aspects such as fostering a healthy parent - child relationship through techniques like positive reinforcement and activities that can be enjoyed by both parent and child yet also implementing healthy and stable boundaries. Great co-parent techniques, structure and discipline have also been an area we’ve touched. I would highly recommend Ruta and her amazing work x
Dave
Dave
Very helpful (Google review)
I have had the pleasure of working with Ruta for over three years. Ruta’s counselling and life coaching has been very helpful taking me from being disconnected with my children to finding a secure and happy connection with them. Ruta’s understanding and explanation of how successful parenting can be achieved has been very helpful. We all try to do our best for our children and with Ruta’s counselling I feel like I have become a better parent. This in itself helps me to feel more secure and calm in myself which I’m sure is transmitted to my children improving our relationship and connection. It has taken time for me to get to this place but as the old cliche states “ nothing worth doing is easy” I would like to thank her for all her work and the patience she has shown to take me and my family to the place we are now in. Thanks. Dave.
Gemma
Gemma
Exceptional guidance
Ruta has been exceptional when it has come to giving guidance on how to build a stronger bond with my children. She doesn’t tell you all the answers because she knows they are within you already - Deep down, who really knows your own child better than you! She helps unlock that door, that for many difference reasons you may be struggling to open. She provides you tools to do as a family that are fun but effective and I have seen and felt such a huge shift in my relationship with my children.

© Ruta Gabalis Integrative Psychology & Therapy

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