Parent Counselling in Parry Sound, Huntsville and Across Ontario

Support for you, whether we see your child or teen, or not.

You love your kid, and lately it feels like nothing you try is landing. Our counselling for parents gives you a place to get new ideas, understand what’s going on underneath, and find your footing again. You can come in person in Parry Sound or Huntsville, or meet with us online from anywhere in Ontario.

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For answers to our most frequently asked questions (like age ranges, billing, and missed appointments): FAQS

When you’ve tried everything and still feel stuck

Parents usually find us after a long stretch of trying. You’ve had the same argument more times than you can count. Routines that used to work have stopped working. Your child or teen is struggling with big emotions, or pulling away, and you’re not sure how to reach them.

Many parents also carry a quiet worry underneath all of it: Have I missed something? Am I doing too much, or not enough?

We are all capable of change, and choosing to ask for support is a great first step. Patterns can shift, and relationships can be repaired more often than people expect.

What is parent counselling?

Parent counselling (sometimes called parent therapy) is time set aside for you, with a counsellor who works with children and teens every day. You bring up what's happening at home and we work through it together: what’s going on for your child, what’s going on for you, and what you’d like to be different.

It’s open to any parent who wants to understand their child better. There are a few ways it can work:

  • Your child is seeing us. You get your own ideas and strategies alongside their counselling.

  • Your child isn’t seeing us. Maybe they aren’t ready, or they don’t want to go. You can still come on your own, and often that’s where change starts.

  • Co-parenting counselling. You and your co-parent come together to get on the same page about how you support your child.

  • Joining a session. If your child or teen would like you there, we will invite you in.

How we work with parents

Every SYC counsellor sees a child as part of a larger system: family, school, friends, community. That’s why support at home often matters so much, and why we offer it directly.

Colleen McLean (MSW RSW), our Clinical Director, has spent more than 25-years working with young people, and offers parent counselling and parent coaching for those looking for practical strategies for supporting their child or teen. Colleen works from a Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy perspective, which looks at the trust within relationships of family members, and how that influences the perceptions and patterns of behaviour.

Anne Tong (MSW RSW) and Sarah Peacock (MSW RSW) offer parent counselling online from outside our community. Anne and Sarah work from a Satir family therapy perspective. Satir work looks at who you are as a parent, and how all of us affect each other in a family. Sometimes our own habits and reactions, without us meaning to, keep a hard pattern going. When we understand that, we can change our part in it.

Because Anne and Sarah work outside the local area, some parents appreciate the added autonomy, particularly if they’re well known in our home communities and would prefer not to run into their counsellor around town. Having a separate counsellor also allows parents to receive support independently of their child’s counselling, while helping our child and youth counsellors maintain clear professional boundaries.

For parents of teens: DBT-A

We also offer Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A), a structured program that helps teens build skills for managing emotions, handling conflict and strengthening relationships. It is often used for young people dealing with:

  • Borderline personality traits or disorder

  • Suicidal thoughts or attempts

  • Self-harming behaviours

  • Difficulty with emotional regulation and impulsivity

Parents and teens take part in this program together, to increase shared language and skills to support each other at home.  

What to expect from parent counselling

A first conversation. We ask what’s been happening, what you’ve already tried, and what you’d like to change. If your child is also a client, our intake form helps us see the full picture.

Ideas and strategies you can use. Sessions are practical. You leave with things to try at home and things to think about between sessions.

Regular check-ins. As things shift, we adjust. Some parents come for a handful of sessions, others stay longer. It depends on your family.

A note on confidentiality. If your child or teen sees one of our counsellors, we follow their lead on what matters most to them, and the details of their sessions stay private. That trust is what makes counselling work, especially for teens. What we can share are strategies, ideas and ways you can support them at home. We ask parents to respect this balance, and we’re happy to talk it through with you.

What parent counselling is designed to support

Every family is different, and we can’t promise specific outcomes. Parent counselling is designed to support:

  • A better understanding of what your child or teen is going through

  • Strategies to stay steadier when they’re upset, so you don’t have to match their escalation

  • Less repeating of the same argument

  • Feeling more connected and more like the parent you want to be

  • New ideas when you feel you’ve run out of them

For parents, stepparents, foster parents and guardians

Most of the people we work with are parents, and this page is written with you in mind. We also welcome stepparents, foster parents, grandparents, guardians and anyone else raising a child or teen. Families look different, and our support does too.

Parenting support: Groups, workshops and parent education

Counselling isn’t the only way to get parenting support. We also offer groups and learning opportunities for parents, including:

  • Connected Families: a 5-week program to support parents who want to build stronger and more trusting connections with their children, and find ways to care for themselves.

  • Mental Health First Aid: accredited programs through the Opening Minds-Mental Health Commission of Canada.

  • SYC Parent Group: a 6-week program for parents of children and teens we work with.

Details and upcoming dates of our parenting groups can be found at soundyouthcounselling.ca/events-education

Frequently asked questions about parent counselling

  • No. You can come on your own, whether or not your child is working with us, and whether or not they’re willing to go to counselling at all.

  • Struggling kids are rarely the result of one thing a parent did or didn’t do. Many parents worry about this, and it sometimes keeps them from reaching out. Wanting to try something new is a strength, and it’s where change begins.

  • Whatever is on your mind about your child, your family and your parenting. That might be conflict at home, big emotions, a major transition, or feeling disconnected. You set the direction, and we help you work through it.

  • We keep the details of your child’s sessions private, because that’s what lets kids and teens speak freely. We do share strategies and ideas so you can support them at home.

  • Parent counselling and parent therapy look at what’s happening in your family and in your patterns as a parent, with time to explore what’s underneath. Parent coaching is often one or two sessions, focused on practical strategies you can use at home. Many parents use a bit of both, and we’ll help you find the right mix. 

  • Yes. If you and your co-parent want to get on the same page about how you support your child or teen, we can work with you together.

  • Yes. We offer online parent counsellor and coaching to families anywhere in Ontario, and in-person sessions in Parry Sound and Huntsville.

  • Coverage depends on your plan and the counsellor you choose. See our [FAQs] for fees, billing and missed appointments.

  • Yes. If you and your co-parent would like to get on the same page about how to best support your child or teen, we can work with you together to build a shared understanding and approach. While we don’t offer mediation, we can help you navigate parenting challenges and find ways to support your child together.

Ready to talk with someone who gets it?

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