Answers to Your Questions
Below are common questions and answers we receive about
parent coaching…
Should you have a question not listed here, please contact
us.
1. How does parent coaching work?
2. How will we know when we are done?
3. How long will it take?
4. Who are your typical parent coaching clients? What sort of problems are they trying to solve?
5. What is the difference between coaching and therapy?
6. When is therapy more appropriate than coaching?
7. Do you take insurance?
8. When do you meet the kids?
9. How much does it cost?
10. Do you take credit cards?
11. Where does the coaching take place?
12. Can my spouse or partner be involved in the coaching process?
1. How does parent coaching work?
Parent coaching is done by you, the parent(s), calling or meeting the coach at a prearranged time. Calls last for 50 minutes and initially will happen weekly. We develop your personal and specific goals and then discuss how to get there. Each call is focused on achieving these goals, as well as providing you with support, consultation, and compassion. The parent coach is your team member, supporter, encourager, co-brainstormer, collaborator, and child development consultant- acting as a catalyst to create your change.
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2. How will we know when we are done?
The coaching process is goal specific. We will be done when you meet your goals. Many clients find the process so satisfying that they choose to develop new goals and continue coaching. Others come back after new developmental stages and challenges arise.
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3. How long will it take?
Most of my parent coaching clients meet their goals within 8-12 sessions. How quickly you meet your goals is dependent upon you and your willingness to engage openly and actively in the process of change.
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4. Who are your typical parent coaching clients? What sort of problems are they trying to solve?
People come to parent coaching for a myriad of reasons. Many typical issues I have successfully coached parents through are:
• Sleeping issues, such as sleeping through
the night or getting children
to sleep in their own bedrooms;
•
Getting kids to cooperate
with being ready for school,
meals, or bedtime - on time;
• Having
kids do their homework or
household chores without
struggles;
•
How to handle school
issues/ behaviors;
•
Getting
kids to turn off the tv/computer
games;
•
How to implement discipline;
•
How
to get a teenager who is “checked
out” from
the family to reengage;
•
Sibling
issues: fairness/ fighting/
jealousy;
• How to blend a family and/or step-parent effectively after a remarriage;
•
Appropriate mealtime
behaviors;
•
How to set up a
structured but livable home
to support ADD/ADHD issues;
•
Issues
that arise in regards to
adoption and attachment;
•
Resolving
parenting differences and
creating a united parental
unit;
•
How to minimize the effects
of a separation and/or divorce
on children;
• How
to create a satisfying balance between
family, marriage, work,
and social life.
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5. What is the difference between coaching and therapy?
Coaching is a collaborative process by which you, the client, choose the goals you want to work on or the situations you want to improve. The coach then helps to keep you on target and provides support, consultation, and suggestions to help you achieve your goals. The intention for coaching is for improvement, achievement, and greater fulfillment.
Therapy’s goal is for greater improvement in functioning but it presumes that there is a lack of functioning or impairment as the starting point. In therapy, the therapist primarily directs the process of treatment and assumes the responsibility for it. As in coaching, the client must also make the changes necessary to see improvements but it is the therapist who takes the lead in directing the client.
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6. When is therapy more appropriate than coaching?
Therapy is more appropriate for situations which involve mental health stabilization or safety risks. Any situations where there is a concern for harm or injury, such as abuse, neglect, cutting, suicide, eating disorders, or substance abuse, therapy is the appropriate route and coaching would be grossly inappropriate. If any of these situations arise during the course of coaching, a referral to therapy will be made and the coaching process with be terminated.
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7. Do you take insurance?
At this time, coaching is not an insurance reimbursable activity. In order to bill insurance, there must be an identified patient with a diagnosis to treat. Because coaching assumes a state of health and functioning at the outset, no diagnosis can be ascribed.
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8. When do you meet the kids?
I don’t, usually. I believe that you, the parents, are the experts on your children. From my years of experience, I am adept at eliciting information that will give me an accurate picture of what is going on and how to help and support you as the main influence on your children.
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9. How much does it cost?
My fee for weekly parent coaching is $110 per 50-minute session. With that fee you get unlimited email access to me in between sessions and one brief 5-10 minute booster call, if requested by you for clarification, questions, or quick updates. Any time beyond that will be billed on a prorated basis based of $110/ hr. Blocks of sessions can be purchased at a discount: four sessions are available for $400.
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10. Do you take credit cards?
I have a business PayPal account, so you may
make payments through
PayPal with a credit card.
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11. Where does the coaching take place?
Primarily, coaching takes place over the phone. I have found that it is most convenient for my clients to speak with me while children are sleeping, this medium also allows people throughout the world to be able to receive parent coaching.
If you live in the Boulder/ Denver, Colorado area and prefer to have a face to face meeting, I can come to your home or we can meet at my office in Boulder, or some mutually agreed upon location.
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12. Can my spouse or partner be involved in the coaching process?
Absolutely! Parent coaching works best when all primary caregivers can be involved in the process.
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Ready to get started? Then call 303-449-0345
to schedule your free
consultation.
