Parent Coaching · NYC
Parenting a kid who’s struggling isn’t a parenting failure.
You might be reading every book, listening to the podcasts, trying every strategy the school sends home, and still feeling like you’re losing the same fight every night.
You don’t need a diagnosis or a serious enough problem to come in. You just need somewhere to think with someone who’s done this work for a long time.
What brings parents in
Most parents reach out when something at home has stopped working. The meltdowns that used to pass don’t. Homework takes two hours and ends in tears, sometimes yours. Your kid is talking to you in ways you didn’t think were possible at this age, or has stopped talking to you altogether.
Some parents come in because of a specific diagnosis (an ADHD evaluation, anxiety that’s gotten louder, OCD they’re trying to understand). Plenty come in without one. Something is off and you want help thinking it through.
Common things I work on with parents
- Big emotions and meltdowns that don't pass the way they used to
- ADHD: behavior, homework, school, friendships, transitions
- Anxiety in kids and teens, including school refusal
- Oppositional behavior, defiance, lying, sibling conflict
- A teen who used to talk to you and doesn't anymore
- Co-parents who don't agree on how to handle things
- Social difficulties, friendship loss, exclusion
- The general sense that something is off, before you can name it
What parent coaching actually looks like
Parent coaching is different from family therapy and different from your kid having their own therapist. The work happens with you. We meet weekly to start, usually 45 minutes, and we get specific. What happened this week. What you tried. What you’d want to do differently.
In sessions, I’ll share what I’m noticing about what’s driving the behavior, ask questions you may not have asked yourself, and gently challenge you when I see something useful. We’ll build practical strategies you can try that night. Most parents notice a shift in the first month, because you’re responding differently and the patterns at home start to move.
Why I do this work
I spent a decade in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health at NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Medical Center, working with kids and families across diagnoses, ages, and acuity. I’m formally trained in Parent Management Training, the evidence-based protocol most academic children’s hospitals use. Most of what I bring to parent coaching comes from that training plus a lot of time watching what actually works in real families with real schedules.
I’m a clinical instructor at Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry. I take a collaborative approach: you’ll know what we’re doing and why, and we’ll adjust if something isn’t working.
Common questions
Do you need to meet my child?
Usually no. The work is with you. Sometimes a one-time meeting with your child can help, but the change happens through what you do at home, not through me building a relationship with them.
What if my child already has a therapist?
That’s great. Parent coaching works well alongside your child’s existing therapy. We can coordinate if you want.
Is this for emergencies or for ongoing support?
Both. Some parents come in during a crisis. Others come in when things are mostly fine and they want to be more intentional. Both work.
We’re both parents. Can we both come?
Yes. A lot of the most effective parent coaching happens with both parents in the room. We can also start with one of you if that’s easier to coordinate.
Let’s talk about what’s going on at home.
Send a few sentences about your kid and what you're noticing. I'll be in touch within a few business days.
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