All the services on this page can be offered live or using tele-consultation. Online sessions (via Meet or Whatsapp) are allow customers who are geographically distant, or with psychological difficulties that involve a limited possibility of interviewing vis -a-vis, to obtain an effective treatment in the comfort of one's own home.Several studies demonstrate the efficacy of therapy administered online (Ruward et al., 2013; Lancee, 2020)
PARENTING SUPPORT
The transformation into parents gives us many happy moments, moments captured in the photos we post on social networks, send to friends, or scatter on the walls of the house. Yet, there is something more, something we do not like to show.
What would happen if we decided to also share the Ugly, the Tiring, the Sad parts of being parents? Having a baby is a wonderful experience (it's true!) - AND hard work. Avoiding the talk about the hard parts of parenting makes us shameful and doesn’t allow us to learn from our mistakes. The stigma around "bad parents", bad mothers, absent dads, is a major obstacle to talk about the parenting issues.
You’ll need to gather a lot of courage to talk about the difficulties experienced with your children, from pregnancy to adulthood, and I will take this bravery into account and be mindful to never judge you.
The difficulties I deal with in therapy can be categorized based on the various parenting stages:
Pregnancy, childbirth: fear of the pain; obstetric trauma; high-risk pregnancies and psychological consequences; worries and insecurities around the new role; feelings of inadequacy; miscarriages and grief; these are all issues that can be addressed and treated in this kind of path. Also, insecure attachment relationship with our family of origin are prone to affect our own relationship with the child. By elaborating and processing our previous relationships, we create a fertile environment for the future child to grow in a healthy way.
Early days: the contrast between one's expectations and the reality of parenting can sometimes be destabilizing and cause perceived or actual isolation. Other post-partum issues may be including: postpartum depression; difficulty in adapting to the new role; feelings of inadequacy, anger, shame or guilt towards the newborn that feel incompatible with parenthood; isolation and difficulty in finding new safety nets.
Early childhood: learning new strategies to deal with our own sense of authority; adequate rules and freedom; adjusting to new environments with our child; consequences of moving to a new country or a new city, couple issues and learning about how they affect our toddler. Treatment of "school phobias"; separation anxiety; somatization; aggressive behaviour.
Adolescence: how to best face the "mourning" of the lost child? “Empty nest” phase could become a new beginning.
Eating disorders, addictions, concerns about the child’s well-being, autonomy gain and more.
timing and frequency
In order to facilitate people in attendance of the sessions, especially in the period before and immediately after the birth, I offer sessions via Skype or Meet. The suggested frequency is one meeting per week, particularly during the initial stages of treatment. After a first complete assessment (3 to 7 sessions), frequency might be changed (once every two weeks).
The path for parenting support can be conducted with one parent or both.
Child or adolescent psychotherapy
In case you are interested in child or adolescent psychotherapy, I will ask both parents to be present for a first meeting without the child, so that we can discuss the issue from your point of view and gather information.
Before reaching the age of majority, it is necessary to have signed consent from both parents or guardians of the child.