Services
Coaching Services
A coaching session to support and guide you as the parent if your college age child is experiencing a difficult adjustment, new mental health symptoms, increased substance use, and how to navigate a large university setting and set up the best services to allow your child to have the most success while at school.
Supporting parents of college-age children dealing with mental health and substance use issues requires a thoughtful, compassionate approach. These young adults often face heightened pressures, such as academic stress, social challenges, and the transition to independence, which can exacerbate mental health concerns and risky behaviors.
1. Understanding Mental Health and Substance Use
Educating parents on common mental health challenges (e.g., anxiety, depression, trauma) and substance use disorders in young adults. Helping them differentiate between typical developmental struggles and signs that require professional intervention.
2. Communication Strategies
Teaching parents how to engage in open, non-judgmental conversations with their children. Encouraging active listening and empathetic responses, while setting healthy boundaries and being prepared for resistance or defensiveness.
3. Empowering Parents to Set Boundaries
Guiding parents to establish clear boundaries around behaviors related to substance use and mental health, while balancing their need to provide emotional support. This might include setting limits on enabling behaviors (e.g., financial support or living arrangements) and focusing on empowering their child to seek help.
4. Accessing Professional Help
Assisting parents in navigating mental health and addiction treatment options, such as therapy, counseling, and rehabilitation programs. Emphasizing the importance of involving professionals who specialize in young adult care, as treatment needs may differ from those of adolescents or adults.
5. Encouraging Self-Care for Parents
Highlighting the importance of self-care and emotional well-being for parents who may feel overwhelmed. Offering tools for stress management, seeking support groups, and finding ways to maintain their own mental health during difficult times.
6. Fostering a Growth Mindset
Helping parents adopt a growth mindset by focusing on their child’s strengths and potential for recovery. Encouraging patience, understanding, and flexibility in the face of setbacks while reinforcing their child’s autonomy and decision-making.
7. Building a Support System
Encouraging parents to connect with other families facing similar challenges, support groups, or professional counselors. Strengthening the parent’s network of support can reduce feelings of isolation and provide emotional and practical guidance.
8. Navigating the College Environment
Providing strategies for parents to collaborate with college officials, counselors, and mental health services on campus. Assisting in finding resources that are available at the school to support their child’s mental health and recovery journey.
Ultimately, coaching for parents in this situation is about offering practical tools, emotional support, and guidance to navigate a challenging period in their child’s life while promoting their well-being and fostering long-term resilience.
Psychoeducation
Coaching psychoeducation for parents of college-age children struggling with substance use and mental health focuses on empowering parents with knowledge, practical skills, and emotional support to help them navigate the complexities of their child’s challenges. The approach integrates psychological insights with effective communication strategies, aiming to foster a supportive environment for both parents and their children.
1. Understanding the Struggles
- Substance Use and Mental Health: Parents are educated on the connection between substance use and mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and trauma. The importance of addressing both areas simultaneously is emphasized, as untreated mental health conditions can fuel substance use, and vice versa.
- Developmental Context: Parents are guided to understand the developmental phase of emerging adulthood, characterized by identity exploration, autonomy, and the stressors that can come with transitioning to college life, which can contribute to substance use and mental health challenges.
2. Identifying Warning Signs
- Parents are trained to recognize signs of distress, substance abuse, and mental health crises in their children, such as drastic changes in behavior, mood swings, isolation, academic decline, or physical symptoms like weight changes or poor hygiene.
3. Effective Communication Techniques
- Active Listening: Parents learn to approach conversations with empathy, focusing on listening without judgment, which can encourage their child to open up about struggles.
- Avoiding Blame and Shame: Guidance is given on how to express concern without resorting to blame, which could cause defensiveness or further alienation.
- Setting Boundaries: Parents are educated on how to set clear and healthy boundaries that protect their well-being while supporting their child’s autonomy.
4. Supporting without Enabling
- Distinguishing Support from Enabling: Parents are taught the difference between offering support and enabling unhealthy behavior, such as covering up for the child or rescuing them from the consequences of their actions.
- Promoting Accountability: Coaching focuses on how to help their child take responsibility for their behavior, even when it’s difficult, by fostering independence and resilience.
5. Engaging in Treatment
- Encouraging Professional Help: Parents are educated about the importance of involving mental health professionals and addiction specialists in the treatment process, whether through therapy, counseling, or treatment programs.
- Navigating Treatment Options: Guidance is provided on various types of treatments, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), family therapy, medication management, and support groups like 12-step programs.
6. Coping with Their Own Emotions
- Self-Care for Parents: The coaching includes strategies for parents to take care of their own mental and emotional well-being. Parents learn to manage stress, set aside time for self-care, and seek support from other parents or therapists.
- Managing Guilt and Helplessness: Psychoeducation also addresses the emotional impact on parents, helping them to cope with feelings of guilt, frustration, or helplessness and to develop resilience in the face of challenges.
7. Building a Support Network
- Community Resources: Parents are informed about local and online resources for additional support, including family therapy, parenting groups, and community services focused on substance use and mental health.
- Connecting with Other Parents: Support from others facing similar challenges can provide a sense of solidarity and understanding. Parents are encouraged to seek out or form groups for shared experiences and advice.
8. Fostering Hope and Long-Term Well-Being
- Encouraging Progress: Parents are reminded to recognize and celebrate small victories, as recovery is often a long and non-linear process.
- Instilling Hope: Emphasis is placed on the importance of maintaining hope and patience, both for their child’s journey and for their own emotional recovery. Parents are encouraged to believe in their child’s potential for change.
This coaching psychoeducation process aims to create a balanced, informed, and compassionate approach to supporting college-age children, fostering resilience and healing for both the parents and their children. It encourages a collaborative, patient approach while also prioritizing self-care and emotional well-being for the parents themselves.
About Jaida Paolini
Jaida is a dedicated and experienced Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with over 15 years of expertise in mental health and substance use disorders. After earning her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Boston College in 2007, Jaida received advanced clinical training at two of the nation’s most prestigious psychiatric hospitals—McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. These formative experiences shaped her clinical practice and approach to supporting individuals and families through crisis and recovery.
