Parenting Counseling for Parents of Struggling Children

Anxiety, Depression, Grief, Relationships

Parenting Counseling for Parents of Struggling Children

At Maplewood Counseling, we provide inclusive care for people of all races, cultures, and backgrounds, including interfaith, interracial, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and blended families. Our therapists bring lived experiences and specialized training to create a safe, affirming space for all.

Guidance for Parents of a Struggling Child

Watching your child struggle is one of the most painful experiences a parent can face. You may feel helpless, sad, or even frustrated, wondering how to best support them. Whether your child is young or an adult, their challenges can deeply affect your own well-being and the entire family dynamic.

At Maplewood Counseling, we understand the heavy emotional toll this takes. You don’t have to carry this burden alone. We provide a supportive, confidential space for you to process your feelings, learn effective coping strategies, and find constructive ways to help both your child and yourself.

Navigating Your Child’s Challenges Together

It’s common to feel lost when your child is dealing with issues that seem beyond your control. Perhaps you’ve tried offering advice, only to feel pushed away, or you find yourself in conflict with your spouse about the best way to handle the situation. Counseling can provide clarity and a path forward.

We support parents navigating a wide range of concerns, including:

Mental Health Issues: Your child may be dealing with anxiety, depression, OCD, or a more severe diagnosis. We can help you understand their condition and learn how to provide effective support without sacrificing your own mental health.
Behavioral Problems: Is your younger child’s behavior causing constant stress at home and school? We can help you develop strategies to manage difficult behaviors and restore peace to your family.
Difficult Relationships: It can be hard when you disapprove of your child’s partner or lifestyle choices. We help you navigate these sensitive dynamics to reduce family tension and maintain your connection.
Sexuality and Gender Identity: If your child has come out as LGBTQ+ and you’re struggling to understand or accept it, we offer a non-judgmental space to explore your feelings and learn how to be a supportive ally.
Dependency and “Failure to Launch”: Are you worried about an adult child who is struggling to become independent? We can help you set healthy boundaries and encourage their growth without enabling dependency.
Chronic Illness or Injury: Acting as a caregiver for a child with a serious illness is physically and emotionally exhausting. We provide the support you need to cope with the stress and find balance.

Your Feelings Are Valid

Being the parent of a struggling child can trigger a complex mix of emotions—from profound sadness and powerlessness to anger and disappointment. These feelings are normal. Our approach focuses on helping you manage your own emotional reactions first. When you feel more centered and equipped, you are in a much stronger position to help your child effectively.

We help you develop the tools to cope, communicate better, and create a healthier environment for everyone in the family.

You Deserve Support, Too

Your journey as a parent matters. Taking the step to seek counseling is an act of strength that benefits both you and your child. Let us help you find your footing again.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Is this counseling for my child or for me?
A: This service is specifically for parents. While your child may have their own therapist, our parenting counseling focuses on providing you with the support, strategies, and emotional outlet you need to navigate this difficult time.

Q: My child is an adult. Can you still help?
A: Absolutely. The challenges of parenting don’t end when a child turns 18. We have extensive experience helping parents of adult children who are struggling with mental health, dependency, career challenges, and more.

Q: What if my spouse and I disagree on how to handle our child’s issues?
A: This is a very common source of conflict. We can work with you as a couple to find common ground, improve your communication, and develop a unified parenting strategy that you both feel good about.

Q: My child refuses to get help. How can I make a difference?
A: While you can’t force your child to seek therapy, you can change your own approach and reactions. Individual counseling can empower you to set healthier boundaries and interact in ways that may positively influence your child’s willingness to accept help.

Q: Do you offer virtual appointments?
A: Yes. We offer secure and confidential virtual sessions for parents throughout New Jersey. This allows you to access support conveniently from your home or office, ensuring you can get the help you need without added stress.

Getting started is easy. Contact us to schedule an initial session, and we’ll work with you to help as you parent a child going through challenges.

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Helpful Resources

Individual Therapy: Personalized support for managing depression and stress.
Understanding Anxiety: Learn how therapy can help manage anxiety.
Grief Counseling: Support for processing loss and navigating grief.
Guide to Self-Esteem: Build confidence and self-worth.
Trauma-Informed Therapy: Support for Couples healing from past trauma.

Being There During Hard Times

Anxiety, Depression, Grief, Relationships

NJ Counseling for Challenging Times

Couples, Individuals, Families

Essex County New Jersey

Being There – How to Support Your Loved One

Wondering the best ways to be there for a family member that is going through a hard time? Maybe you’re not clear on how what to do if a spouse, partner or child needs support. For that reason, there are some helpful things you can do to help a loved one going through a hard time.

Maybe you think it is best to try to “fix” their emotional or physical pain. Seems like some advice or suggestions about what will help is what he or she needs. Certainly, it’s not easy to when someone you love is suffering. Even more, it feels pretty awful to feel so powerless when a family member struggles.

Best Ways to Be There

First of all, one of the best ways to be there is to be present and listen. So, allowing your loved one to talk and share without interruption will help. Secondly, you can ask what if there is anything you can do rather than offer advice. Because most people just want someone to listen and make it safe to share.

In contrast, how can you really be there when someone is struggling and not open to help. After all, some men, women and children do not want to talk. Whether he or she is suffering with depression, anxiety, some people are not open to help. Therefore, you have to know what to do with your own fear, feeling of powerlessness and emotional pain. Certainly, these situations are incredibly painful.

Getting Help for Your Own Feelings and Fear

There is something that will help deal with fear, worrying, judgment and struggle with acceptance of your circumstance and what your loved one is dealing with. Mindfulness is a very effective way of working with all of the thing that you can’t control and find more peace even in the most difficult circumstance. Furthermore, developing a better way of dealing with your own emotional and physical pain will help you manage all of life’s challenges.

If you want help developing the skill of mindfulness, get in touch.

Mindfulness Deepens Connections

Parenting Counseling

Anxiety, Depression, Grief, Relationships

Parenting Counselors for Adult Children

Help for Parents of Adult Children

Get in Touch

Parenting Counseling | Struggling with An Adult Child?

Do you need help with your relationship with your son or daughter?

Do you have a complicated relationship with your adult child? Is your son or daughter making choices you don’t understand or like? In addition, do you disapprove or what they do? Are you worry about their well-being? As a result, is it causing you or your relationship to suffer?

Many parents struggle with a number of different issues when it comes to dealing with an adult child. Because as we all know, life does not always go according to ( your) plan. In addition, any number of things can cause a mom or dad to struggle to accept and support their adult child for any number of reasons. Therefore, mothers and fathers can work on reducing the fear, judgment and disconnect with your child. Because, most adults sons and daughters will distance from you if they don’t feel accepted by you and feel judged and criticized. It is painful when you parents don’t approve of who you are.

Does this Sound Familiar (for one or both of you) ?

We dislike our son or daughter’s partner or spouse and can’t help making it known
Are you struggling with accepting and supporting a gay, lesbian, transgender MTF FTM child?
Is your adult child struggling with relationship or marital issues?
Are you feeling worried, disappointed or angry at your child?
Feel hurt that your adult son or daughter isn’t spending as much time with you as you’d like
We don’t approve to the way they are parenting their own children and can’t help criticizing
We need help so we don’t continue to put more distance in our relationship with our child
You don’t like your son-in-law, daughter in-law or other in-laws and it causes problems
You feel like you failed as a parent and are concerned others will judge you or your child

Do you need help accepting things you cannot change and supporting your child? In addition, do you need help accepting your child even though you don’t like, understand or agree with what they do?

Even though there’s no doubt it’s difficult to managing disappointment and expectations of an adult child. However, there are thing you can do to accept what you cannot change and working with your own emotional pain. Final.ly, is key to manage and work with your own feelings to get through difficult times.

Are you or other or other family member in need of help? Please get in touch. We really do understand.

Find and Experienced Family or Relationship Counselor

Find an Experienced Relationship Counselor

Anxiety, Depression, Relationships

Experienced Relationship Counselor NJ

Couples and Marriage Counseling

Maplewood Counseling

Need a Relationship Counselor?

Can a relationship counselor really help?

Are you feeling disconnected in your marriage or relationship? Have you given up on trying to fix things yourself? Wonder how an experienced relationship counselor can help?

There are several issues that cause couples to feel disconnected. Struggling with communication issues – knowing how to repair small and serious issues is key. Even more difficult relationship “ruptures” like infidelity and affairs, dealing with family problems such as in-laws, parenting, step-family or blended family problems, dealing with an ex, etc… Learning what will help your break habits and patterns that are not working will help.

Communication Problems

Do you treat your partner with disrespect? Are you being verbally abused or treated poorly by your partner, husband or wife? Do one or both of you get into name-calling, criticism or devaluing your partner or spouse? Do one or both of you end up withdrawing, putting up a wall and end up with the silent treatment?

When you struggle over and over, it can cause disconnect. Disconnect causes so many painful emotions. When you don’t feel understood (depending on your relationship style) it can cause one person to get louder and louder ( “I want you to hear me and understand me!”) or it can cause someone to withdraw because there is little hope to get anywhere or it does not feel safe . Becoming more aware of patterns or habits of defending, criticizing, ignoring or putting up a wall is going to help. Learning how to listen and allow space for one another to express concerns and feelings is key to creating safety and reconnecting.

Understanding Yourself and Your Partner

How can an experienced marriage and relationship counselor can help?

It will also take reflecting on an understanding your own part in your relationship struggles. Meaning, most people learn from their role models how people to treat others.

In addition, people that grew up in loving and nurturing and excepting homes, find it easier to respond and feel more connected in their adult relationships. On the other hand, people that grow up in homes where adults didn’t listen or they were disrespectful, critical, neglectful to another parent or adult and/or you, that will definitely inform the way you relate to people you love.

However, this is not meant to blame anyone since understanding and making sense of the past as well as accepting what you can’t change is important. Because, parents and role models do the best they can. Also, they certainly did what they knew how to do even if it wasn’t very good for anyone else around them.

How a relationship counselor can help

Firstly, understanding past experiences, conditioning and how these habits and patterns developed will help you work on breaking them. Secondly, if you are both open and willing to do this, you can create a much more loving, satisfying and connected relationship.

As a result, a skilled relationship counselor can help you understand what gets in the way of truly listening and understanding each other. In addition, it’s important to understand all of the different aspects of your dynamic that are problematic. Therefore, once you become more aware and pay more attention to what you’re doing or not doing, it can make a huge difference.

If you are in a bad place in your relationship and you are both willing and open to getting help, a skilled relationship counselor can help. So If you’re ready to take that step – or I have done some marriage or couples therapy in the past, and need more help now – get in touch.

Need a Counselor for a Disconnected Marriage or Relationship?

Do You Fight Over Your In-Laws?

Anxiety, Relationships

Problems With In-Laws?

Family & Marital Therapy

Fights over in laws?

Do you need help resolving in-law issues?

You’re not alone if you struggle and fight about your parents or your spouses parents. Even if in-laws mean well, it doesn’t always translate into their actions.

So many couples struggle dealing with a mother-in-law or father-in-law. It can be so complicated and cause one spouse to feel like they’re in the middle and they want their partner to get along with their parent (s)

Easier said than done.Are you constantly hearing “you didn’t protect me”, “ you didn’t stand up for me me “, “Your mom or parents are awful to me and you say nothing”. Do you feel your wife or husband does things that offend your family? Do you fear saying something to your family even though you can understand what your spouse feels? Do you struggle understanding and see what your parents are doing that might bother your wife or husband? It does make sense if you are used to the way your parents do things and your spouse is not, then you might not really understand why they are having such a hard time. These situations are delicate and you can work through them so that there isn’t so much pain and anger and disconnect.

There are somethings you both can do to get better at understanding and being there for each other through these in-law ups and downs. Discussing in a safe place with a trained and experienced marital therapist (or coupes counselor) for starters. A place where you can get help listening and understand and validating the experience rather than defending against or arguing.

Get in touch if you’re having a lot of problems dealing with a mother-in-law or Other in law’s. It’s common in relationships and there is something you can do.

In a Disconnected Relationship?

Anger and Conflict

Anxiety, Depression, Grief, Relationships

Need Help with Anger?

Trouble handling anger and conflict in your relationship?

The key to a healthy connected couples is knowing how to repair issues when they come up. Do you react rather than respond when communicating disappointment, frustration, anger or another difficult emotion? Most couples that struggle in these ways develop negative patterns and cycles when it comes to dealing with anger and conflict. This can cause can disconnect and the lack of ability (consciousness/awareness) to understand and repair problems can lead to a divorce or a break-up.

Does this sound familiar?

- Your spouse or significant other gets nasty, critical or aggressive when upset
- Your partner gets defensive when they are angry and does not hear you
- You shut down and your protective wall goes up when your spouse gets angry
- You withdraw when your spouse aggressively pursues you to discuss things
- You can be vindictive and resort to the silent treatment as a form of punishment
- You end up hating your partner for being so mean
- You or your wife or husband end up feeling alone and like you don’t matter
- You feel like you can do nothing right and nothing good you do is noticed
- Your spouse is controlling when angry and you feel he or she needs to control everything
- You need help resolving conflict in ways that make you both feel heard and understood

All couples are going to have conflict – it is unavoidable to have your differences. Relationships that do not know how to resolve and talk about their differences in more positive ways end up feeling a tremendous amount of pain. Sometimes the inability to repair “ruptures” in the marriage or relationship leads to feelings of feelings of hopelessness if the pattern has been going on for a long time.

If you are both committed to trying to do a better job resolving conflict in a relationship, a well trained therapist can help. If you are feeling like the relationship is on the brink, see if there is anyway to rebuild hope and connection and your marriage.

If you’re looking for counseling to see if you can get better at resolving conflict, get in touch.

Learn How to Deal with Conflict and Strengthen Your Relationship