Hayley Goldberg is a licensed marriage and family therapist, mother to three fabulous college age kids, and a parenting coach. She created Heart of Connecting to support parents of toddlers and preschoolers who feel they are at the end of their rope with their little ones because she remembers those days so clearly.

Parenting is hard and we can all benefit from a little help and support sometimes.

When emotions are running rampant and our child’s behavior flips- they’re crying and throwing epic tantrums -screaming, kicking and hitting, it’s easy for parents to get triggered and activated by their kid’s behavior.

We can easily feel annoyed and irritated with our child.

It’s also reasonable for parents to feel helpless and confused by this behavior, not knowing how to handle these incessant situations.

We need help to become the parents we want to be.

We need help to better understand our kids and their behavior.

And parents sometimes need help knowing how to raise kids who are happy and well adjusted. Children who’ll one day be adults with well developed, important life skills needed for life success.

At times that means parenting can feel like it’s JUST TOO MUCH!

You know help is needed but how do you know if it’s therapy or coaching help you need?

What’s the difference?

Conventional therapy is typically based in pathology. Therapy requires a diagnosis, and generally focuses a lot on the past.

A therapist will allow time for clients to retell their story and analyze their past in order to diagnose a problem, issue, or trauma that needs to be healed.

Weeks, months or sometimes years of therapy will provide the tools and support needed to unpack past experiences and analyze unhealthy patterns that aren’t serving you well.

Therapy can help you gain insight, freedom or the forgiveness you need in order to let go of the past and move on in life in a healthier way.

Traditional therapy unquestionably has its place and can be wonderful and helpful if you (or your child) are struggling or in deep pain.

Coaching on the other hand has no diagnosis of illness and is not about painful stories from the past.

Coaching focuses more on your personal development and transforming lives, helping you design and create the results in your life you would love to have.

A coach will help you identify current problematic behaviors that are holding you back. They’ll help you modify old non-productive patterns and behaviors and guide you toward implementing new, more effective tools, where you’re better able to move through the difficulties you’re experiencing and achieve different results.

Results that are greater and better than what you had before.

Coaching is about moving forward and investing in you and your self-development. Hands down the best investment there is to be made!

When it comes to parenting and coaching this is an investment you’ll be making in you, your family, and your children.

Parent Coaching should be tailored to each individual family.

Coaching should empower parents to make changes by providing personalized support, education, strategies and encouragement.

A different approach to parenting and using new strategies will influence change in your kids and their behavior. Becoming more conscious and intentional in your parenting will ultimately positively change the health and happiness of the entire family.

Through the coaching process parents learn and understand their own triggers and behaviors. Parents also get to fully learn, understand and appreciate their child’s unique temperament, what triggers your kiddo, and the reasons behind their behaviors.

Parent Coaching is an opportunity for parents to reflect on your own behaviors and be willing to grow ourselves as we’re raising our children.

Coaching will help parents in loving their children unconditionally and parenting them more carefully, thoughtfully and deliberately through all the different stages of early child development.

For me personally and in my coaching work, more than anything I want my clients to be able to show up as the parent you want to be, and I want your whole family to reap the benefits of your good parenting.

There unquestionably is some cross over between therapy and coaching and the two can work very well together.

Although I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, I no longer provide mental health therapy. When coaching if I feel something in a parent’s past is preventing them from functioning well in their life today, I may make a recommendation for therapy and advise parents in getting the additional help and support they need.

Likewise, if I feel there is more to a child’s behavior that needs to be addressed I may refer for therapy. It’s not the place I start. I’m not looking to label or place a diagnosis on a toddler or preschooler too soon.

If you want to learn more about how I can help you, or if you want to schedule a free phone conversation to see whether therapy or coaching is best for your family, please email me at hayley@heartofconnecting.com

Your child’s potential is limitless. Their success begins with you.

Your parenting counts!

Warmly,

Hayley aka Your Toddler & Preschooler Parenting Coach

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