Why seek support as a parent?

No one learns to be a parent from books, and there is no such thing as a perfect parent. Each stage of a child’s life, from birth to adulthood, raises new questions and calls for adjustment. Parenthood also reawakens our own history: what we received from our parents, what we want to pass on, what we would like to do differently.

Seeing a psychologist about parenting is not an admission of failure. It is giving yourself a space to think, to be supported through a difficult period and to regain confidence in your own resources. The work focuses on you as a parent, not on assessing your child.

Situations I work with

Fatigue and parental burnout

Lack of sleep, mental load and the difficulty of balancing work and family life can lead to real parental burnout: crushing fatigue, the feeling of having nothing left to give, emotional distance from your children, sometimes shame at no longer enjoying being a parent. This state is not a fault; it signals that your resources are exhausted and that it is time to get help.

Conflict and parenting difficulties

Repeated meltdowns, defiance, difficulty setting limits, disagreements between parents about how to raise the children, tense relationships with a teenager: these situations are exhausting and breed self-doubt. Understanding what is happening in the relationship, rather than looking for someone to blame, often opens up new possibilities.

Separation, co-parenting and blended families

A separation upends family life and can make communication between parents difficult. Finding your place in a blended family, alongside your partner’s children, also raises delicate questions. Support helps you through these transitions while preserving everyone’s relationships as far as possible.

Parenting a child with particular needs

When a child has a neurodevelopmental condition, a disability or an illness, parents face specific worries, procedures and fatigue. I have worked with people with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities, and I know how important support for families is. See also ADHD and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Raising children across cultures

For expatriate, binational or migrant families, parenthood is built across several languages, several value systems and sometimes far from the extended family. Which language should we speak at home? What should we pass on from our culture of origin? How do we support a child growing up between two worlds, perhaps at an international school in Lyon? I work in English, French and Portuguese, and pay particular attention to these questions (see intercultural psychology).

How I can help

I see parents on their own, as a couple, or with their children when that helps. My approach draws in particular on systemic therapy, which sees the family as a set of relationships in which each person influences the others. Rather than locating “the problem” in one family member, it seeks to understand the interactions, roles and unspoken rules that keep a difficulty going, and to help them evolve. I have notably worked in a family skills development unit using a systemic approach.

Depending on the situation, I combine this with practical tools drawn from cognitive behavioural approaches to manage moments of crisis, and with reflection on your own history and what it stirs up in your role as a parent (find out more about my approach).

The first appointment helps clarify what you are looking for and decide who will attend the following sessions. Sessions last about 50 minutes, at the Brotteaux practice, 134 rue de Sèze in Lyon 6th, or by video, which can make things easier when children are young. Fees are listed on the home page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to bring my child?

Not necessarily. Much parenting support takes place with the parents alone. Depending on the situation, family sessions or individual sessions for a teenager may be offered. We decide together.

Do both parents need to attend?

It is often helpful when the issue concerns parenting or co-parenting, but it is not compulsory. You can perfectly well start on your own and consider joint sessions later.

Do you see blended families?

Yes. Sessions can bring together the family members concerned by the issue, in whatever configuration makes sense for you.

Useful resources