Parenting Support

With years of experience in CAMHS, I specialise in supporting families to enhance their relationships and improve the mental health of young people. My approach is attachment-focused, helping to identify and harness family strengths to foster deeper connections.

I offer Non-Violent Resistance (NVR) parenting support, an evidence-based approach that helps parents respond effectively to a wide range of adolescent difficulties, including anxiety, school refusal, avoidance behaviours, and emotional distress. NVR focuses on strengthening the parent–child relationship while reducing patterns of escalation, withdrawal, and power struggles that can develop when a young person is struggling.

What is Non-Violent Resistance?

NVR has its roots in political movements that sought meaningful change during times of conflict without the need for verbal or physical escalation. The approach has been adapted for use in family sessions, originally to help families manage physically aggressive or high-risk behaviours, although NVR has evolved significantly. Research and clinical practice now show promising outcomes when NVR is used to support families where young people are experiencing anxiety, depression, school refusal, and other mental-health-related difficulties.

How NVR Helps Families

When a child is struggling with anxiety or avoidance, parents often describe feeling disempowered, stuck, or unsure how to help without making things worse. Well-intentioned accommodations can gradually allow anxiety to take control of family life, leaving everyone feeling trapped.

NVR offers parents a way to “resist” the dominance of mental health difficulties, rather than resisting the child themselves. The approach helps parents:

Regain a sense of calm authority and confidence
Reduce unhelpful cycles of avoidance and accommodation
Respond with consistency, presence, and connection rather than control or punishment
Support their child’s resilience while maintaining compassion and empathy.

At its core, NVR enables parents to stand firmly and lovingly alongside their child, even when change feels hard.

Parenting Consultations

If you are seeking guidance on how to better support your child, or are finding it difficult to navigate their apprehension around accepting help, a parenting consultation may provide valuable insight and practical strategies.

These sessions are tailored to your family’s unique situation and aim to help you feel more confident, supported, and clear in your responses at a time that can otherwise feel overwhelming.