When a child resists, avoids, or refuses contact with a parent, the emotional and logistical stakes are high. These situations are rarely straightforward, and they require a steady, strategic, and informed approach. I provide individualized coaching to parents on either side of a parent child contact problem, including the parent experiencing resistance or estrangement as well as the parent with whom the child is currently more aligned and who is navigating the child’s distress, loyalty conflicts, or transition difficulties.
I also work with parents seeking guidance around parent child estrangement, whether the estrangement is recent or longstanding, and whether the parent is trying to restore contact or trying to respond appropriately while protecting the child’s emotional wellbeing and the integrity of the parent child relationship. I offer strategic consultation informed by extensive experience with high conflict parenting dynamics, court involved family systems, and complex parent child contact problems. The focus is practical and child centered. In situations that feel volatile, unclear, or emotionally charged, I help you remain grounded and effective, reduce reactivity, and make decisions that support stability for your child. This is a targeted consultation model rather than psychotherapy or a forensic service. It is designed to support one parent at a time and allows me to work with parents anywhere in the world, regardless of licensing jurisdiction.
Strategic, child centered coaching for parents navigating parent child contact problems, resistance to contact, and parent child estrangement.
Important Distinction from Reunification or Family Therapy Services
This service is separate from the brief 15 minute phone consultation offered by my office for prospective court involved services, and it is not a substitute for reunification therapy or family therapy in a forensic therapeutic capacity.
If you are actively involved in litigation and are seeking to retain me as a reunification therapist or family therapist, whether by court Order, by joint consent, or with the intention of filing a motion, this is not the appropriate service. Please refer to the Reunification Therapy page and contact my office to schedule the 15 minute phone consultation. I do not schedule individual consultation or coaching sessions with a parent who is seeking to retain me in a reunification or family therapy role, as doing so would compromise neutrality and would prevent me from serving in that capacity.
This service is also not intended for situations in which another clinician is currently providing reunification therapy and a parent is seeking outside consultation about that ongoing service. If you are currently engaged in reunification therapy with another provider and are considering a change in provider, please refer to the Reunification Therapy page and request a 15 minute phone consultation through my office. This allows for an appropriate screening process and preserves the professional boundaries required in court involved work.
Parents who are seeking individual consultation and coaching of the type described on this page are welcome to request a 15 minute phone consultation as a first step. The purpose of that call is to clarify fit, answer initial questions about the consultation and coaching model, and help ensure you are scheduling the service that matches what you are looking for.
Scope
This consultation and coaching is focused on you. I do not evaluate the other parent, provide opinions about the other parent’s motives or mental health, or make clinical conclusions about your child based on secondhand information. My role is to help you clarify goals, understand the dynamics you are navigating, and strengthen the parts of the situation that are within your control, including how you communicate, how you regulate your responses, and how you take a steady parenting stance under pressure.
What is Offered
My coaching and consultation services are structured, directive, and action oriented. Some parents seek consultation because they are preparing for a court ordered exchange where resistance is likely. Others are navigating recurring conflict that escalates quickly and need a clear plan for how to respond without intensifying the problem. Many are managing the emotional and practical impact of contact refusal and want support in staying calm, consistent, and developmentally attuned while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
Coaching sessions are tailored to your specific circumstances. We begin by clarifying your goals and reviewing the relevant context, including the legal and interpersonal framework that is shaping the situation. From there, the work focuses on anticipating predictable patterns, planning for transitions and exchanges with calm authority, and developing communication strategies that are brief, child focused, and emotionally regulated.
When helpful, I assist with language and strategy for conversations and written communication with your child, your coparent, and professionals involved in the matter. I may also review legal documentation and other written materials you believe are important for me to understand in order to provide effective consultation and coaching.
Fees
Consultation and coaching services are provided on a retainer basis. Current rates and retainer requirements are provided by the office upon request. Please contact the practice directly for fee information and scheduling.