Fairview Therapy Centre

Articles

Supervisory Consultancy (Irish Times 12^th May 2009) has always been available from Fairview Therapy Centre. Drawing on the disciplines of Supervision, Coaching and Counselling it offers confidential and non-judgemental support, a space both to explore one’s own reactions and to identify the position of one’s work colleagues when you find yourself in conflict. People in the frontline i.e. teachers, nurses, social workers and gardai – who are often caught between the demands and restrictions of their professions and the needs of their service users have found it a very useful resource.

Managers caught between the demands of their organizations for proficiency and economy and the needs of their workers have also benefited from having a space to vent their feelings. They are then more able to step back and reflect on their work problems and discover new approaches to their difficulties.

Frequency: monthly, every six weeks or more frequently if necessary.

Fees: €75 per hour; however some discretion is available.

Parent Mentoring

The purpose of Parent Mentoring is to resource parents and others who care for children e.g. teachers, with the knowledge and skills necessary to mature emotionally, psychologically and spiritually thereby enabling them to parent effectively. No parent ever wants to deliberately hurt a child or thwart their healthy development. That said, we can only bring our children to the same level of maturity that we have reached ourselves. The reality is that there is nobody who does not bring some emotional baggage into their relationships. It is for this reason that there is a collective responsibility on society to ensure that any adults who are involved in the care and education of children are provided with the opportunities to overcome their personal development blocks and defences so that they do not inadvertently limit the mature, healthy development of children in their care.

Elizabeth Bowler gained her Parent Mentoring Diploma at NCI with Dr. Tony Humphries, Clinical Psychologist and well known author. His philosophy on parenting is based on over thirty years of clinical experience and is the inspiration for her work.

As a parent mentor she focuses primarily on the interior world of each parent and how that interiority impacts on the parents’ relationship with each other and with each of their children. Parenting courses or one to one mentoring that focuses on children miss the fundamental fact that a parent can only parent a child to the extent that he or she parents self. It is a truism that all parenting starts with Self. An unconditional loving relationship lies at the heart of effective parenting, but this only becomes possible when the parent or guardian relates to his or her own self in that mature way. As a parent mentor Elizabeth works to support parents and guardians in strengthening their own self esteem, learning to cherish their own unique self and taking mature responsibility for their own lives. The achievement of these goals provides the solid basis for the establishment of healthy family relationships and for effective parenting.

Issues that are central to working with clients as a parent mentor include:

- Realisation that effective parenting starts with Self

- Family relationships and expression of feelings

- Children’s intellectual and behavioural development

- Family Communication

- Children’s Challenging Behaviours

- Parent’s Challenging Behaviours

- Effective Discipline