Parent Consultation
When family functioning is becoming unpleasant or unworkable due to problematic behavior or differing parenting styles, Dr. Easterlin works with parents of school age children to learn consistent and effective skills that will quickly turn the situation around. The goal is peaceful relationships, more happiness during family time, and sure-fire strategies to get homework and/or chores accomplished without excessive conflict. Dr. Easterlin has been trained in evidence based child management systems and has lead many parenting groups over the years. She tailors individual parent consultation to a 4 to 10 session format, depending on the needs of each family. She usually gives homework each week and monitors change, troubleshooting the common problems that arise when parents are developing their skills. Problems that benefit from a skills training approach include: managing difficult or sensitive temperaments, frustration tolerance, homework avoidance, separation anxiety, quick escalation of arguments or temper outbursts, parents who polarize with one seeming to be too lax and the other too strict (there is a happy medium!), and parent-child difficulties that are secondary to ADHD, anxiety, or low mood.