Receive personalised parenting counselling and psychological support from experienced Melbourne psychologists and counsellors, with help navigating parenting stress, communication difficulties, behavioural concerns, family changes and co-parenting challenges.
Parenting can bring rewarding experiences alongside stress, uncertainty and difficult decisions. You may feel overwhelmed by your child’s behaviour, unsure how to respond to strong emotions or concerned that conflict is affecting your relationship with your child.
Counselling in Melbourne provides personalised parent counselling and psychological support for parents and carers experiencing parenting-related concerns. Our registered psychologists and experienced counsellors offer face-to-face appointments at our Melbourne CBD clinic and secure online sessions through telehealth.
Our practitiones will take time to understand your family circumstances, parenting concerns and goals before discussing an approach suited to your individual needs.
A parenting support psychologist can provide a confidential and non-judgemental space to discuss the concerns affecting you and your family.
Book an appointment that feels right for you — all our practitioners are compassionate, understanding, and here to truly listen.
In your session, you'll have the space to gently explore whatever you're experiencing, in your own time and in your way.
Together, you and your practitioner will create a personalised support plan, focused on helping you feel more grounded, balanced, and in control.
Some people find clarity in a single session, while others choose ongoing support — there’s no one-size-fits-all, only what feels right for you.
As your journey unfolds, we're here to walk beside you — helping you rediscover calm, confidence, and emotional wellbeing.
Parenting is one of the most important tasks we undertake. It doesn’t always come naturally though. Parenting generally takes practice and patience.
Being a parent brings out a range of powerful and intense emotions from exhilaration to despair. Feelings of love, happiness and pride may quickly turn to frustration, anger, hate or guilt, depending on the situation and the availability of assistance on hand. These feelings are completely normal, but can at times feel overwhelming or become challenging to manage.
Children thrive when they know what is expected of them and their day has a similar pattern to it. Children feel safe when they can predict the routine and our reactions to their behaviour and emotions. A child needs to know what the adults’ reaction will be and that it will be reasonable for their age, fair and consistent. Most parents experience a rollercoaster of feelings and experiences during early parenthood. It is essential to learn how to handle distress and feelings like anger and frustration so that you can enjoy parenting and maintain a healthy experience for your child. If you don’t feel confident to manage the daily challenges of parenting it may be helpful to talk to other parents or a professional to learn more effective ways of coping.
Young children act out their feelings through their behaviour until they are confident to communicate verbally. They do not yet have the thinking abilities to express themselves in a rational way. While their brain is still developing during infancy, young children are unable to calm themselves on their own.
Young children need adults to support and help them through their big feeling episodes and to regain a sense of calm and dignity. When a young child is being emotional, it is important that the adults caring for them respond calmly and rationally.
Expressions of big feelings or tantrums tend to occur at the age when young children do not have the ability to handle their feelings without adult help and
need co-regulation. This often occurs between the ages of 18 months and 4 years, but each child is different.
Some children won’t express themselves with big feelings at all, while others act them out frequently. As children get older, they gradually learn how to reduce their own heightened emotional state and rely less on adult help to feel calm. This occurs as the cognitive part of their brain becomes more developed.
Parents can feel tired, unwell, stressed, frustrated and angry and so can children. Children often cannot tell us how they are feeling but instead ‘act out’ by showing their feelings through their behaviours — this is normal. When parents are under pressure themselves, it is more difficult to take the time to work out what your child is trying to tell you. Parents may often just react to the behaviour.
Most children experience challenging feelings and behaviours. Try to remember that these times can be normal phases of growing up and will probably pass.
Suggestions for handling your child’s big emotions include:
Yes. Parenting counselling can help you explore possible triggers, family patterns and environmental factors contributing to challenging behaviour. A psychologist or counsellor may support you in developing clearer boundaries, more consistent responses and age-appropriate communication strategies. Where needed, they can also discuss whether direct support or further assessment for your child may be helpful.
Yes. Co-parenting counselling is available for separated parents who would like support with communication, shared responsibilities, routines, boundaries and reducing conflict. The focus is on helping parents work more constructively around their child’s needs. This service is not legal mediation or family dispute resolution.
Parenting counselling can support parents adjusting to separation, changed family roles and new care arrangements. Sessions may help you manage difficult emotions, communicate more effectively with the other parent and consider how to provide children with stability, reassurance and age-appropriate information during the transition.
Yes. Secure online parenting counselling is available through telehealth for suitable clients across Melbourne and surrounding areas. You can attend from home, work or another quiet and private location. Face-to-face appointments are also available at our Melbourne CBD clinic.
No. One parent or carer can attend parenting counselling individually. In some situations, involving both parents may be helpful, particularly when shared communication or co-parenting concerns are being addressed. Your practitioner can discuss the most suitable appointment format based on your circumstances.
The number of appointments varies depending on the concerns involved, your family circumstances and the goals you would like to work towards. Some parents seek short-term support around a particular challenge, while others benefit from ongoing counselling for more complex or long-standing concerns.
You can book an appointment with our parenting psychologists through our online booking system by selecting a suitable practitioner, appointment format and available time. You can also call 1300 967 734 to speak with our reception team about practitioner suitability, Melbourne CBD appointments and online parenting counselling.
Reaching out for professional support is the best option when problems are too complex to solve on your own. We can work with you to:
