PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

Parent-Child Conflicts

* Parent-Child Conflicts are a common occurrence and are often part of the natural process of a child’s development and growth as they transition through life and into adulthood. However, there are times when these conflicts become serious and the danger of damaging your relationship with your child is significant. Clues that might indicate to you that you and your child have reached a dangerous place in your relationship are often subtle and difficult to recognize. They may appear as changes in eating or sleeping habits, hanging out with a new crowd of friends or no friends at all, changes in the way they communicate with you or a lack of communication and a significant change in the amount of time they spend with you or other family members. Children and adolescents, at times, need their own space and need to feel a sense of control over parts of their lives that are appropriate for them to control. When this happens, give them space while maintaining your communication with them and reinforcing that you love and support them. From there, use your intuition as a parent to guide you in knowing whether or not the changes are too severe. If you are in doubt, contact a therapist at Eden Counseling Center or check out our self-help resources below which will offer guidance and suggestions as to when you might need to intervene in your child’s life.

Sometimes, but not often, there are parents who are placed in a position of fear and worry because of the behavior changes their child is going through. Violence can become a routine part of daily life and people will often say things life, “Oh, he’s just being a boy, he’ll grow out of it”, or “She’s acting out in that way because its what the other girls are doing. Ignore it and it will go away.” Be assured that violence and violent behaviors are never acceptable and should always be addressed by professionals like those here at Eden Counseling Center.

If you have questions about Parent-Child Conflicts and would like information regarding an assessment for yourself, a friend or family member, contact us and our qualified staff will be glad to assist you in beginning the process of getting help.

* Please note that this information is not intended for use as a method for diagnosing any psychological disorder and is intended to be used only as a general guideline by individual’s accessing this website for personal use. No inference of diagnostic criteria is implied and any self-diagnosis is emphatically discouraged.

A psychiatric referral is available for medication or inpatient care.
Eden Counseling Center therapist work with a number of primary care physicians and psychiatrists to ensure that if and when treatment may call for medication, you can receive the appropriate referral for as assessment by a medical doctor. We do not have control over the choices that the medical doctor makes regarding medication use or choice, but we do work closely with them to fully communicate the problems as we see them and make suggestions for medications as appropriate. Management of the medication is handled through the prescribing medical professional. It is important to the therapy process that your therapist be informed about any medications you are taking and any changes to medications. For that reason, your therapist will ask you for updates on how the medication is working for you and if you have experienced any changes mentally, physically or emotionally. It will also be important for your therapist to be able to communicate with your medical professional so that everyone is working together to help you get better. You will be asked to sign a release of information form that allows the Eden therapist to talk with your doctor. You should also sign a similar form at your doctor’s office that will allow her/him to speak to your therapist.