Parenting support at CFC helps you navigate the daily challenges of raising kids with more confidence and connection, and practical strategies grounded in brain science.
Parents dealing with challenging behaviors or intense emotional reactions in their child
Families with a kid recently diagnosed with ADHD, autism, or sensory differences
Parents who want practical, brain-based tools grounded in Tina Payne Bryson’s work
Couples trying to get on the same page about discipline and expectations
Parents whose own history is showing up in their parenting in ways they want to shift
Caregivers who want a reflective space to understand what’s beneath their child’s behavior
Parenting is hard. Homework, screen time, food, bedtime, and the fights that come with all of them can wear anyone down. When your child’s behavior or emotional reactions feel especially intense, it’s easy to feel like you’re making it up as you go and failing in real time.
At the Center for Connection, we get it, and we can help. Our therapists work to really understand what you’re facing, then identify relational supports tailored to you and your family. We listen and explore strategies based on the latest research on parenting and the brain, the kind that helps you survive the hard moments and use them to build something better with your child over time.
That means our work is research-backed and developmentally attuned, and grounded in how children’s brains actually grow. We don’t hand out scripts or formulas. We help you understand your child and yourself well enough to respond to the hard moments with more clarity and more calm.
Key Insight
Our parenting support is built on the lens of Dr. Tina Payne Bryson’s work, co-authored with Dr. Dan Siegel, including The Whole-Brain Child, No-Drama Discipline, The Yes Brain, The Power of Showing Up, and Bottom Line for Baby. Tina is the Center for Connection’s Founder and Executive Director, and the brain-based, connection-first approach from her books runs through everything we do with parents.
We offer three distinct types of parenting support, and your clinician will help you figure out which one fits your family best. Virtual options are available where noted.
Parent coaching focuses on building your toolbox: how to navigate challenging behaviors, manage moments of dysregulation, and keep developing your strengths as a parent. Coaching often includes:
Identifying your own discipline philosophy and practicing methods that let you communicate the lessons you want to teach
Strategies for calmly connecting and communicating love, even when behavior is extreme, while still setting clear and consistent limits
Tips for guiding your child through emotional storms, or partnering with them through it
Facts about child brain development and what kind of discipline or expectations actually make sense at each age
Techniques to help strengthen your child’s communication, play, executive functioning, and regulation with family and friends
Help figuring out what’s typical for your child’s age and stage, and whether they might need additional support
The goal is to help you resolve conflicts more peacefully, understand your child’s growing brain, and build resilience for everyone in the family. Parent coaching can be in person, virtual in California, or virtual in other states, and can be short-term or ongoing depending on what your family needs.
In these sessions we use child development and interpersonal neurobiology to explore your child’s unique constellation of strengths, challenges, and vulnerabilities together. We also collaborate to uncover new ways of thinking about and solving the challenges you face. Reflective parenting sessions are also a supportive space for parents to feel heard and validated.
Reflective parenting support usually lasts four to eight weeks. You’ll have the chance to build a trusting relationship with a clinician who may be available for future consults as your child’s development unfolds. It’s available in person and virtually to California residents.
What to Know
Reflective parenting is a specialized practice that invites you to reflect on the underlying meaning of your child’s behavior: is it an attachment need, a sensory issue, an emotional escalation, or a gap between what a situation requires and what your child can currently do? We help you become a compassionate detective, tuning in to your child’s inner world.
Individual psychotherapy for parents helps you develop tools and resources to stay regulated during difficult moments, in parenting and beyond. We help you identify, process, and manage past and present experiences that may be showing up in how you engage with your child.
For some parents, this work is about getting on the same page with a partner. For others, it’s about processing grief or stress related to a child’s diagnosis or needs. For many, it’s about addressing patterns from their own childhood that are showing up in their parenting in ways they don’t want. Individual therapy for parents is available in person and virtually to California residents.
Beyond one-on-one support, we offer free community resources:
Neurodiversity Resources: A curated list of books, podcasts, and websites for families navigating ADHD, autism, sensory processing differences, and more
Community Events: Free author talks, workshops, and support groups for parents
NeuroPlaybook Parenting Group: A peer community for parents raising neurodivergent kids, with monthly support meetings in person and on Zoom
Summary sheets from Tina’s books: Free downloadable “Refrigerator Sheets” that capture the core ideas from The Whole-Brain Child, No-Drama Discipline, and The Yes Brain
Mistake Mondays video series: Short videos from Tina on common discipline mistakes and what to do instead, drawn from No-Drama Discipline
We offer parenting support at all three of our Southern California locations. Virtual options are available across California and nationwide for parent coaching. Many parents combine in-person and virtual sessions to find a rhythm that actually works with their family’s schedule.
Parenting is hard. If you need support, we’re here for you. Fill out our short intake form and we’ll be in touch to help you find the right type of support and the right clinician.
You got this. And we’ve got you.
The scientific lens that informs our work is interpersonal neurobiology, an exciting field of research about the neuroscience of change and of healthy, connected relationships.
We know that connected relationships matter and play a role in how our brains and lives change, so that's where we start.
Grounded in interpersonal neurobiology, our approach reflects the latest research on how relationships shape the developing brain.
Clients are matched to a therapist based on areas of specialty, relational fit, and availability, unless otherwise requested.
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Parent coaching focuses on practical tools and strategies for challenging behaviors. Reflective parenting support helps you understand what’s underneath your child’s behavior (an attachment need, a sensory issue, something else). Individual therapy for parents works with your own experiences and patterns that may be shaping how you show up for your child. We’ll help you figure out which fits.
No. Parenting support works with you, not with your child. Many families do both at CFC, with the parent seeing one clinician and the child seeing another. The work tends to reinforce each other.
Yes. Our approach is grounded in the lens of Tina’s books, including The Whole-Brain Child, No-Drama Discipline, The Yes Brain, The Power of Showing Up, and Bottom Line for Baby, co-authored with Dr. Dan Siegel. Tina founded CFC, and that brain-based, connection-first approach runs through everything we do with parents.
No. Some parents come during acute challenges. Others come because they want to parent more intentionally, navigate a transition well, or get on the same page with a partner about approach. Both are valid reasons.
Parent coaching is available in person, virtually in California, or virtually in other states. Reflective parenting support and individual therapy for parents are available in person or virtually to California residents only.
Varies widely. Some families do a few focused sessions around a specific challenge and are done. Others work with a clinician over longer stretches as their child’s development unfolds. Reflective parenting support often runs four to eight weeks.
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