Are you feeling a little overwhelmed?
Are you thriving as a homeschooling parent? Or are you feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, stressed, and weighed down by pressure and expectation? Do you feel like you have to ‘get it right’ because your kids are counting on you, and you aren’t outsourcing their education? Do you feel extra pressure because you are also having to provide for their social and emotional wellbeing? Are you wondering where you fit into the picture, and how you can get your own needs met? Are you wanting someone to talk to who’s lived this life and isn’t going to tell you that the solution is to send your child to school? Do you just want a break? To have someone care for you, for once?
Is it hard to find the help and support you need?
Are you searching for answers and support, but finding that the recommendation is often to send your child back to school? Are you confused about the right way forward to support your child, process your concerns and get the support you need? I’ve been there, and felt the frustration of conflicting advice from well-meaning people. I know how good it feels to get support and clarity, to finally feel understood. You are the expert of your life and you know your child better than anyone. Counselling can be a safe space to explore your options without judgment and get the support you need.
Would you like to feel calmer and more connected?
As homeschooling parents, we have invested years into meeting our children’s social, emotional and educational needs, often to the detriment of our own. We often parent as we were parented, struggling to break free from the things we don’t want to repeat, and hold onto the ones we do. Together, we can process any baggage from your past and help you become the parent you truly want to be, moving from control to connection, from rules to relationship, from striving to thriving. Whether you are a traditional or unschooling family, counselling can help you tap into your strengths and get off auto-pilot.
Hi, I’m Karen
One of the greatest joys of my life is my role as ‘mum’ to my four grown-up children, and an extra one who was earth-side for only 9 short hours. I have been passionate about parenting before I became one (yes, I was one of those girls who always dreamed of motherhood) and I almost trained as a teacher, so homeschooling became a natural extension of those two interests. My oldest 2 children went to a small country school for 5 years when we were living in a community in the outback (I’ve had an interesting life!) before we finally began homeschooling in 2005. Homeschooling felt, quite literally, like coming home.
I naturally gravitated to an ‘unschooling’/natural-learning approach, focusing on providing a supportive, rich learning environment in which my children could flourish as individuals, pursuing their passions, passionately!
As my nest began emptying, and my marriage sadly ended, I finally began my decades-long dream to study counselling and am now working as a counsellor in private practice. As a long-term homeschooling parent, I have a particular understanding of some of the challenges homeschooling families can face at times. For example, you may have found it difficult to find a therapist who ‘gets it’ – who supports and understands your choices. My lived experience, passion for parenting, and counselling skills help me provide a homeschool-friendly therapy space for you.
My passion is helping you increase attunement with your children through secure attachment, connection, and tuning into the needs of your children and yourself.
I see clients online, and also face-to-face in Melbourne (post-Covid). I will support your individual approach to home education and parenting, and work collaboratively with you to meet your goals. I will provide a supportive, empathic, understanding environment for you as a homeschooling parent.
Let's Connect
I’d love to find out what I can help you with. You can contact me using the link below to arrange a complimentary, obligation-free, 20-minute consultation.