Eyes Wide Open offers psychoeducational training to counselors who want to understand the psychodynamics of the families they see in counseling.
Our Heartminded Parenting course addresses a gap most of us in clinical practice recognize: how to bring parents into the therapeutic process as active participants, guide both parents and children from fear-driven responses toward genuine connection, and stimulate in children the cognitive abilities required for the development of moral reasoning and cognitive empathy that no compliance-based approach can reach.
The course consists of six weeks 2-hr meetings online. It is approved for 12 CEUs by CE Broker (50-625), and can be scheduled at your convenience.
Many therapeutic approaches keep parents on the periphery — a brief consultation, some guidance after the session. And yet parents want to be involved as much as possible in the therapeutic process. They are often as lost and frustrated as the child. When that frustration has deepened into blocked care, leaving them outside the room is a missed opportunity for boosting compassion and helping the parent learn not only about emotion regulation, but about a different kind of discipline, that is more likely to transform unwanted behaviors into opportunities to communicate and grow together. Counselors now that inviting the parent in, treating them with the same regard we hope they will extend to their child — that is itself a therapeutic act.
HeartMinded Parenting draws on family systems theory, Adlerian psychology, Carter and McGoldrick’s Family Life Cycle, Hoffman’s inductive discipline, Gilbert’s neuroscience of emotional regulation, and transformative learning. The goal is not behavioral compliance but children who act from principle — Kohlberg’s post-conventional moral development in clinical practice.
Participants engage in the same reflective process they will facilitate with families: guided journaling, personal reflections, and individualized written feedback. Maximum six participants per cohort ensures genuine dialogue and depth.
I believe we are working toward the same thing — families with more connection and less fear. Course details are attached. I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.