When your child is angry, anxious, or easily overwhelmed, you do your best as a parent - and sometimes it feels like too much. That’s where parent coaching comes in.

Parent coaching is a way for you to get direct feedback and advice on how best to manage your child’s behaviors and emotions, along with recognizing the family dynamic. It’s like having a really supportive therapist just for your parenting. And we have a fabulous resource online and in St. Louis - Nicole Schwarz!

For some kids with anxiety and anger management, individual therapy is the best bet. We can work individually to help them build the skills they need to manage their emotions before they feel too big.

For other kids, individual therapy helps, but it’s not enough on its own. That’s where parent coaching comes in.

Read below to learn more about how Nicole works with parent coaching tailored to parenting styles.

I often refer people who are parenting anxious children to Nicole, because of her understanding and empathetic approach. I’m so excited to share this interview with you all!

Why did you choose to become a Parent Coach in St. Louis?

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Parent Coach. I started my career as a therapist working with children, teens, and families because I wanted to provide kids with tools and support early in their development. However, over time, I realized my favorite way to support kids was to empower their parents. I no longer provide mental health therapy, instead focusing on giving parents tools and education through Parent Coaching.

What kind of treatment do you provide?

I provide Parent Coaching which is personalized support, education, strategies, and encouragement to help you parent well through the difficult stages of child development. My coaching philosophy is rooted in Positive or Respectful Parenting, which focuses on brain research, connection, and teaching - rather than consequences or punishments.

It’s okay to see a family therapist even if you aren’t in complete crisis.

When we work with anxiety and anger management with our kids, teens and college students, we sometimes connect families to family therapists even if everything feels like it’s going well. A family therapist can offer their perspective on the entire family dynamic and work on issues together in a way that is different from the work we do individually.

We reached out to family therapists in the St. Louis area to discuss the ins and outs of family therapy to help you decide if it’s the right choice for you. We were fortunate enough to interview Sally King about her experience with helping families form better communication patterns and resolve conflicts. Read more below about his practice and experience!

As anxiety counselors in St. Louis, we know how important it is to feel supported and accepted for exactly who you are.

That’s why we want to make sure that our kids and teens who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community have a safe space to be themselves. It’s also important to connect them with resources that will continue to support and help them through any feelings that may come up. We are so happy to have had the opportunity to interview Rachel Kalina, MSW, LCSW, about her work with gender awareness and inclusion! She is doing really awesome work and we are excited to have her as a resource for our kids and teens.

As anxiety specialists in St. Louis, we understand there is more than just one way to help your child work through challenges and process emotions.

Here at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis we help angry, anxious kids and teens work on building strategies to cope with their difficult emotions. Sometimes, that means processing trauma, grief or anxiety in more ways than just talk-therapy. Utilizing different strategies to tailor our approach to your child, is the most important part of creating that lasting change.

That’s why we are thrilled that our therapist, Allegra Grawer, is basic level 1 and 2 trained in EMDR, and is currently receiving EMDRIA certification supervision. But, we also know that sometimes schedules don’t always align or allow for you to work with us and it’s just as important for us to help you find other awesome therapists in the area!

St. Louis is full of amazing resources and we are so happy to feature one of those amazing therapists in our interview series this month! Laura Ranalletta, MSW, LCSW discusses below how she uses EMDR with her clients and brings her expertise to the field.

Therapy is not a one-size fits all approach.

Sometimes, a somatic experience and a sensory rich environment can really resonate for those teens who are a bit more closed off. It can be hard for teens to open up, especially when they feel so overwhelmed. At Compassionate Counseling St. Louis we work hard to tailor our approach to your child’s needs even when they struggle with talking about their emotions - and, we want to connect you to other awesome resources that can support the therapy we’re doing with you and your child.

This month, we’re so excited to share our interview with Equine-Assisted Psycotherapist, Kit Maxwell about her experience working with horses. She discusses how this type of therapy helps teens with their anxiety in a way that grounds them and strengthens their awareness. Read more below about her expertise!

We know that for many of our clients, talking about how they feel can be tough. Sometimes it’s challenging to open up; especially, when anxiety can be really overwhelming and we aren’t sure how to express how we feel. Somatic-based therapies like Brainspotting can be really excellent tools for helping in those situations.

As we continue our Helping Professionals Interview Series, we are so excited to share our interview with Certified Brainspotting Therapist, Brittany Bagy. Brittany is an awesome resource and focuses on helping her clients gain clarity and holistic healing. Read more below about how she helps treat anxiety, perfectionism and grief.

Anxiety can often follow a traumatic experience. It’s so important to get the help you need.

Anxiety can manifest itself in a lot of different ways, and can be due to a lot of different things, internally and externally. For many people, their anxiety symptoms start after a trauma. That’s why it’s so important to work with a therapist who can help dig in to what’s going on underneath your symptoms - a therapist who is trained in assessing all the different causes of anxious responses, who can work with you to move forward.

As we continue our Helping Professionals Interview Series, we are excited to share our interview with Melissa Webb, LPC, BC-TMH.

Melissa is a faith-based counselor that uses EMDR and CBT to help her clients work through their anxiety and trauma. Melissa brings her sense of humor, her passion, and her faith to give her clients the best care she can. We’re excited to share her expertise with you today!

It’s so important to find the right fit for you and your child.

And with our therapists, when we come together as a team, we help to make sure you’re getting the best help possible. All of our therapists have their own individual clinical backgrounds and experience, but they also have the specialized training as team in how to best work with anxiety and anger management in kids, teens, and college students.

What makes Compassionate Counseling St. Louis special? All of our therapists understand that anger and anxiety serve a purpose.

Our team would never call anxiety or anger bad. We may not like how it feels, or our reactions that we have may be unhelpful, but we always want to figure out how to move forward with anxiety and anger, and how to help it not feel so big.

Finding a pediatrician can sometimes feel daunting.

Just like the search for a great therapist can feel overwhelming, so can finding a pediatrician for your kids. The great thing about working with a therapist is that they can also help you find a pediatrician and vice versa! We like to work with a lot of professionals in the area so we can tailor our approach to you and refer you other awesome resources for your kid, teen or college student. When we all work together, the search can feel a little less overwhelming.

This is why we wanted to share our interview with Joel Koenig, MD about his experience as a pediatrician in St. Louis. He shares what happens in a first appointment with him, how he approaches anxiety with his clients and even lets us in a few famous relatives he has! Check out the interview below.

Sometimes, the culture around us can affect how we view ourselves.

It’s easy to let what’s happening around us influence our opinions of ourselves. We live in a culture that is driven by social media and puts unnecessary pressure on us to look like we have it all together, all the time. Sometimes that pressure gets to be too much and we need help to manage that anxiety.

We reached out to Tina Cummings, LPC, NCC, to discuss how she approaches therapy with high-achieving clients. She talks about the importance of self empowerment, taking a break from “hustle culture” and getting to know her clients as a whole.

Have you noticed anxiety in your child ?

Our therapists at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis have a lot of experience working with anxious kids, teens and college students ,and we wanted to take the time to really showcase the work that we do!

We have our ongoing interview series, which is a great way to get to know other therapists in the area, but we also want you to get to know the therapists here at our office, too! Each of our therapists tailor their approach to you and your child, so you get the most out of your sessions and you feel supported the whole time.

This week, we spoke to Art Therapist Maggie Schmidt on her clinical experience, what it’s like working at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis, and when it might be a good idea to get therapy for anxiety. We’re so lucky to have her at our office!

It’s okay to feel worried and anxious.

Our therapists at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis have a lot of experience working with anxious kids, teens and college students and we wanted to take the time to really showcase the work that we do! Our interview series is a great way to get to know other therapists in the area but we also want you to get to know the therapists here at our office too! Each of our therapists tailor their approach to your child so you get the most out of your sessions and your kid feels supported the whole time.

This week, we spoke to Allegra Grawer on how her experience, what it’s like working at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis and when it might be a good idea to get therapy for anxiety. We’re so lucky to have her at our office!

Play is a language that all kids understand.

When we work with anxiety and anger management with our children and teens, we often integrate play into our work. Sometimes, we connect families to family therapists even if everything feels like it’s going well. A family therapist can offer their perspective on the entire family dynamic and work on issues together in a way that is different from the work we do individually.

Play therapy can be a great option to opening the lines of communication within your family

We reached out to family therapists in the St. Louis area to discuss the ins and outs of family therapy to help you decide if it’s the right choice for you. Play therapy can be a really great option for families with kids and Rose R. Trevino is a great resource! We interviewed Rose to learn more about how Play Therapy is used within family therapy. Read more below about her experience!

Is family therapy the right choice for me?

When things seem overwhelming or you find yourself facing communication struggles in your home, it can be helpful to seek a therapist who can work with the whole family. Sometimes, it’s even helpful to seek family therapy in addition to individual therapy. But how do you know if your family would benefit from family therapy?

When we work with anxiety and anger management with our kids, teens and college students, we sometimes connect families to family therapists even if everything feels like it’s going well. A family therapist can offer their perspective on the entire family dynamic and work on issues together in a way that is different from the work we do individually.

If you’re a perfectionist, college is probably going to throw you for a loop.

Your standards of success will look very different when you’re in a brand new environment, and we want you to be prepared. We interviewed several college prep counselors at local, St. Louis area high schools, to find out the best ways you can help your teen prepare. These counselors have worked directly with students and have first hand experience in what it takes to get them ready for this major transition in their life. We are so excited to be able to bring their expertise to you, in hopes that we can all work together to help your teen thrive when they get to campus!

Today, we continue with Trisha Hasbrouch, Director of College Advising at St. Joseph’s Academy. She breaks down the difference between personal success and perfection. We are so happy to feature her on today’s blog!

Because college is such a new experience, many teens feel challenged.

And feeling that challenge can be challenging in and of itself! If you’re used to things coming easy for you, college can really throw you for a curve.

We interviewed several college prep counselors at local, St. Louis area high schools, to find out the best ways you can help your teen prepare. These counselors have worked directly with students and have first hand experience in what it takes to get them ready for this major transition in their life. We are so excited to be able to bring their expertise to you, in hopes that we can all work together to help your teen thrive when they get to campus!

As our series continues, we are excited to bring you our interview with Dawn Michel, College Counselor at Chaminade College Preparatory School and President-Elect, Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling. She talks about how to prepare and also the importance of calling home and maintaining family relationships while on campus!

Going to college is a big step, and leads to a lot of anxiety, stress, and nervousness - for teens and for parents.

We interviewed several college prep counselors at local, St. Louis area high schools, to find out the best ways you can help your teen prepare. These counselors have worked directly with students and have first hand experience in what it takes to get them ready for this major transition in their life. We are so excited to be able to bring their expertise to you, in hopes that we can all work together to help your teen thrive when they get to campus!

Today, we are thrilled to be sharing the knowledge from Dave Boland, Director of College/Career Counseling at De Smet Jesuit.