Watching your child struggle with their mental health can leave you feeling helpless, heartbroken, and wondering if you’re doing enough. While your pre-teen or teen receives the support they need at Embrace U, Parent U exists to make sure you don’t have to navigate the journey alone.
Mental Health is a Family Journey
At Embrace U, we know that your child’s mental health struggles aren’t only their own – rather, it impacts the entire family. From parents to siblings, routines to relationships, if one person struggles, the whole community feels the cracks. Parents often become caregivers, their child’s mental health advocates, and emotional anchors to the rest of the household, all while managing their own stresses. That’s why Embrace U created Parent U – because healing is more sustainable when the entire family grows together.
What is Parent U?
Parent U is one of the only parent support group programs in Tennessee that takes place concurrently while your child is receiving treatment for a mental health challenge. Aside from private family therapy sessions, which take place twice a month, our Parent U program is scheduled every Friday afternoon as an open forum for all parents to participate in for additional support and community, as well as getting an overview of what skills are learned throughout the week so that parents feel confident to reinforce them at home.
“Since we have a 12-week curriculum for our adolescents with specific themes per week, our Parent U meetings focus on what the kids learned during that week, as well as allow parents to ask any questions they might have,” said Anne Claire Ballinger, program therapist at our Brentwood location.
Our curriculum covers weekly topics such as emotional regulation, anxiety, socials skills, coping skills, and more. Being able to connect with our clinicians to gain knowledge and tools and to receive the support and community from other parents really does make a difference for the entire family unit.
Staying Connected While Your Child is in Treatment
Understanding what your child is learning in treatment is critical in being able to reinforce tools and skills at home.
“I will explain therapeutic language and methods to our parents and make sure they feel confident enough to replicate what we’re doing at home,” said Ballinger.
Our team ensures parents have access to necessary education, practical tools, and relevant resources to ensure their child stays on track when they’re at home. By staying in touch with our clinicians and participating in Parent U, our parents better understand diagnoses, emotions, and behaviors, as well as feel prepared for life after their child has graduated from our Embrace U program.
The Power of Parents Supporting Parents
As parents, we can sometimes feel overwhelmed or alone while navigating our child’s mental health journey. We want the best for our children and will do whatever it takes to give them the support they need, while simultaneously feeling overextended or exhausted. That’s why we created Parent U as the support system to Embrace U, because we believe that sharing your struggles with those who understand exactly what you’re going through creates a sense of camaraderie and can help reduce stress and anxiety.
“Just by hearing a parent ask a question provides support to another parent because it could have been a question they hadn’t thought about before,” said Ballinger.
We just want to make sure that our parents not only feel a sense of community amongst each other, but that they also feel empowered by their peers.
Parent U is Unique
Finding a parent support group that is verified, local, and relevant is exhausting. Parent U has taken out the guesswork, research, and the trial and error, rather, it is included alongside your child’s Embrace U experience. When parents understand emotional regulation, communication strategies, healthy boundaries, and coping skills, then they become better equipped at reinforcing them at home.
Parenting an adolescent through mental health challenges can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to carry that weight by yourself. At Embrace U, we believe that when parents feel supported, informed, and empowered, the entire family is better positioned to heal. Parent U exists because your journey matters too.
Learn more about Embrace U by calling 833-733-4325 or completing our intake form to schedule an assessment.
