Services for families
Working Together
There might be one or two particular family members that you're concerned about, or you might feel like your family as a whole needs some advice and support, whichever it is, I am here to help. Through a combination of family sessions and 1:1 work with individual members (where appropriate), we can begin to understand the role that food plays in our lives, and figure out ways to bring about changes, in a way that allows everyone in the family to feel involved, and allows everyone to have a voice and and make choices around the things they do, and the foods they eat. In my work I find that inclusivity is essential to making lasting changes - when everyone feels listened to, and feels like they are making a valuable contribution, then the more likely it is that they will want to engage with the changes we want to make, and be supportive of each other along the way.
Help for Families and Young People
Family Coaching
There are so many reasons why a family might want to get some help and coaching around their eating habits:
- it might be that you're an overweight parent and you can see your child starting to become overweight too and feel that it's time to get some help for everyone
- or you could be a family where one child who is significantly overweight when the rest of the family eats well and maintain reasonably healthy weights, and you just can't understand why
- you might be a family with a teenage child who is overweight, and you know they eat more food after meal times in secret, as you find all the crisps packets and chocolate wrappers when you tidy their room
- you might be a family who are all significantly overweight and have decided that it's time to support each other and make some changes
- you could be a family where a loss or significant upheaval seems to have prompted a change in your child's eating habits
- or you may have an older child who is picked on at school because of their size, but still seems to console themselves with food, which can seem like a vicious cycle
- or it could be that you have a chubby carefree toddler who just never seems to get full and is always asking for more food
There are endless scenarios and possibilities as to why you might want to seek help as a family - but whatever your reason, I'm here to help!
Younger Children
If your young child is suffering from obesity, then the sooner they can get some help to turn things around, the better, as young brains find it easier to adapt to changes and develop new habits. For younger children, most of our sessions would usually be with the family as a whole, but as a trained children's counsellor, I am able to direct our work together at both a conversational level, and through play, to try to ascertain any factors that might be feeding into your child's eating habits, and to help them grasp what is going to happen, and what we'd like them to do in order to bring about some changes and improve their health and the health of the family.
Older Children
If a child has a problem with their weight then it's essential that we work with the family as a whole and not just the child, but when a child is in their teens and starting to seek and adopt more autonomy, it's important that we dedicate more 1:1 time to working with them as a young adult in their own right. This will always be done with parental consent, but is an essential part of them learning to manage their own relationship with food as they get older and become more independent. Every child is different, but if you are worried about your child and their eating habits, please don't hesitate to drop us a line and we can look at how we can work together to give them the help and support they need.
Parents
For a significantly overweight parent or couple, having children can be a time when you realise that for the sake of your own health and being able to be more active with your children, and because you are their role model(s) and are setting them an example, that it's time you'd like to try and tackle your relationship with food. I am happy to work with parents on on an individual basis or as a couple to help them to identify and modify factors that are underpinning their relationship with food, but it can also be quite useful to do some work as a family too, to ensure that everyone is on board and following the same principles, in order to allow you to develop a lifestyle that will benefit everyone and keep everyone healthy in the longer term.
Families
If the majority of members in a family are significantly overweight and aware that they have eating habits that they'd like to change - then I can help. It may be that you've tried to follow a healthier lifestyle or diet plan before, but not had much lasting success, but this will be a completely different way of tackling things. We want to create a situation where not only does everyone understand their own individual bodies, and their own personal triggers and situations that drive them to overeat; but they also feel like they are contributing to devising a plan that fits in with everyone's lifestyles, so that it's something that they can keep up life-long.
Pricing
Due to the range of scenarios that are suitable for family weight management coaching, it is impossible to state a set price, but as a guideline prices range from £80.00 to £130.00 per 50 minute session, with discounts of up to 15% available for block bookings.
Sessions will take place either in person in Haslingden (just north of Manchester), or online via Zoom; and will usually involve some tasks to be completed between sessions to help consolidate what we've discussed in the sessions, and help to bring about the changes that will transform your lives.