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Shepherd's Heart Counseling
Our Services

Parent Coaching in Siler City, NC

A short, skills-focused format for functioning parents who need better tactics — not treatment. Structured sessions, real homework between them, and a plan you can actually run at home.

A parent and young child sitting side by side at a kitchen table, working through a problem together.

Coaching is a format, not a diagnosis.

Parent coaching is skills-and-strategy work. You are not the client-with-a-condition; the household is the client. We look at what's happening between you and your child, figure out what's driving it, and build a specific plan you can execute this week. There is no diagnosis, no treatment plan filed with an insurer, no clinical record of you as a mental-health patient. That framing matters — some parents want the help without carrying a chart, and coaching lets them do that.

What a coaching session actually looks like.

Fifty minutes, in the office in Siler City or on video. The first ten are a short debrief: what you tried last week, where it worked, where it fell apart, what your child did next. The next thirty are the working part — we pick one or two behaviors or transitions and design a response you can hold to. The final ten are homework: a specific thing you will do or say between now and next session, and the exact language to use. Sessions are directive on purpose. You should walk out with something to try, not just something to think about.

The homework is the work.

Coaching only moves as fast as you do between sessions. Most of the change happens on a Tuesday night at 7:40pm when your kid melts down at bedtime and you say the sentence you rehearsed instead of the one you've been saying for two years. We keep the homework small and repeatable — one script, one routine change, one boundary held — because parents who are already worn out cannot install five new systems at once.

Who this format fits.

A parent who is basically functioning — sleeping, working, not in crisis — but who has run out of tactics with a specific child. A couple who agree on the goal but disagree on the method and need a third voice in the room. A parent whose child has a diagnosis (ADHD, anxiety, autism, ODD) and who has read the books but can't get the strategies to stick in real life. If that's you, coaching moves faster than therapy will.

Who it doesn't fit — and where to go instead.

If what's driving the problem at home is your own depression, unresolved trauma, panic, grief, or a marriage in real trouble, coaching is the wrong tool. You'll leave with strategies you can't execute because the tank is empty. That's not a moral failure; it's a scope issue. In that case the right starting point is parent counseling — actual therapy, for you, as a person. Many families do coaching and counseling in parallel (one for the household, one for the parent) and it works well.

How long a course of coaching typically runs.

Most coaching arrangements run six to twelve sessions, weekly or every other week. Some parents come in for four sessions around a specific transition — a new school, a diagnosis, a divorce — and are done. Others stay longer because the household is complex or because they want a monthly check-in once the crisis has passed. Fees are $195 for the intake and $155 per session; Shepherd's Heart is in-network with Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Many families combine this work with parent counseling or children's counseling. If you're not sure where to begin, reach out for a free consultation and we'll figure out the right starting point together.

FAQ

Common questions.

Is parent coaching therapy?

No. Coaching is a skills-and-strategy format. It doesn't produce a diagnosis or a mental-health record for you, and it doesn't dig into your own history the way therapy does. If either of those is what you actually need, parent counseling is the better fit.

Do I need to bring my child?

Not for coaching. The work is with you. Occasionally we'll bring your child or teen in for a session to watch an interaction directly or to align on a plan, but the standing sessions are parent-only.

How is coaching different from parent counseling here?

Coaching is about what you do at home this week. Counseling is about what's going on inside you — your history, your anxiety, your marriage, how you were parented. Coaching moves faster and is more directive; counseling is slower and deeper. Many parents do both.

Can insurance cover parent coaching?

Sometimes, depending on how sessions are documented and whether a diagnosis is appropriate. Because coaching by design doesn't produce a diagnosis, many families pay privately for coaching and use insurance for counseling if they need both. We'll walk through the specifics at intake.

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